This is really the only component that isn't exactly shared by all of
Zen Pinball's downloadable tables. To be honest, I was expecting another game-themed table. Based on the trend Zen Studios seemed to be following, I predicted a table based on
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,
God of War III, or
inFAMOUS. I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if they eventually decide to go down any of those paths, but here, I was surprised. When I got my review code for
Zen Pinball: Earth Defense, my mind immediately jumped to the cult classic
Earth Defense Force 2017. Well, there aren't any giant ants on this table, but the table is certainly loaded with Japanese-style quirkiness.
Oh noes, aliens! Yep, Zen Pinball has taken that ages-old B-movie cliché and given it the Tommy treatment. The aliens themselves look really, really stupid. It's not a sign of bad artistic design; rather, it's a sign of reverence for the subject matter, which has been heavily (and deservedly) lampooned over the years. Did I mention that the aliens also happen to be ROBOTS?
Zen Pinball is all about the details, and Earth Defense is full of them. First off, I dare you not to laugh when you see the tagline at the center of the table. The giant robot alien that looms over the table has a red dot matrix face that takes many forms, from an angry face to a snide face to... a game of tic-tac-toe. When your ball is saved, the alien fires the ball out of his cannon, giving the little metallic sphere a bright magenta hue for a few seconds. But in all honesty, they had me at "hostile robot aliens from the deep reaches of space in a pinball game."
I don't really have anything to say about the sound, other than the fact that it's on par with that of the other tables. Read my original review of Zen Pinball for a full explanation. If you want the short version, all you need to know is that the game sounds like pinball, and you'll hear everything you'd expect to hear at the arcade.
