![in 3d pinball in 3d pinball](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ty1l4woLKtA/maxresdefault.jpg)
It's near impossible to make out on your own what any of the flashy doodads mean or why they are flashing, although you can eventually figure it out with a lot of trial and error and judicious use of the handy table guides. However, it's obvious that these tables were designed with larger monitors in mind than the 3DS has to offer, making it more difficult up front to decipher a table. Playing in stereoscopic 3D really opens up the playing field to provide a sense of place and height, helping distinguish obstacles that otherwise appear flat in 2D. And since these tables are designed for the digital realm, Zen is able to craft obstacles and challenges that would be otherwise impossible, put to good use with friction-altering hazards, alternate areas and animated characters that help lend a certain charm and let the licenses flex their comically oversized muscles. If you can get over that hump, though, Marvel Pinball 3D plays just as well as, if not better than, any other strictly digital pin. The pace is generally faster, with the ball able to seemingly stop on a dime its "game-y" handling can certainly feel jarring for those used to getting their pinball on in a dimly lit location with a sticky floor. Unless you are a die-hard pinball purist, that is, because Zen's handling of physics is more of a "truthiness" simulation than "true." Whereas that might pose a problem for a digital adaptation of a real-world table, changing how the table may actually play in its new form, Zen has the privilege of crafting the design around how the ball handles. Despite the leap in scope there isn't a bad pin in the bunch, and as each one is packed with missions and handles like a charm it's easy to fall into the loop of "just one more game." With the promise of additional downloadable tables coming sometime this year, we already fear for our spare moments.
![in 3d pinball in 3d pinball](http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/Williams/games/revenge/media/screenshots/backglass.jpg)
There is an evident maturation in Zen's work, with the studio appearing far more daring and confident in newer tables Fantastic Four and Captain America than the somewhat more restrained feel to Iron Man and Blade.