Corvette Summer

I was trolling thru Craigslist during lunch when I spotted this gem for sale for cheap. I played this game before in the Airport in Boise, so I knew I liked it, even with a bad upper flipper. The drag race toy is one of the coolest in pinball. I called the guy up and after asking a few questions, told him I wanted it and would be by after work to pick it up. Then I called my wife and asked her if I could have it. Of course she said yes. I'm very persuasive. So I get there and this thing is dirty, like it was never cleaned. Everything worked except the ball eject but practically all the lights were burnt out. There were a few long scratches on the sides but no fade or leg wrinkle. The owner said it used to be in the bowling alley at the Elmendorf Air Force Base. It still had the stickers on it.

As we were loading it in the back of my truck, he slid it back and broke off a piece of the front cabinet. Inwardly I screamed but he apologized and gave me $100 back as consolation. When I got it home I glued the wood back together. Luckily it is behind the front leg and the decal did not rip so it is not too noticable unless you look hard. I then proceded to strip the playfield completely down so I could clean and polish everything.

This playfield was exceedingly dirty. I am pretty sure it was never shopped as it is a PITA to take apart. Like peeling an onion. You have to remove one ramp to be able to remove another to get to the pop bumper caps, etc... Since it was never really cleaned, the playfield was very dull but thankfully not worn down to the paint. I used Treasure Cove's polishing kit and I have to say, that kit is amazing. The playfield looks almost like new.

I completely rebuilt all three flippers and the diverter, took apart and cleaned everything with Novus and replace the cracked slingshot plastic. I also got the ball lock eject to work correctly by bending it's bracket. Before, it would launch the ball into the exhaust pipe and bounce back into the hole. Free fix. lol. I added a shaker motor to the engine flasher circuit, flashing spark plug wires and replaced the plunger with a Hurst shifter ball. The spark plug mod is not as bright as I thought it would be but cool none the less. I also added Superbright LEDs which look awesome except for a lot of ghosting. I upgraded the EPROM with the WPC patch but it didn't really help. I am going to order some Noflix LEDs to see if that fixes the few ghosting inserts.

After playing this game for a few months, I must say, this game has great flow and is super fast at times. It is comparable to JM in speed. If you hit the right orbit to inner orbit to skid pad ramp the ball gets going so fast I can't track it moving down the right wireform. Speaking of combos, this game rewards you for making them. Completing any one of a dozen combos will increase your bonus. If you repeatedly hit the outer orbits or the inner orbit, you will become the World Speed or Cornering Records, respectively. Beating the record number of "laps" will net you a credit and your initials. Also, the "Catch Me" mode is a 4 way combo which can be completed in about 3 seconds if timed right. The female driver speaks in about 10 different languages and rewards you with a big smooch if you catch her in time.

Speaking of modes, this game doesn't have too many of them, which is the only real negative of this game. The ruleset is not very deep. The basis of the game is to win 9 cars thru races, shoot the pit to start the 4 ball wizard mode and then shoot shots to complete a puzzle to earn the 10th (then future) C6 Vette. Engine Multiball: shoot the left orbit to light the ball lock, then shoot the left (engine) ramp to lock, repeat two more times for 3-ball multiball. The first three locks wins three cars. Corvette Challenge: shoot the pit to start then shoot the lanes and ramps to advance your car during the drag race. Win a car each time you win the mode. The right (Route 66) ramp starts the Catch Me mode, Pit Stop Hurry Up and Drag Race video mode (win a car) which repeat if you hit the ramp over and over. Each of these three modes will also start a 2 ball multiball if you complete them. This ramp will also award you a car for every 8th ramp shot.

Along the way you will collect speed parts and activate the turbo to speed up your car during the Corvette Challenge and Drag races. Collecting spark plugs and completing the upper lanes will light the extra ball. Activating the turbo will also increase your score while it is active.

As I said, this game has awesome flow and doesn't feel clunky. Some of the shots are tight but the game is not too difficult. The game drains to the outlanes very easily so you must keep the ball out of there. The left drain has a kickback which you want to keep lit though the shot is dangerous if you miss. The biggest sucker shot is when the ball rolls thru the spinner oftentimes it will roll SDTM drain. DEATHSLIDE and hope you don't Tilt. The ball will also drain SDTM when rolling back down the ramps. The right ramp is not so bad as it only does it if the ball goes up a couple inches. The left ramp is more of PITA. Sometimes the ball will go up there, bounce off the rubber post on the left inside of the engine and come back down fast. There is a gate there which is supposed to stop the ball from doing this but it doesn't always work in time.

All in all I love this game. Due to the speed and the high drainability, ball control and accuracy are crucial. Wild shots will likely result in a drain. The video animations are very good, the music is not annoying to me and the artwork is awesome. This is a good looking game. I am not sure I would want this as my only game as it doesn't have the depth, but it is a great compliment to a slower, deeper game like my LOTR or IJ. It is also a very high priced game due to the popular license. But if you can get a good deal on one in good shape, go for it.