Goombd Played! - Pinball FX2 Vengeance and Virtue DLC

I haven't been making much of a secret how much I enjoy Pinball FX2. Even though I completely suck at pinball, this is one of my favorite games of 2011. So it comes as no surprise that its latest piece of DLC, dubbed Vengeance and Virtue, is such a ringer.

Following in the footsteps of previous Marvel Pinball releases, Vengeance and Virtue features Marvel Comics themed tables for you to play in Pinball FX2, each with its own unique hero motif and gameplay style. This time, we get to bump some pins with Ghost Rider, the X-Men, Thor and... Moon Knight. The first three choices are easily solid picks in the Marvel Comics pantheon of heroes, but Moon Knight? You're probably scratching your head over this just as I did, right?


Well, once you start playing, you'll start loving this table, just as I did. Moon Knight is a fairly obscure character for any casual comic reader but his table is anything but. In fact, it's probably the best one out of the bunch. Not only did it get an unique intro 'cutscene' but it also sports some of the fastest designs out of all Pinball FX2 tables. It makes for some crazy high scores and it's an easy table to pick up in terms of doing missions, too. A very varied mission selection also makes this table a blast. Midnight Man, you're absolutely insane!

The other tables in Vengeance and Virtue are pretty good too. Thor follows the more contained and more straight forward style seen in the core Pinball FX2 tables, with steep ramps that require a lot of speed and less careful aiming. In terms of presentation, it's extremely flashy but in terms of actual pinball, it's probably the least exciting out of the new tables.

Professor Xavier's crew, the X-Men, are given their own table and it's much like the previously released Fantastic Four level. Villains show up in just about every corner to hinder your progress. For instance, Magneto uses his trademark powers to slow your ball down and Blob shields certain ramps with his... uh... glut. Out of the new tables, this is probably the most visually busy and distracting one, but it still packs a punch.

Ghost Rider's trip to a hellish carnival is easily Vengeance and Virtue's most unique table. Heck, it features a freaking shotgun that is often used during gameplay and that's a big plus in my pinball book. In terms of crazy ramps, this table has plenty to offer right out of the launcher, with a very different way of scoring a skill shot that mimics old carnival ball toss games with the ball you're putting into play. The motorcycle dare devil nature of the Ghost Rider character is also explored in the lane and ramp design, that provide fast turns and some crazy jumps.

If you've been enjoying what Zen Studios has been dealing out in terms of Pinball FX2 DLC, you'll find a lot to like in Vengeance and Virtue. They explored the darker corners of Marvel Comics and came out with some of my favorite tables. If you're new to Pinball FX2, this is one of the best DLCs so far and a great chance to start playing.

Now I want to read up on Moon Knight! Who would've thunk he'd make such a great theme for pinball? |7

Goombd Played! - Akimi Village

It's the PlayStation 3's time to start building! Akimi Village was released a while ago and if you're not familiar with the name, think of Keflings. Still not ringing a bell? NinjaBee's Xbox Live Arcade franchise started out with one of the first games to use the dreaded Xbox avatars, A Kingdom for Keflings. Last year, we got to mess around with its sequel, A World of Keflings, which carried over all of the best from the resource gathering and building world had to offer.

Akimi Village is pretty much the same type of game. After choosing your character, whether it's a boy or a girl, you're given the task of aiding a race of 'very' little people with the rebuild and cleaning of their world. There's a group of core materials you have to start out harvesting and from there, a handful of blueprints to build from. Each building carries an unique function. Some help you generate more villagers to help with the gathering of these materials, while others, for instance, help turn stored items into other types of building blocks that you'll use for different constructions.


Just like the 'Keflings games, your goal in Akimi is to build every single blueprint. There's no particular challenge to this, in the 'challenge' sense of what games have come to accustom us to watch out for. You're never put in any danger nor will you have to fight any enemies. Building and harvesting are the only goals, and even though they might seem simple and crude at first, they're not.

This is a ridiculously busy game. You won't feel like you're aimlessly playing it at any point thanks to a very well paced style of gameplay. There's always a new goal to strive for and just like 'Keflings, you're always treated to some very funny writing and an extremely colorful visual presentation.


Sadly, though, some of the gameplay improvements introduced in A World of Keflings did not carry over to Akimi. You're not given the option to move buildings that you construct nor are you able to guide workers into helping you complete blueprints on their own. The interface is also a little hard to figure out, due to small and sometimes similar looking icons that are confusing to pick out from.

Regardless of some of these issues, if you're in the hunt for an easy going game that doesn't treat you like a 6 month old toddler but isn't as complex as a military strategy simulator, Akimi Village might just suit you. It's a fun download that should take you about nine hours to get through and after you're done saving a world, you can take your gathered resources and help other players online save their own, if you so wish. |7