I know this is all old news to a lot of you but please indulge an excitable bloke who's played some famous pinball machines for the first time.
First of all let me say a massive thank you to Neil who allowed me to gatecrash his house at tea time, in order to play some pinball. In short I have some purchase decisions to make and needed to play some of the newer releases and get some advice.
Possibly I've come away with more questions than answers but I've certainly learnt a great deal. I arrived with some preconceived ideas about what I'd like and what I wouldn't, many of those preconceptions have been squished.
Jurassic Park:
Well I got that one wrong. . . it's excellent and a real contender. Great rules, some lovely shots and of course a very good theme. If ever there was an example of needing to play a game without distraction and for more than 5 mins this is it. The first time I played it was at Chief and as nice as it was I had a fleeting game and was looking after my son. I'm a relative newbie when it comes to owning a machine but for anyone considering their first purchase (I've noticed a few recently) It's incredibly important to see if you'll gel with a theme or layout before committing to any serious outlay.
Elvira:
Me: "Mate, I'm on limited time and for some reason don't like the look of this. "
Neil: "Seriously, it's great, you'll love it. Set-up a 2 player game."
Well suffice to say that Neil was correct and I was completely unprepared for how good this game was. Maybe I've missed it but I've not seen it discussed and awful lot on here but the game just seemed to make sense. The shots were all in the right places, it looked great and there was a Doris with enormous knockers on the backbox. On initial inspection there didn't seem an awful lot to shoot for but it had plenty to do and a real fast pace.
It was so good I almost ordered one tonight
.
Deadpool:
Something I've played previously for 30 mins so I had a bit of a head-start. It's such a good game, full of fun and very playable. I've actually come to the conclusion that despite the personal preferences we are very lucky with these modern pinballs. Some might prefer Guardians, or Deadpool and I myself have not been impressed with Star Wars following a £2 game
. The truth is that these machines are excellent beautifully polished mechanical marvels. Whichever one you may have you're privileged.
Iron Maiden:
My second go and it's an impressive piece of engineering. I have a feeling I'd get frustrated with the left ramp shot through the pop bumpers but then again I'm crap. I'm sure a decent player gets a lot of fun out of this. Every inch a modern pinball.
Walking Dead:
I can really see the attraction with this. It's a very naughty toy with short game time but I think it would probably make you take more care with shots. It was a bit like climbing sheer rock face with no rope where each and every finger grip and maneuver must be treated with great care otherwise you're mincemeat. Ironically Neil has these pins set-up steeper than the north face of Everest so perhaps ropes and chalk would have been useful kit.
Star Trek:
Again, I've played this before and I wasn't wrong the first time. I've not seen a more impressive machine under the glass with the playfield light show and animated spaceship all adding to the drama. The lighting is amazing and the shots are as good as it gets in terms of ramps and the rhythm of the game. Very fast but very rewarding.
It's off my list because I'm borrowing Spiderman for a while but I'll own this game at some point. If I were to put a non-player on a game for the first time to try and get them into the hobby this would be my choice. Outstanding.
Monster Bash Remake:
I'd never played MB before and this was more of the same from CGC (I'd played MM & AFM previously). Stunning piece of work and a great game which is easy to understand. Not for me in a 3 game collection but I can see the appeal massively.
To conclude . . . . . I had a lot of fun
Aside from that I have a decision to make. But TWD, JP2 & Elvira are right at the top of the list and I have clearly been too quick to judge Turtles without having seen or played it. It may or may not stay as the number one game in the charts but whoever owns one will have a lovely bit of kit on their hands.
First of all let me say a massive thank you to Neil who allowed me to gatecrash his house at tea time, in order to play some pinball. In short I have some purchase decisions to make and needed to play some of the newer releases and get some advice.
Possibly I've come away with more questions than answers but I've certainly learnt a great deal. I arrived with some preconceived ideas about what I'd like and what I wouldn't, many of those preconceptions have been squished.
Jurassic Park:
Well I got that one wrong. . . it's excellent and a real contender. Great rules, some lovely shots and of course a very good theme. If ever there was an example of needing to play a game without distraction and for more than 5 mins this is it. The first time I played it was at Chief and as nice as it was I had a fleeting game and was looking after my son. I'm a relative newbie when it comes to owning a machine but for anyone considering their first purchase (I've noticed a few recently) It's incredibly important to see if you'll gel with a theme or layout before committing to any serious outlay.
Elvira:
Me: "Mate, I'm on limited time and for some reason don't like the look of this. "
Neil: "Seriously, it's great, you'll love it. Set-up a 2 player game."
Well suffice to say that Neil was correct and I was completely unprepared for how good this game was. Maybe I've missed it but I've not seen it discussed and awful lot on here but the game just seemed to make sense. The shots were all in the right places, it looked great and there was a Doris with enormous knockers on the backbox. On initial inspection there didn't seem an awful lot to shoot for but it had plenty to do and a real fast pace.
It was so good I almost ordered one tonight
.Deadpool:
Something I've played previously for 30 mins so I had a bit of a head-start. It's such a good game, full of fun and very playable. I've actually come to the conclusion that despite the personal preferences we are very lucky with these modern pinballs. Some might prefer Guardians, or Deadpool and I myself have not been impressed with Star Wars following a £2 game
. The truth is that these machines are excellent beautifully polished mechanical marvels. Whichever one you may have you're privileged. Iron Maiden:
My second go and it's an impressive piece of engineering. I have a feeling I'd get frustrated with the left ramp shot through the pop bumpers but then again I'm crap. I'm sure a decent player gets a lot of fun out of this. Every inch a modern pinball.
Walking Dead:
I can really see the attraction with this. It's a very naughty toy with short game time but I think it would probably make you take more care with shots. It was a bit like climbing sheer rock face with no rope where each and every finger grip and maneuver must be treated with great care otherwise you're mincemeat. Ironically Neil has these pins set-up steeper than the north face of Everest so perhaps ropes and chalk would have been useful kit.
Star Trek:
Again, I've played this before and I wasn't wrong the first time. I've not seen a more impressive machine under the glass with the playfield light show and animated spaceship all adding to the drama. The lighting is amazing and the shots are as good as it gets in terms of ramps and the rhythm of the game. Very fast but very rewarding.
It's off my list because I'm borrowing Spiderman for a while but I'll own this game at some point. If I were to put a non-player on a game for the first time to try and get them into the hobby this would be my choice. Outstanding.
Monster Bash Remake:
I'd never played MB before and this was more of the same from CGC (I'd played MM & AFM previously). Stunning piece of work and a great game which is easy to understand. Not for me in a 3 game collection but I can see the appeal massively.
To conclude . . . . . I had a lot of fun
Aside from that I have a decision to make. But TWD, JP2 & Elvira are right at the top of the list and I have clearly been too quick to judge Turtles without having seen or played it. It may or may not stay as the number one game in the charts but whoever owns one will have a lovely bit of kit on their hands.
