[PlayStation 5] Williams Pinball Volume 9 Review

It’s Friday, and that means it’s the perfect time to dive into a new trio of pinball tables. Learn more in our Williams Pinball Volume 9 review!

Are you ready for a new trio of pinball tables on Pinball FX? Zen Studios is bringing Williams Pinball Volume 9 to the platform, giving us access to three outstanding classics from Williams’ pinball past: TAXI, WHO dunnit, and PIN-BOT. You can take on these tables by playing their original versions from back in the arcade days, or you can press a button and play some more modern versions that add extra lighting and graphics elements here and there, as well as 3D models that help to bring them to life. These elements are, for example, TAXI having a 3D taxi spinning around, as well as a 3D coffin for Drac; a 3D detective, a 3D camera, and a 3D train in WHO dunnit; as for PIN-BOT, you get a shiny 3D PIN-BOT model, a particle vortex, a large flying robot on the left side of the table, as well as a space probe on the bottom left corner.

TAXI is a classic pinball table from Williams that was originally released way back in 1988. For this one, you’ll be using the balls as if they were the taxi you drive around the city. You’ll have to pick up passengers to boost the multiplier and increase the overall score as you try to get your name on the leaderboard. There are five different passengers for you to pick up: Gorbie, Drac, Lola, Santa Claus, and even PIN-BOT herself! At the start, you can collect Gorbie by shooting the lane next to the right ramp, as well as PIN-BOT by completing the right drop targets. You can then aim for Drac at the catapult on the left, Lola at the center drop targets, and Santa Claus at the joyride.

Once all five passengers are in your cab, you can aim for the Jackpot at the Gorbie lane. This will be available for a limited time, and if you’re not fast enough, Lola will leave the cab and you’ll have to pick her up again. You should always try to boost the taximeter on the backglass by hitting many targets, since it will be increased by the available multiplier at the end of the round. You can lose passengers when you lose a ball, unless you manage to hit the lit Carry Passenger target so that the passengers currently in the cab are carried over to the next ball… unless, you know, you’re on your last ball and it’s game over! This is one that I played a ton way back in the day in an arcade near my home, which is why it ended up being my favorite from the three tables on offer.

Next up is WHO dunnit, a murder mystery pinball table that was released in 1995. For this one, you’ll be investigating crime scenes, gathering clues, interrogating suspects, and trying to solve the case in a noir environment inspired by the 1930s and 1940s. You’re the detective in charge of solving this case, and you will need to find who the culprit is. You’ll be able to play by choosing between Novice and Regular skill levels. If you go with the Novice option, you’ll only have one ball, but you will be guaranteed two minutes of gameplay, with the ball being saved during that timeframe. If you go with the Regular skill level, then you’ll have 3 balls to play, as you’re used to for pinball tables.

You can change the floor with shots made to the left and right sides of the elevator ramp. Collect the different prizes on offer, depending on what floor the elevator is on, by shooting the ball into the center of the elevator. For example, being in the basement will activate the multiball. If the elevator is on the 4th floor, then this will activate the slot machine. You’ll get a chance to try to accuse the different suspects. If you’re wrong and, say, the butler has an alibi, he will be removed as a potential suspect, and you’ll get a big points boost. Once you do identify the suspect, you’ll have to rush and catch the killer before it’s too late!

The last table in the group is PIN-BOT. This table was released in 1986 and is the first in a trilogy of pinball tables. You’ll be going on a journey through the Solar System as you unlock PIN· BOT’s visor and try to land the Jackpot. Once the visor is open, you can lock balls in both eye sockets to start a 2-ball multiball during which all scores are doubled, thus giving you a good chance to boost your overall score. Send a ball into one of the eye sockets, and you’ll activate a timed solar eclipse during which you can collect a massive Solar Value score bonus!

The Solar Value accumulates from ball to ball. Once the value is collected, it will be reset to its default value so that you can try to get it all over again. It will begin at 100,000 points, and every ramp shot will increase it by 50,000 points, up to a max of 5 million points! On top of that, a successful ramp shot will send the ball into the Space Nymph playing field, where it can roll through in different ways. Want to increase your score with every ball you shoot into play? Then make sure that you hit it with the plunger just right so that it goes into the middle hole of the vortex ramp for a skill shot!

And now… it’s trophy time! Williams Pinball Volume 9 is part of the Additional Tables #3 DLC trophy list, and since it includes 3 tables, that means we’re getting 3 new trophies for our collection. The trophies are Tip-Top Driver, which asks that you complete CAB and raise the Jackpot at least 3 times on the Taxi table; Mastermind, for which you must solve every case in a single game on the WHO dunnit table; and Now I see you!, for which you’ll need to lock balls and start Multiball 3 times on the PIN·BOT table in a single game. Each of these trophies is a Bronze, which is what we’ve come to expect from new tables that have trophy support.

The Williams Pinball Volume 9 set gives us access to three outstanding classics from Williams’ pinball past: TAXI, WHO dunnit, and PIN-BOT. You can take on these tables by playing their original versions from back in the arcade days, or you can press a button and play some more modern versions that add extra lighting and graphics elements here and there, as well as 3D models that help to bring them to life. These elements are, for example, TAXI having a 3D taxi spinning around, as well as a 3D coffin for Drac; a 3D detective, a 3D camera, and a 3D train in WHO dunnit; as for PIN-BOT, you get a shiny 3D PIN-BOT model, a particle vortex, a large flying robot on the left side of the table, as well as a space probe on the bottom left corner. Williams Pinball Volume 9 is available as a Cross-Buy DLC pack, so your $14.99 will allow you to download the three aforementioned pinball tables for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of Pinball FX.

Disclaimer
This Williams Pinball Volume 8 review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Zen Studios.