The Vengeance & Virtue Pinball FX 2 Tournament!

[Mollarom]

We have something very special this week. Jonathan and Alex sit down with Neil Sorens and Mel Kirk of Zen Studios to talk some serious silver ball. Zen Studios is responsible for bringing some spectacular tables to consoles and handhelds via Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball. If you love those games (and really, you should), get ready to get deep inside those titles. We go over topics including the initial inspiration for Pinball FX, why a sequel was necessary, the process of working with an established IP like Marvel, and the challenge of portraying beloved characters in pinball form. We also ask the all-important "Why Moon Knight?" question in a discussion about the brand new Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue four-pack of tables and take a glimpse into what's in store with the upcoming Epic Quest table.

We also have a contest for a code for the Vengeance and Virtue tables! This is how it's going to work:

1) Send a friend request to Alex here. If his friends list gets too full, send your gamertag to alex(at)thewayofthegame(dot)net or post your gamertag on this thread.

2) If you haven't already, get the Paranormal table on Pinball FX 2 (sorry PS3 owners, this contest is only for Xbox 360 players)

3) Alex will periodically post up a leaderboard of the top Paranormal scores during the course of the contest so people can know where they stand. The top five scores will be posted on this thread, on the Google + page and on Twitter.

4) When the ball drops at Times Square in New York City Eastern time, Alex will check the weekly high scores of the players who are in the contest.

5) The highest score wins the code for Vengeance and Virtue!

So have fun listening to the interview (should post soon) and get cracking on Paranormal! There's time to get some practice in before you have to start playing for real!

[Juriel]

I am there like Sadako in snuff flicks!

[Juriel]

Okay, you know me, I like to establish dominance early on. Consider the gauntlet thrown down!

[Mollarom]

The gauntlet is THROWN. Juriel is outta the gate with an incredible 164 million points! HOWEVER, as impressive as it is, the game was not played during the duration of the contest. The contest starts on Christmas, so everyone else should hope Juriel gets a cold streak during that week!

[Juriel]

That was just the practise game.   

[StingRay]

We need to just make you an honorary host, Juriel.  That way you're not eligible to win the contests.  ;-)

[Mollarom]

Okay, it's time for an update on the high scores so far in the Way of the Game Pinball FX tournament!

#1: The Juriel - 64,803,500
#2: StingRay02 - 60,376,820
#3: NH Writer - 20,178,500
#4: Bad Karma Nine - 17,577,000

Not bad! I suspect there are players who may be holding off from playing in order to gauge the competition! Again, the winner gets a nice, shiny code for the excellent Virtue & Vice tables! Keep at it, and good luck!

[Juriel]

Whoo, at the top, by a hair's breadth!

Because I am just that annoying. 

[StingRay]

Heh, well done!

This does raise a question: are you in this for real, or just for S's & G's? If you're still on top when 2012 arrives, do you want the table pack or no?

[Mollarom]

High score update!

#1:StingRay02 - 80,205,100
#2: The Juriel - 64,803,500
#3: BackSeat Tony - 31,407,501
#4: Bad Karma Nine - 31,013,020
#5: NH Writer - 20,178,500
#6: JWOL2854 - 14,453,600
#7: vamprLich - 4,386,000

[Juriel]

I'm in this for the lulz and to get them Marvel tables!

Now it looks like I will need to go past Stingray by 1 MILLION when I get home!

[Juriel]

This table is silly.

[StingRay]

That is not beating my score by a million points, it should be said.

[Juriel]

Okay, I think my OVERKILL here is done. But when I figured I'd give the table 'just one shot' to get past Stingray, then my 1st ball hit 100 million, and I jokingly promised my girlfriend that I'd stop before I hit 500 million, and then I had to make good on that promise, I think this table has a silly design.

Easy Magna Save + way easy kickbacks make one ball last a long time, totally exacerbated by the non-activated event hole giving you 1min Ball Save/extra balls, turning this table more into an endurance run than a test of skill.

I chose to rack up points quick-ish, by activating Chupacabra, then repeating main rail + haunted mansion clearing for as long as it lasted, which could net you 30 million in one go with a little luck, but playing the table still took me an hour. Then I decided to call it quits.

(I admit, it was also a good point to stop because the game had frozen up on me on a previous effort, and I had seen a screenshot of a guy's Paranormal locking up at 550 million points, and I totally didn't want that to happen)

[Neosect]

Good god man.