Of the System 11s I own (Big Guns, Pinbot, and F-14), F-14 is likely to see the least play in my arcade. That's not to say it's a bad game, far from it. I find the other two more fun to play, and so do guests. F-14 feels unfair at times, too many shots result in a SDTM drain. It's hard to achieve multiball on factory settings too, which kind of alienates new players. Thankfully, you can change this so that when you achieve a lock lit by spelling "Tomcat", the game will award you two locks the first time instead of one. Since you have to lock 3 balls and then hit the lock again to release, it cuts down the number of locks you need to earn in half.
Gameplay is fast and furious. This is an expert level pin, and you really have to be ready to do some damage control if you miss a shot. The kicker in the upper left playfield is a great feature, it feels like you're actually fighting the machine, but it's also very fast, and a very dangerous shot. It's the only way to earn an extra ball though, so you have to go for the kills if you want to extend your play. Overall, the game flows nicely, it's just very punishing.
Where F-14 truly excels is in the sound and music department. Zero complaints. All the sounds are fantastic, and the music is some of the best the system 11 tables have to offer. Best multiball music in all of the system 11 family in my opinion, even better than Pinbot's iconic music.
Lighting is very good, and there are some really good light shows in the game. The table doesn't feel dark or hard to see, and the topper lights are a MUST have on this game. There's something really special about right before you get that multiball seeing those lights spin around and around. In my opinion, it's one of the best toppers in pinball.
I like F-14, but it doesn't always achieve one of my biggest standards for owning a pinball machine, the "just one more game factor", and this has to do with how brutal and unfair the game can be. I have to dock it lastability and fun points for that. I really like challenging games, but even by Steve Ritchie standards, this game is hard. I'll play it some more, it's still very new in my collection and my only experience with it previously was through Pinball Arcade, and virtual pins aren't always a good representation of how a game will play in real life. If my opinion changes, I'll update my review accordingly.
Update to my review 11/8/21: I'm enjoying this game a lot more now. It's currently seeing the most play from me because of the challenge. Now that I have a feel for the table and the shots, I'm getting into multiball more frequently on factory settings. Before, I would achieve multiball maybe once every 10 games or so and usually on the 3rd ball. My nudging skills have gotten better and most importantly, I have fixed the weak pop bumper which is making spelling "Tomcat" A LOT easier. I still think F14 is not on the same tier as something like PinBot, High Speed, Taxi or Whirlwind, but of the system 11 games I feel like it's at least better than Big Guns which is also in my collection, so I'm adjusting my score accordingly. I'm finding myself more and more fond of it because it's challenging. It makes for some intense games, and man the light show and music never get old.
Odenton, MD
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