Ever since I’ve been young I enjoyed playing pinball, both physical ones and virtual ones on PC and consoles.

One of the in my opinion better pinball games is Pinball FX (2) / Zen Pinball (2). At first these games were only available on consoles. Afterwards they also became available for Mac, smartphones and tablets. And with the release of Windows 8 it was also for PC/Windows tablet through the Windows 8 store. Now it is also available for PC gamers without Windows 8 through Steam with the free table called Sorcerer’s Lair:

Additional tables cost about 3 euros from the Dutch Steam store, but prices may vary depending on where you’re from and which platform you’re using.

I personally prefer Pinball FX2 on steam instead over the Windows 8 store version because:

• Steam is less platform dependent. For games you bought on steam if they have versions for Mac, Linux, Windows you’ll often be able to play it on these platforms without having to buy it again. Also the Windows store is relatively new, so it is unsure how long it will be supported.
• Steam often has sales which might allow buying additional tables cheaper.
• I already have a lot of games on steam, so it is easier to have all my games in one library.
• With steam it is easier to play your games on other systems. You only have to install steam, logon with your own account and download the game.

Even though Pinball FX is a great game, there are still some things I’d like to see improved:

• Currently you have to buy the pinball table over and over again for each platform you want to play on.
• Being able to play all tables on all platforms. Now some tables are simply not available on some platforms.
• Being able to have a consolidated view of friends and their high scores independent of the platform.
• Have achievements be applied on all platforms you use. By example Xbox Live achievements, PS3 trophies and Steam achievements.

I hope you enjoy the game. If you’re interested to see a compilation of available pinball tables on all platforms, take a look at this video: