With The Pinball Arcade seemingly abandoned due to several different circumstances, it falls on Zen Studios and Pinball FX2 to keep providing quality tables for pinball fans on the Xbox 360. To that end, a large number of the tables that Zen has developed are quite solid in design. It's appreciated since it tends to dwell on licensed properties nowadays instead of original creations. After making tables for mouthy mercenaries and galaxy heroes recently, the development team has decided to go after the zombie crowd with The Walking Dead.

Interestingly enough, the team didn't choose to tackle the comics or the hit AMC TV show, so you'll be disappointed if you want to see characters like Daryl, Michonne and Rick. Instead, the title focuses on the episodic game by Telltale Games, particularly the first season, so expect lots of scenarios dealing with Clementine, Lee Everett and the rest of the game's cast.

To that end, the presentation adheres to the aesthetics of the adventure game quite well. The table is surrounded by many of the significant locales, from Clementine's house to the barricaded hotel. The bottom of the table also features iron doorways that threaten to burst every few seconds to remind you that the undead are just beyond those doors. Everything is bathed in the same grimy cel-shading as the game, so it looks almost like what Telltale Games would've done had it ventured to make the pinball game on its own. Meanwhile, the title features all of the original voice actors reprising their roles with lines from the adventure game and providing some new lines for the pinball game. The result is possibly the most authentic licensed experience to date for Zen Studios.

The table design is interesting, if a tad busy. The lower half of the table is pretty plain, with the basic two flippers on the bottom, the standard side bumpers that flank either side above the flippers, and pathways that lead toward the flippers and the sides. The number of pathways on the left outnumber the ones on the right, but somehow, it doesn't feel unbalanced. The upper half of the table is busier, with five lanes spread evenly over the table and three ramps that cover the middle and right sides of the table. The middle lane has a character bumper in the form of a walker coming out of the hatch, and taking him down exposes a sewer grate of walker hands that send the ball back to the launch point. Not much occurs in the right side except for the spinner, but the left side features a small alternate table with switched flippers all aiming for zombie head targets. Above the whole table are several rails that either lead to the pathways on the lower half of the table or the bumpers on the upper left side.

The table follows the philosophy of newer tables in that it presents the players with lots of special events for bonus points. Getting the ball from the initial launch to the bell tower on the farthest right ramp in five seconds nets you a generous bonus. Each of the pathways contains triggers to bring up special events, like eliminating a horde of walkers or trying to get up ramps and pathways without hitting a zombie ball that sends you back to the launch area. Letting the ball fall to the pathways at the lower half of the table does the same thing, and there's even a sequence you can trigger where you enter a sniper mode controlled by flipper and launch buttons alone to net a cool two million points if you don't miss a target. Even before you get to the story-specific missions, the table is busy with all kinds of scoring events.

The story-specific missions are of interest to fans of the adventure game, since they are from specific spots in each of the first season's episodes. Spoilers abound if you haven't played any of the episodes, as each of the story points highlights one of the big choices in each of the games. Unlike the game proper, the choices you make don't have a lasting outcome on the story, but they give you several different objectives, and since you can replay episodes multiple times in one playthrough, you have a number of opportunities to score lots of points before you need to repeat missions.

There are some things in the table that could have been done better, especially since they only make the game unintentionally harder to play. Whenever you engage in one of the important choices pertaining to the current episode, the game immediately drops the ball into the short ramp on the left side of the playfield — just as the camera moves away from the close-up of Lee and Clem. Unless you know that this is going to happen ahead of time, you won't have time to react to the drop, and you'll get a cheap death for your troubles.

During some of the ramp-activated events, the playfield darkens to simulate a nighttime scene. The effect is nice, especially since it emphasizes the lighted arrows that indicate where the ball should be aimed, but it also covers up some of the important elements, like the zombies during the swarm event. The Lee and Clem models at the bottom of the screen dart across to meet each other, and a random zombie shambles across the bottom to encounter the duo. When this happens, you temporarily lose sight of your flippers while the ball is still in play, so what should've been a nice flourish becomes a distraction at the wrong moment.

Finally, just like the Guardians of the Galaxy table, there are no Achievements to be had from this table. Looking at the full list of Achievements, the game may have hit the allotted number at 100, so those looking for more Achievements from future tables can assume that there won't be any more.

Despite those issues, The Walking Dead remains a pretty good table for both pinball fans and fans of the game series. The layout is good, and the multiple high score opportunities are great fodder for score enthusiasts. With an authentic presentation to boot, this is a great table to have in your collection.

Score: 8.0/10