Balls Of Glory | Pinball FX 3 (Nintendo Switch) Review
With the release of Pinball FX 3 on the Nintendo Switch, FoxNext have released their “Balls Of Glory” collection, which features four pinball tables based on their franchises, Family Guy, Archer, Bob’s Burgers and American Dad.
This collection has previously been released on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC on Zen Pinball 2 in 2015, before being re-released with Pinball FX 3 in September 2017. Pinball FX 3 is a free to play game and these tables are available for demo, should you want to try them out before buying.
The tables have all been given new updates for both single and multiplayer games, there are leaderboards, plus challenges to complete. Which is a big improvement over the previous Zen Studios 2, giving much more value and a much better experience.
Each table has a very unique artist style that feels like it’s jumped straight out of the TV shows, they are all very bright and colourful. They have been crafted to feel exactly like a real table would but with unique fun aspects that just wouldn’t be possible in real life.
There is so many aspects to the tables that show the team behind the game pays attention to all the little things, adding small details to each franchise and these make all the difference.
Its a such easy game to pick up and play, I even had a 5 year old beat me over the Christmas period, however there are also lots of little missions for each table that will give experienced players something to aim to do. It might be easy to play, but it takes lots of practice to master.
The Family Guy table is my personal favourite, as this is a show I’ve watched for years and love the characters. This is the main reason I wanted to play this collection and I’ve continued to be impressed with how Zen Studios manage to keep delivering amazing content.
I’ve never seen an episode of Archer, so that instantly means I’ve got no connection with the characters, but it does have a unique style that stands out from the other tables in this collection. It’s a fun table but is the weakest of the collection.
Bob’s Burgers is another show that I’ve not seen before, but the artist style feels much more like American Dad and Family Guy, and even not being a fan of show doesn’t take away from how much fun I had while playing this table.
And American Dad is the final table in this collection, with the characters looking exactly how they appear on screen and is another show that I’ve been watching on and off for years, so was another reason I wanted to play this collection. As with the Family Guy table, there is plenty of little nods to the series that fans will love.
Each of the tables includes voice overs and sounds from each series, adding to the overall experience but they can be a little annoying when certain lines are repeated over and over. Though playing in handheld mode meant I often didn’t have an audio on and it doesn’t have any impact on the enjoyment of the game.
One of the key benefits of the Nintendo Switch version is being able to use it in handheld mode and with a quick press of the – button, the game can be played vertically, which is a far superior way of playing as you can see the whole table at once and is perfect to play on the go.
And that is one reason to download Pinball FX 3, it’s a great game to just pick up and play, if you’ve only got 10 minutes free or an hour, this game is a fun way to kill some time.
OVERVIEW: Balls of Glory is a great package for fans of the Fox series, with four fun tables that deliver a fantastic Pinball experience that all Switch owners should try out. Every part of these tables look like it’s been ripped straight out of the animated cartoon and is a easy recommendation.
REVIEW SCORE: 8 out of 10