Ratings
An overview of the latest ratings comments placed on the Pinside.
A game needs to have at least 15 votes from approved raters to appear in the Top 100.
An overview of the latest ratings comments placed on the Pinside.
A game needs to have at least 15 votes from approved raters to appear in the Top 100.
Do you want to know more about how the Pinside Top 100 works? Check out the "Top 100 FAQ". Do you want to participate in the ratings? Sign up for a Pinside account and read "How to rate a machine" .
There are 13593 rating comments. Currently showing results page 8 of 544.
“Recently acquired a fully shopped out with all LED and even custom LED's on the upper playfield machine. I really like the game, the 'other aspects' category is where the game really shines. Sure, it's not the latest game with ultra deep rule sets, DMD animations, and ubertoy distribution, but what it does deliver on is quality of game play, just a damn fun game to play. It's one of those 'I can do better, just give me one more game' and before you know it it's 2am. It is a shooters game for sure, with punishing outlanes.
Glad I was in the right place at the right time to score this machine, highly under-rated in my opinion.”
“I love this game. It's fun. The video game part isn't great, and the pinball part isn't really that good at all, but somehow, when you put them together, it's great fun.”
“I have been lucky enough to play the green Hulk version of this deck at the 1up and the Lakewood Grill in Denver. Now that I have had the chance to play this "lesser" version of this game... The LE/Premium version of this game is definitely the way to go.
The Pros:
Finished (or close to) software feels SOOOO nice on a new game. The PF is not the standard Fan-Man(tm) layout we have come to expect from Mr. Gomez. First game by Mr. Gomez that has not just 1, but 2 banks of drop targets. What took so long George? I really like the shifted ramp/orbit layout. The Nick Fury shot requires sniper skill. Hawkeye is my favorite shot in the game by far. Running multiple modes at once makes stackability of modes plus multiball a great way to play. I like the dots on this table's DMD.
The Cons:
This spinner is supposed to... spin, right? The Hulk toy is a ball trap/PITA even when it works! The Black Widow ramp is a tough shot that "sometimes" drops the ball into the HULK saucer. Don't get me started on the Hulk lock saucer that is only going to wear down and become even less reliable of a shot from the black widow ramp drop shot than it is already. Crappy shots/toys in the middle of this table make for a less than stellar game.
The Takeaway:
A solidly themed game that is fun to play and should swallow many quarters on location. Alright for the players, non-offensive for the girlfriends and great for the kids. This version of the game is not as good as the Premium/LE by a mile. That would make this a decent game, not a great game, if you have to do Avengers pinball, get the upgrade, (especially if you are spending that much money on the standard version of the game to begin with...) you'll be glad you did.
HULK MAKE POOPIES JACKPOOT!”
“Played the shadow for two hours while waiting for another pin to get packed and loaded up. Don't like the gold hardware and the game just feels dated. The switching arrows is cool, but got old. The theme is a bit lame, never care to play it again. Was really looking forward to playing shadow, but it left me flat.”
“One Word ... DEEP!
I was smart when I first brought in Road Show. I kept it at 3 balls ... and turned the buy-in "off".
The end result. My friends are tripping over themselves to try to get to the west coast. Sure we play the first few modes a bunch ... but they never grow old. And man is it a challenge to get all the way across. And so what if we do? Try to get there again in your lifetime to have a chance at one of the other 2 west coast cities.
There are SOOOOO MANY Modes in this game. They are all fun and most of them are hysterical! "Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah"
Everyone wants a Funhouse ... but this is Funhouse on steroids! Way better! (Not to take anything away from Funhouse)
And get over it country music haters. I am certainly not a country music fan ... but that Multiball song is infectious. Own the game and play it a few times. All my friends can't help but wiggle their asses and dance a bit every time they hear "Every Little Thing I Do Without You ..."
Come on guys ... Carleen Carter is hot!”
“There really should be a clean slate for this machine with the AWESOME new 20th Anniversary Rom.
SWDE was always a fun game (ah ... memories of college procrastination) ... but it was never the best home or tournament option out there. Oh ... silly ... lopsided scoring up the center ramp ...
Well, despite that, I picked one up a few years ago. I'm smart, so I put the back legs up as far as they would go ... and presto ... the center ramp had instant Risk/Reward factor. I also aligned the flippers so that the shot up the middle wasn't a gimme. Guess what? It worked.
While forum groupies were bashing the game for unbalanced scoring ... my friends were all treating themselves to a lesson in pinball. If they didn't get all the way up the ramp ... too bad ... drain SDTM (Boo haa haa haa)
I also set the game to very hard. No Moon freebies! Gotta earn that TRi-BALL! EARN IT I SAY!
In walks new Rom ... and BOOM! The rest of the world gets to experience what I had simulated on my machine with leveling and menu adjustments.
Well ... that ... and an awesome Han Solo "Freeze" (ball save) ... and a bonus multiplier that is capped at 20M instead of 1M ... and a valuable Sarlac Pit ... and more voice calls ... and big points for the most exciting shot in pinball THE DEATH STAR DOUBLE JACKPOT!!!! ... and much much more!
WOW WOW WOW
I am so glad I hung onto this game. I almost sold it 3 months before the new Rom came out. What a difference a code makes. I can't believe how many requests I have gotten to sell.
No way ... not now. Will it become a keeper?
P.S. I also just tested it with the external sub I picked up for my STTNG. Holy Crap. I might need to get another sub. SWDE sounds awesome with one. Every hit on the Death Star Door is AWESOME! Don't get me started on Tri-Ball!”
“Went to the Pinball Wizard Arcade in Pelham to try out 100+ machines. Came out with 3 favorites.
#1: TOTAN
#2: STTNG
#3: Champion Pub
TOTANs have gotten out of my range ... but I was able to scrape up enough for an STTNG. Boy I am happy I did. (and also eventually got a CP ... man this hobby is evil)
It does help that I have become a fan of the series in recent past. But wow! All the original cast doing voices! So deep! They captured the theme SOOOO WELL!
Excellent use of the canons. I thought I would get tired of the gimmick. I did on T2. But no! There is just something cool about the two of them. Cooler than ACDC! (Not that I wouldn't love an ACDC)
The color DMD was worth every penny. LEDs make it gorgeous. Everyone comments on how cool my STTNG looks!
Just added an external sub. WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH! Can you say Warp 9.x??? Just turn your crossover way down to block out a lot of mid bass frequencies from the sub. There is a lot of bass in the soundtrack. You just want the sub to kick in on ship damage and WARP!!!”
“This ... ladies and gentlemen ... IS THE PLAYERS GAME!!!
If you are here looking the game up ... it is for good reason. Either you heard about it through the grapevine, or you were lucky enough to play one in well maintained condition. Everything you heard or felt ... is true!
It's a diamond in the rough.
It's FAAAAAAASSSSSSSTTTTTTT!
I set mine up kinda steep. She is a B#%*@!
The music is kinda hokey ... but you get used to it. It totally grew on me. Actually, you spend so much time concentrating while playing that you hardly notice anything else.
With an external sub ... man does that Turbo sound nice. The spinning race car gives off a higher frequency ... so no bonus from the sub there.
The single most underrated game. Period.”
“The sole reason my life has become pinball!
Many a lunch hour I would escape the H.S. caf to hit this machine up at the local mall.
This is my first love. And it will be a huge part of my life forever.
BEST MUSIC IN A PIN HANDS DOWN!
Vicious lower playfield. One of the toughest Multiball Jackpots to achieve!
For those that think this is only a right flipper game ... adjust the alignment of the lower flipper so you can't catch the ball all the time (and to make the left ramp shot harder. Oh, and I shoot the spin lane 40% of the time to get back up to the top. (With the left flipper). Also Double knoghts challenge is valuable. Once again, you will need the left flipper to land that one.
R-A-N-S-O-M = War Cry!”
“Flow ... flow ... flow ....
When you get into the zone on this machine ... the combos keep coming. You feel like a pinball hero!
Awesome sound. It's as if Ann Wilson (of Heart) is talking to me while I play. "Shoot for the trunk." Now I just need those dudes from Weird Science to bring that smokey-voiced vixen on the back glass to life.
Yes, many people go for the Multi-ball on this one, but there are still great points to be had all over the playfield. Midnight Madness doesn't happen often ... and it rocks!
Very difficult to start all of the Illusions in a 3 ball game. I love a challenge.”
“What an interesting relationship I have had with this machine.
First ... I went to Pelham NH to the Pinball Wizard Arcade with 3 buddies ... and out of more than 100 machines that we played (and kinda ranked for fun) ... Champion Pub was the only machine that ended up in all of our top 3 machine choices. Hey, we needed something to talk about in the car on the road trip back. This means it held it's own in the company of TOM, TOTAN, MM, CV, STTNG, all the new Sterns, etc ...
Then ... I came across one and nabbed it up. (They are rare)
Got worried by some reviews that I would get tired of possible repetitive play.
Are you kidding? Repetitive? No way. It is always a rush to win 1 fight. Win your second and you start to think "this is the game I am going to be Pub Champ." Win the 3rd fight and your palms start to get sweaty. 4th fight = you feel invincible. My friends and I still haven't won 5 fights. And man do we wanna. Champion Pub is one of those games that keeps you coming back for more.
And it teases you. Taunts you. Dares you. Thumbs it's nose at you. The Hilarious Call-outs never grow old. In fact, I catch my friends quoting it all the time in regular conversation. It is like a cult classic. Monty Python-esque?
Oh ... and the people that complain about the jump rope being a gimme. Just pitch the machine in the back to make everything a little harder and faster ... and walla ... since I've owned the game NOBODY has gotten better than 21 on my machine. Average is like 12.
The toys are brilliant! And I especially like the risk reward factor of the two jab scoops. It actually simulates the feeling of going for a harder (but deadlier) punch combination. (Think Punch Out!)
Finally, it is a low scoring game that is excellent for tournament play save for one feature. The random door awards. If you get Spitting Gallery ... you unfairly get access to UNEARNED big points. However, you can easily stop this by enabling tournament mode in the adjustments. Then, the only way to light spitting gallery is to win a fight! To the victor go the spoils!”
“So many Multi-Ball modes. But they are not all given to you like in some more recent Stern games. You have to earn them. Play with the adjustments (I like to set my games hard for home use) ... and man you really have to earn them.
Tried the home Roms. Meh ... prefered the regular ones. Like the more random rolling and moving around the board.
Tons to shoot for. The voice they chose to play Mr. Monopoly is perfect ... so great call-outs. Some fun mode stacking.
Scoring is low compared to most modern games. I like it. Once again, you have to EARN IT! Great for tournament play.
A lot of people really dig the In-Your-Face railroad ramp. I am not as ga-ga over it ... but it is cool. You do have to be on your toes, as the ball comes right back at you pretty fast (but not as fast as the U-Turn on my slick BK2K!
Overall, an overlooked and vastly underrated game ... possibly because the theme. No sexy babes on this one. Still, a great tip of the hat to a classic board game.”
“I think this is another under rated Borg gem. I think the flow is one of his best. The shots are so satisfying to hit and the ramps are just in the sweet spots.
The snagger toy can be probematic / flow breaking, but still cool.
I really love the T-rex in the egg.
The art package is top class and the sound is solid.
I would be happy to drop a pound into this anywhere i see it.”
“Great artwork and animation, game play a little too easy for the seasoned player. Nice game overall for the gameroom!”
“I write up a full review later:
Love this game. A lot of fun for good players and new players alike. Has some great ramps that JPOP is known for. I think the theme keeps a lot of people from givng it a chance.”
“ID4 really caught me off guard. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much at first. And then came the FLOW! Properly cleaned and waxed, this machine is FAST!!!
It is a competitive players machine with emphasis on combos and some pretty hard to hit ramps.
I am no big fan of the movie ... however the music and sound effects are awesome on this one. I get the tunes stuck in my head even after one game. And they don't get annoying.
The main Multi-Ball forces you to make almost every major shot in the the game to get big points. (Did I mention those tight ramps are a nice challenge). They also implement Add-A-Ball really well too ... and the "Go,Go,Go,Go!" call-out on ball-adds gets me excited every time.
It might not have the deepest ruleset ... but it more than makes up for it with stellar flow, intense techno score, and intelligent scoring. Also a good candidate for LEDs. Most sci-fi games are.”
“Let me start by saying that I am generally not a Stern fan. I really like LOTR, SM and AC/DC, but I think a lot of their games come off as flimsy and uninspired. I own games from Gottlieb, B/W, DE and even Alvin G, but I have never bought a Stern. As far as Metallica, like many, I listened to them a lot in their glory days, but then they became kind of irrelevant. I do really like games with darker themes, horror, sci-fi etc. though.
An arcade near me buys every new Stern game and got in a Metallica pro early in the run. I was immediately impressed with the game not just with the gameplay, but with the quality. Steel ramps & returns, inline drop targets, a big animated toy, strobe lights and lots of other unique features. Not to mention this is the first game in over a decade to have custom hand drawn artwork on the playfield, which is really slick with lots of little details. It also has humor, which is rare for a Stern, and there's even a cow easter egg.
I played the game for about 3 weeks before deciding I was going to try to buy one of these. I can't speak yet on it's staying power, but I have been playing it almost constantly since getting it. The game is a huge rush with four main multiballs which are stackable with each other as well as with the few modes. They really could use some more modes, which will likely come in an update, but I will reserve giving high marks here until the code is more complete.”
“JD was the first widebody in my collection. And while it’s already moved on now (traded for NBA Fastbreak) I hope i get another widebody in the collection soon or later. Allthough the difference in size might not be that big, as far as playing experience goes, it really shows the extra space. JD is no exception, the playfield is full of stuff to do.
First thing i thought when i got this was “Ow, no pop bumpers?” But after a while, i realised i didn’t miss them at all. On the contrary, i think pop bumpers would have taken out the flow of the game. And this machine has got some flow i tell you.
The gameplay is so so, it will keep you busy for a while. Getting to the endgame isnt to difficult. (I am talking factory settings here) Destroying all four judges however, is. Personally, i never got further than destroying 3 and losing the balls on the fourth. But after a while i kind of had this feeling that the pin was missing something, but it’s hard to describe what it is. I think it’s the software, rather than the hardware. I once saw an alternative rules set for JD written for that computer mod to play your own software on your pinball machine. And while i never played with that rules set, i think it’ll make a big difference on the gameplay and the durability.
Another feature worth mentioning is the supergame. It’s a totally different game where each ball starts with a mini multiball. It’s got new missions and a 6 ball multiball (when hitting all the drop targets) A feature that is much appreciated by kids or at non-competitive pinball parties.
The cabinet and the artwork. Both are one of the main reasons i wanted this pin. And thank god the pin is based on the comics rather than the crappy Stallone movie. Therefore the colours match the theme perfectly, the sideart is very nice and bright, and there’s the golden eagle to (literally) top it off. It’s a machine that really stands out. As do the sounds and the speech. 80ies hard rock tunes and Dredd’s dry speech. I love it! And the supergame begins with one of the coolest sentences in pinball history. “I’m Anita Mann...” Brilliant. :-)”
“Black Knight 2000 was released in 1989 and for the Williams System 11 (this was B) I feel it was ahead of its time.
The light affects are amazing especially if upgraded to newer LED's. Sounds are cool too and epitomize the late 80's.
Playfield is fast and unforgiving at times. It can also be a drainer but that ads to the challenge.
I don't understand what people say about it only being a right handed player. Yes, a majority of the action comes off the right lower and upper flippers but if you aren't quick with the left flipper as a counter you're dead in the water.
Will this pin leave my collection anytime soon? "No way!"”
“Nice fast pinball, its a keeper love when you hit the spinner at high speed and you here the sound through the speakers........great ramp shots and overall a really great game!! add high fid speakers and the sounds are amazing..........more and more I play the more I love it!”
“Could be the best super hero pinny yet, makes xmen look silly.......if you get a chance give this pinny a serious flogging!!!”
“Got a Big Hit EM Gottlieb game for Father's Day. Nice wide open playfield, due to lack of shooter lane. Good looking game with a beautiful playfield. Love the drop targets, which are fun to shoot from the flippers all the way to the top. Bumpers work great, with good action. Also like the revival of the old Gottlieb vari targets, which give a nice, satisfying feel when you hit them.
A winner I might keep for a while.”
“This is a heavily underrated pin if you ask me. Must be one of the cheapest DMD pins out there. Out here you can pick one up in nice condition for around 850 to 1000 Euros. I actually traded my average conditioned Judge Dredd for this very nice condition NBA fastbreak. And i got 150 Euros on top of the trade.
It took me some games to adapt to the basketball scoring system. But should you not like this, the latest roms have a option to set this pin to regular pin scoring system. Personally, i like this basketball styled point system, it fits the theme perfectly.
One of the first things i did was placing leds underneath every insert. And waw, does this game benefit from leds! Especially the series of inserts for the Stadium Goodies really need leds. Otherwise they hardly light up. For the GI and the backbox, i left in the regular bulbs, cause they help keeping the warm, gym and basketballfield kind of lighting.
The lightshow in general is pretty heavy on flashers, not “F14 Tomcat heavy”, but still. Some friends that came over and played NBA Fastbreak for the first time complained they were partially blinded by the flashers when they launched ball one. From ball 2 on it’s a lot less, until you start multiballs or reach the Trophy Match.
The backbox. Not the best ever, but it fits the theme perfectly. There’s a flipper built in the backbox and a light weighted ball to shoot in a hoop and rack up extra points. You really need to be good at this if you want to go for big points. You can easily gather 15 to 20 points from this feature.
Another big plus is the amount of high scores you can set. Each team has his own highscore, so 29 teams, means 29 highscores. Add a grand champion and a M.V.P. (most valuable player) and people can enter their name very easily, great for parties and kids.
I wouldn’t call this pin a sleeper, if you ask me it will never be very popular. But if you are looking for a budget DMD pinball machine with nice gameplay, fun at parties and easy to maintain, this is the one!”
“Before I owned this machine, I played this pin once, on the Belgian Pinball Championship during recreational play. And honestly, i hated it. I didn’t know where to shoot or what goals i had, and i kept hitting those two damn targets in the middle of the playfield, bouncing back the balls sdtm. Played 2 games and headed for another pin.
A little later I saw that the person i sold a bartop arcade to was selling his F14 Tomcat for more or less the same price I had asked for my bartop. So i proposed a trade. His F14 for my bartop. Why? Guess i thought the pin deserved a second chance. Besides, the cab was a little beaten up and perfect for a first attempt at cabinet restauration. Because of the few colors the cab is painted in. (mostly black, with a little of red, white and yellow) And otherwise the machine worked perfectly, so no need for technical fixing, just esthetically.
Since then, this machine really grew on me. With leds in the right places, it looks superb. And the two frigging targets in the centre of the playfield? Simple: dont shoot them, unless you have to. (eg to relight your rescue kickback)
Gameplaywise this game makes very good use of all four flippers. You really need those upper flippers to spell out TOMCAT asap, and start locking balls. And that one pop bumper on the upper playfield is very well placed,so after some training you can really put that bumper to work, and help getting all the letters of ‘TOMCAT’.
The sound. Boy does that sound slingshots you right back to the eighties! I love it! For me, this pin wouldn’t even benefit from new, high end speakers. Because the standard, lower quality, speakers really enhance the cockpit feeling of the speech and the music. But again, that’s totally my opinion. :-)
short:
- looks very nice with leds
- perfect cabinet for people that want to try cab restauration
- needs some time to get used to the feel and gameplay
- cool eighties soundtrack and speech”
You too can participate in Pinside pinball ratings! Find a game you have played and add your rating + comment.
Police Force (Williams, 1989)
Matt_Rasmussen rated this game on June 08, 2013.
“While I find this game fun to play, the overwhelming unbalanced scoring of the center ramp shot kind of makes it a 'second tier' game. I enjoy the entire concept of the game, and the 2 ball multiball is cool with the moving police car, but it's just overall 'meh'.
Where the game really does shine is in multiplayer. Not for tournaments of course, but for those nights with buddies having a few beers the 'steal the score' feature leads to some good times (and laughs).
Overall, if you can pick one up for under 1k (and not all blinged out) and you're looking for a good non-pinhead appeal game where chance out weighs skill, pick it up. I think it's worth it, fun game.”
Matt_Rasmussen ♥
Pinsider since Aug. 2012
Karma: 10046 pts.
Owns: 4 games | Rated: 6 games
+ User currently owns this game.