Stern

Iron Man

Pinside Rating

This game received 510 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.098 _/10

8.098

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks 2nd in the game group "Iron Man". The group itself ranks #52 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.156

Artwork: 7.661

Sounds/Music: 7.849

Other Aspects: 8.32

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 8 of us have rated this game.

8.446

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This title is part of group: "Iron Man"

Iron Man Classic

Iron Man

Iron Man
(Pro Vault Edition)

Found 312 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 312 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 2 of 13.

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7.082/10

4 years ago

BEN

Lobo2k

Pinside member

Ottawa, ON

4y 37,800 95 12 42

This is another one I file under the "I don't get the popularity", albeit I haven't spent hours and hours on it. Probably played 20 games on the freebie night at my arcade. My thoughts: Like someone else mentioned the toys on this I find look cheap and uninspiring. Art and music are average. I would have thought this game was much older had I not looked it up and seen it was 2010. I don't find it all that fun. Also the machine I play on the magnet throws it straight down the middle probably 1/3 times - to me that's a non starter for something I want to pay for or own.

Although there are some pros for sure, I like the Iron man toy that rises (cheapness look aside it's cool when he comes up) in the middle, for instance, I just don't find it "excellent" by any means. There's some fun to be had but there's so many better stern titles from the same era imo.

I find it very average overall and don't get the hype at all

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

5.834/10

4 years ago

JIN

Pinasco

Inactive member

Malmö

8y 37,650 81 3 60

Intense game with a rather strong one-more-time quality to each play. Even so this high speed and actionpacked game doesnt quite grab me by neck and demand my interest like some other Stern titles in the similiar vein; like X-men or the masterpiece Spiderman who hit the market three years prior to Iron Man.

I'm not sure if I approached this one with the wrong mindset, but somehow the whole package around scoring, goals and animations felt a little underwhelming with Iron Man. On a positive note; lighting and the way the playfield is being used and populated ranks high in my book - with the Iron Monger bash toy as a prime example. Regarding backglass and cabinet art this is rather average as opposed to the spectacular style with X-men for instance. The one big gripe I have with Iron Man however is the sound. For some reason that tension-building, action-sequence-esque riffing could have been much more effective if better mixed with some other musical elements during play.

A decent game, but nowhere near Spidey or X-men.

Pinasco edited previous rating on July 29, 2019.

3 Pinsiders flagged this.

6.440/10

4 years ago

DOZ

KILLDOZR

Pinside member

Kansas City, KS

5y 31,650 1 83

Can't count how many times the Iron Monger magnet threw the ball directly down the middle drain. Things like that make this game a complete gamble and nearly impossible to get better at, if it just ends suddenly through no fault of your own.

9.840/10

4 years ago

CHZ

Maskell

Pinside member

Greenville, SC

8y 34,400 16 9 34

I love this game. Play super fast and has a lot of satisfying ramp shots. My only major complaint is some of the wear you can get around the magnets, but that might just be because the one I own was on routed before I got it. Always challenging and good bash item in the middle of the playfield

Maskell has owned this game in the past.

7.536/10

5 years ago

ADM

PinDoctor82

Pinside member

5y 77,050 278 6 103

I feel that this game could be a bit better. The figures on the playfield look like the lame action figures I could buy in the Walmart toy aisle. I loved the movie, so I had high hopes, but it fell short of my expectations. This game is pretty darn difficult in ways, which keeps me intrigued, so that counts for something. I will always continue to play it on location in hope that I can break through and rattle off an excellent score, so maybe it will grow on me.

PinDoctor82 edited previous rating on June 03, 2019.

8.252/10

5 years ago

LGR

Lowregs12

Pinside member

Spring Hill, FL

5y 42,400 2 19

Great title, but wish you didn't have to restart every mode after a ball drains. Wish there was a way to make it more progressive, similar to LOTR

6.645/10

5 years ago

???

cyberbear

Pinside apprentice

Glasgow

5y 18,750 43

Decent enough machine. Found it fast and brutal with a lot of drains, relatively simple rules. If only JJP had acquired the licence for this...

8.880/10

5 years ago

JDM

jsyjay

Pinside member

Unknown City

10y 73,900 327 3 29

Fast! Brutal with rules reminiscent of the old System 11 games. Definitely has that one more game feel about it. One more code update to come?

jsyjay has owned this game in the past.

6.103/10

5 years ago

DDH

ImGoing4Broke

Pinside member

Montevideo, MN

8y 37,400 5 15 26

Played Iron Man for the first time at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas...racked up a huge score... And walked away with credits in the machine...... needless to say I wasn't impressed....just another low quality pin from Stern.....

ImGoing4Broke edited previous rating on December 09, 2018.

9 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.740/10

5 years ago

SAW

swilson143

Pinside member

6y 46,550 80 8

I can see myself owning this game eventually. Lots of fun. Great rule set. The Iron Monger coming out of the playfield is really cool and mimicks the Monger scene in the movie

6.956/10

5 years ago

ROB

aerobert

Inactive member

8y 57,800 489 2 57

Challenging game with fast loop, steep ramps and bouncy standup targets to the sides. Requires a lot of control or it will send the ball lightning fast back at you.

Art package and sound design is meh. Ok players game but not very fun in the long run unless you're a die hard Iron Man fan.

6.010/10

5 years ago

MLP

tabascoman77

Pinside member

6y 46,150 4 110

Another licensed Marvel game, another ho-hum effort. Music is decent but the rest of the audio is a mixture of sound clips from the flick haphazardly tossed into the game and played at random much like TRON Legacy. Call-outs like "I'm the one who approved the injunction against you" aren't exactly thrilling. They don't gel with some random guy with a southern accent telling you what to do every so often. Also, the rules aren't particularly clear except for when you're taking on the Iron Monger which just kinda pops up in the middle of the table and waits for you to hit him, which is easy to do every single time. Other than that, the ramps are your only satisfying shots. Stern and Marvel are capable of better. The "Spider-Man" games were a lot of fun -- especially the Vault version.

7.688/10

5 years ago

BDM

brianmcculloh

Pinside member

Avon, IN

8y 35,900 95 3 24

Fun toy to bash, satisfying flow and ramps, spinners are a nice touch.

7.148/10

5 years ago

???

CptUniverse

Inactive member

Unknown

5y 10,750 1 22

Ok! Nothing special!

8.596/10

5 years ago

ERC

Ericc123

Inactive member

Pittsburgh, PA

7y 96,800 1,143 20

Iron Man is a lot of fun. Every game doesn't have to have the deepest code as long as your enjoy flipping it and it makes you happy. Iron Man kicks my ass in 4 minuets and keeps me coming back for more. Love the bass in the music, the shots are super smooth, and the rules are easy to understand but hard to master. Great pin that I would highly recommend.

Ericc123 has owned this game in the past.

8.856/10

5 years ago

???

Utesichiban

Pinside member

Sandy, UT

7y 78,550 2,056 10 24

I bought a nice HOU only original IM a few months back from a local pinhead. At first I thought this game is just too brutal and kind of regretted buying IM. As I’ve played it more, however, it has grown on me and I now find myself playing it more than the others in my 7 pin collection.

It is the toughest pin in my collection (which includes challenging games like Fish Tales & Space Station) but the one more game factor given the short ball times and challenging nature of the game keep me pressing the button for one more game over and over (even having it set for 5 balls).

I love the call outs and think they did a great job of integrating the theme and the movies. My only criticism is I felt they could have included a few more (and higher quality) toys and figures and a better dmd (a color dmd is a good upgrade for this game). The fast, adrenaline oriented gameplay mostly makes up for these shortcomings, however.

Utesichiban edited previous rating on April 16, 2019.
Utesichiban has owned this game in the past.

10.000/10

6 years ago

JAS

jetmechinnc

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 80,050 1,135 30

This is the perfect adrenaline game. Games are usually short, but always satisfying. The sounds are awesome, playing loud is a must and adding a shaker motor just adds to the excitement. The call outs are great and I always seem to keep hearing a different quote from the movie every time I play. Multiball is great in all modes, if it is lacking anything, it's a upper right flipper since I'm so used to one being there playing my STTNG or Spiderman VE. The game really needs a color DMD, something I'll be getting soon, but ramp shots are satisfying and that kickback from war machine is super fast, much like my old F-14 tomcat Yargof kickback. If you get one, put some nice LEDs in, upgraded speakers, maybe a shaker and play it loud!

7.208/10

6 years ago

KMD

Pathfinder

Pinside member

Blacksburg, VA

6y 26,400 27 6

Decent fun for a while. Bash toy coming out of the playfield resulted in very satisfying shots. Still after a few plays, it stopped engaging me.

Pathfinder edited previous rating on February 14, 2018.

9.740/10

6 years ago

???

Liakos

Inactive member

Toronto, ON

6y 23,300 50 13

Can't believe this pin is not in top 10...
Keeps you on your toes. It's simple to learn and hard to master.. very fun especially with sub, shaker and great lighting kit..
Never leaving my collection

7.484/10

6 years ago

SUS

Grayont

Pinside member

Encinitas, CA

6y 51,550 84 1 129

Iron man is a pretty fun game that is challenging and fast. It was pretty basic rules that consist of shooting the same shot over and over again to start a certain feature which I am not the biggest fan of. The theme is good and the shots flow well. Overall a fun game, but not one I would want in my collection.

Grayont edited previous rating on October 04, 2021.

8.920/10

6 years ago

LMS

Tranquilize

Pinside member

9y 84,550 3,778 35

I've owned Iron Man for many months now, and I must say that it is one of the best pins to have in one's collection. I usually despise newer sterns, but I had the opportunity to pick up a really nice copy of Iron Man and couldn't resist.

__________________________________________________
DESIGN
__________________________________________________

-- The game has a very simple playfield design. So simple, in fact, that I dismissed it at first.
-- The game integrates the main toys well: the drone kicker, the whiplash magnet and the monger bash toy/magnet.
-- The ramps are integrated well, with the left shallow and the right steep.
-- Collecting drones via standups is an interesting requirement, as is collecting the shields for add-a-balls.

__________________________________________________
THEME/LIGHTING/SOUND
__________________________________________________

-- I'm not into super hero films, so I had to watch the movies after getting the game. Meh... Still not into it.
-- Lighting is generally good, although this machine is pre-RGB-LED.
-- I replaced Stern's cheap-ass fluorescent tube with a custom backbox LED kit. It really kicked up the lightshow!
-- The music really gets your adrenaline pumping in this game. A sub is must-add!

__________________________________________________
GAMEPLAY
__________________________________________________

-- Disabling the back post is an absolute must. Trust me. This game doubles in fun if you disable it. It also ads a real skill shot.
-- I usually look to Ritchie for speed, but Borg has designed one hell of a fast game. Super speed! This game is ALWAYS a rush.
-- The playfield is set up for speed combo city. I can keep nailing loops and ramps until I laugh out loud. The game is just so fast!!!
-- I find the set up for do-or-die to be difficult but achievable. Lyman did a great job on the software: it is perfectly balanced.
-- There is a good balance between danger and strategy with this one. It's not that bad of a drain monster if you know how it plays.

__________________________________________________
CRITICISMS
__________________________________________________

-- There is no skillful way to achieve extra ball. I prefer games that offer extra balls that are difficult to achieve.
-- It would be nice if the iron man standups on either side were drops. It would make this game soooo deadly!
-- Cheap-ass LED DMD from stern with 1/3 dedicated to your score.
-- General stern cheapness of the era. This was the beginning of the crap, so it's not that bad.

In the end, when I look at my lineup, Iron Man is my go-to game when I'm in need of a quick fix. You can have long ball times on this game, but, realistically, games are usually shorter. That being said, the shorter games are packed full of adrenaline!

2 Pinsiders starred this!

6.152/10

6 years ago

BJB

PinballBJB

Pinside+ Frequent

6y 72,300 208 30

Iron Man is a fun, fast, decent game. But personally I'm at a loss for why it ranks as highly as it does. The challenge and difficulty of the game is (in my opinion) in its speed and layout - lots of drain risk, tough to maintain long ball times and game times. Those aspects are good and they make the game fun and engaging for serious players. Great. But my feeling is that the sounds, callouts, display graphics, cabinet, backglass, and playfield creativity are generally below average and even poor in some respects (esp. callouts, video, and sound). So to me the game is far short of a complete package. I like the game well enough to play it but frankly think it gets a lot more hype than it earns.

9.026/10

6 years ago

JMA

Jackpotjared

Pinside member

West Bloomfield Township, MI

8y 111K 1,158 2 22

Iron Man to me feels like the only Pinball that fights back. And Because of that I Love it! Really fun and challenging game!

Jackpotjared edited previous rating on July 04, 2018.
Jackpotjared has owned this game in the past.

7.471/10

6 years ago

JKO

thejacko1010

Inactive member

Hamburg

6y 18,900 17 1 8

fun, difficult game, can recommend it but i don't think it will last you in a home enviorment with only a few games

8.424/10

6 years ago

TBA

tbanthony

Pinside member

16y 81,550 1,524 29

I've considering adding IM to my collection which obviously means I like it. I'm not sure if some of the gameplay would get too repetitive or not in a home environment. The rules are on the simpler side and the Monger toy feels like he's popping up constantly -- you actually start trying to avoid having him pop up which means you are trying to avoid some of the easiest shots. There is no denying that the game is a fun, fun, fun adrenaline rush. Others have said its a game that is better in a larger collection and that does ring true with me. That said, you could do a lot worse than to cycle this game through your smaller collection for a while and you'll probably miss it when its gone. For sure, play it on location if you have one near you.

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There are 312 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 2 of 13.

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