Are you down with RPG?

Epic Quest embarks on a mission to combine pinball with some elements of a role playing game, along with a grain of salt (a.k.a. humor). Several targets in the table will award random items once certain conditions have been met. These items come in the form of gear for your questing knight and include weapons, armor, shields and helmets with various stat adjustments. As you play and defeat monsters and build your high-score, you are also earning experience points (XP) just like an RPG. Normally in pinball, you lose everything and have to start from scratch with every new game. This is where Epic Quest differs from the rest of the Pinball FX 2 library, as you retain your special items and your character level from round to round. This makes it less frustrating when you drain your last ball, even though you are starting from scratch score wise on the next game.


Table 101

While the quest for more loot may be epic, the table layout is more on the humble side with only two ramps and a small elevated playfield that is easy to master. There are a multitude of enemies to vanquish but they all use the same mechanic to dispatch, namely spamming the sword ramp or hitting the “smash” knock-back target over and over. The table art and toys are a bit whimsical, definitely more goofy than epic. Thinking about it, the THOR table feels more like an epic quest, with it’s clearly delineated environs and the animated dragon. If Zen Studios had gone super serious with the table design, it would take away from the humor.


InQuest

Epic Quest is a nice variation on standard pinball that doesn’t go quite far enough. Collecting items for your knight can be addicting, however the stat mods are not easily noticeable during play, so the payoff boils down to visual stimulation and the knowledge that things are better. The simplicity of the table lends itself to new players, as there are few distractions or obscure goals. Despite the simple nature of the table, knowing that your equipment and experience carries over to the next game helps maintain that “one more game” mentality that drives us toward new high scores.


Pros:
+Humor
+Persistent items

Cons:
-Simple layout
-Repetitive missions

Kudos to Zen Studios for trying something new, as innovation is important to keeping games entertaining. On a scale from 1 to Epic, Epic Quest scores a 7.25/10, however.

A review copy was used to evaluate the game.

Very nice. This game has interested me for a while now, but I never saw enough good reviews to seriously consider the purchase. Perhaps I will now. I had no idea there was someone else here who went by the name of Mantis. o_o

At 3$ this game is very nice. Looks cool.

It seems cool but I won't buy it most likely