The Avengers cashed in at the box office and now Zen Studios is hoping to do the same with their latest Marvel Pinball offering for Pinball FX2. Ok, maybe they won’t bring in billions of dollars but I am sure after playing this game that fans of Marvel as well as fans of Zen Studios may very well put up a decent grossing number. The newest addition to the pinball genre adds 4 new tables to the Pinball FX2 platform bringing that total up to 32 tables now. Yes, an amazing 32 quality tables. Quality is definitely the key word here because Zen definitely knows what it is doing when it comes to pinball and I honestly can say I hope they never stop making table DLC for Pinball FX 2.

As I said, in the latest DLC, Avengers Chronicles, you get 4 new tables all themed around the Avengers. The four tables are Infinity Gauntlet, World War Hulk, Fear Itself and The Avengers. Each table is story based around the Avengers franchise and storylines over the years as well as the recent movie release. The amount of characters whether hero or villain is amazing in my opinion and Zen Studios definitely did not hold back on one bit of content.

Visually, these have to be the best tables to date and that is saying a lot because there have been previous visual masterpieces put out on the platform. One of the most prominent new features that you will quickly see is the hero themed balls. Hulk is green. Iron Man is red and yellow. Captain America is represented by a ball with his shield. You get the idea. I love this and while it does take a little adjusting for the eyes at first you’ll hate going back to the typical silver ball. The tables are of course littered with visuals as well with 3-D models of your favorite characters, ramps galore, and all sorts of special effects and min game modes. One of the coolest mini game mode visuals is on the Infinity Gauntlet table where you are whisked through a portal to an interesting looking mini table.

As mentioned, you get four brand new tables with the Avengers Chronicles pack. Now one thing that needs to be noted is that each table on contains one achievement worth 50 GS. While that still gives you a total of 200 GS for the DLC I still wish the achievements would have come three per table like all the previous tables. In my honest opinion this is the one sore spot for me because I love hearing that achievement pop. Let me tell you though, for most people that won’t be a big deal. What confuses me the most is that the same tables get 3 trophies on PSN. So why did Xbox only get one achievement per table?

Like I said, that’s only a minor issue and more of an annoyance to achievement hounds than it is a hindrance to the gameplay. The only other issue I saw with the game was that I have a lot more ball outs to the left and right that happened with no chance to avoid it. At times, the ball would literally go straight from the plunger onto the table and then out the left or right side. Now of course a ball save would help me but then the irritation would kick in when suddenly the same thing would happen once the ball was back on the table. Sure there are some times when I hit the ball for the first time at an awkward angle and lose it myself, but many times it just seemed like it was destined to give me a ball out. This is just something I noticed more than any other Pinball FX2 tables and doesn’t necessarily make it a game breaker.

As noted, you get four tables with the new Marvel themed bundle pack. Let’s touch on some of the details for each table. I honestly can’t pick a favorite this time around because each table delivers a different experience altogether. They also each tell a great story if you listen closely to the audio. If I had to pick one I would have to say it would either be the World War Hulk table or the Avengers table. But again, I can’t just pick one. They are all outstanding tables and represent the Marvel license perfectly.

First up we have The Avengers table. As stated, the most prominent feature on this table is the custom artwork for the ball which represent each of your heroes. The only way to describe this is to say it’s just awesome. The characters represented are: Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man and Thor. On the table you’ll actually get to see Loki, Hulk, Iron Man and Thor in 3-D action. I especially like this table because there are lots of ramps to hit and plenty of visual eye candy all along the top of the table.

Next up we have World War Hulk. This table holds deep roots in the comic book world and you may want to brush up on your Hulk knowledge to understand what is going on. In a quick summary, Hulk was banished to outer-space and now he is back in Manhattan to garner revenge. Those he has set his sights on are the Illuminati, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Dr. Strange. There is even more to do and shoot at on this table than the Avengers table. A total of 11 lanes are at your disposal and there is a cool mini table modeled after Madison Square Gardens. You have to see it to believe it because it’s really cool. You’ll get to visually see Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, The Thing and even Dr. Strange.

Silver Surfer highlights the next table which is known as The Infinity Gauntlet. You’ll battle against Thanos while trying to retrieve the six Infinity Gems: Time, Space, Reality, Power, Mind and Soul. There are some very cool effects to be witnessed on this table thanks to the Gems and each places its own effect on the table and gameplay. Adam Warlock, Silver Surfer and Thanos all make a visual 3-D appearance on this table.

Finally, Fear Itself is the remaining table to give you some details about. This table pits you against an Asgardian God by the name of Serpent. This table has some very cool gameplay effects including an outer ring that encircles the bottom portion of the table. This is probably the most open table out of the bundle and holds some of the most unique elements as well. You’ll get visual glimpses of The Serpent, Odin and Skadi on this table. It should definitely be an interest to any Thor fans out there.

Each and every table in this bundle offers up a different challenge, story and visual experience that definitely makes these table a must have for any Pinball FX2 fan. The thought, detail and time put into these tables is purely evident by the final product and you can tell the team takes pride in their work. This results is great gameplay and visuals worth a lot more than the measly 800 Microsoft points this costs you. I can’t say enough about the Chronicles pack and honestly I could delve into my own gameplay experiences and give you even more details about each table but in the end I think its best left to you experiencing the tables yourself. The delight and smiles that will come from the face of any comic book fan are priceless and you too will tip your hat to the team at Zen studios. A job well done and worthy of super hero status. But I have to ask, what’s next guys? How do you top this?