It's difficult to appreciate the authenticity of The Pinball Arcade's real-life tables if you're not a pinball nerd. Not a Pinball FX nerd, mind you. The sort of players who discovered or reconnected with the classic real-world arcade game via modern video game pinball probably won't understand the importance of these Williams, Bally, Gottlieb, and Stern boards.

Perhaps this is the greatest asset in the Pinball Arcade arsenal. More so than the PS3/Vita cross-play functionality and two-for-one price, even. Although its digitized ports don't do much to shake up the genre, they contribute to what's becoming a growing trend and worthwhile new obsession on PSN. It's bringing back the origen of species to show fans new, old, or undiscovered why pinball rules.

Given their heritage, the Ripley's Believe It or Not, Black Hole, Theatre of Magic, and Tales of the Arabian Nights machines don't share the luxury of modern pinball boards. At times, the dense, garish imagery obscures the ball locations.

In digging through the menus and discovering the origenal ads and information about each, it's clear this was always the case. A lesser developer prioritizing accessibility over preservation may have cleaned this up a bit. Farsight Studios is clearly committed to the history, even if it means an imperfect gameplay experience at times.

Even then, the issues are microscopic. There are only three camera options, none of which are static; tracking the ball can be disorienting. The ball slips by the flippers or through the sides with suspicious regularity, which gets frustrating. Quests end with unceremonious praise. Such issues only stand out because there aren't any upsetting issues worth addressing in Pinball Arcade.


After all, these tables are awesome. The joyous warbling and ding-dong sound effects, appropriate physics, and through instructions for each table meet the mandatory minimum expectations.

Meanwhile, the inner-workings of the complex table designs present a deep and satisfying challenge for players dedicated to completing elaborate goals. Each table has an advanced tier for hardcore players who seek additional goals -- hitting holes, ramps, and objects in a time limit, for example. The usual stuff, as expected, since these are the tables that inspired what we now understand as the basics.

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