30FathomDave's ratings

Ghostbusters has got to be the most polarizing game of the last decade. Hop in any thread discussing it, and you're likely to find an equal number of people touting it as awesome or the worst game ever.

One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that Zombie Yeti's artwork is phenomenal. In my opinion, Ghostbusters is the best looking pinball machine ever made. The game also seems to get universal praise for it's sound package. After that, things get a little murky.

I own a Premium, and while I personally enjoy the game (I would have sold it long ago, otherwise), I understand and agree with a fair amount of the criticism it receives.

First off, if you're going to own this machine, you need to make a handful of modifications in order to make it play the way that it should - and that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Lane protectors/extenders (to prevent ball hops), an airball protector, and a shorter hex spacer for the right ramp (Prem/LE only) are absolute musts. My GB plays great, but I've played a few in the wild that felt really clunky because those modifications hadn't been done.

Secondly, while the game has deep code, it's repetitive because each ladder follows a linear order. This is easily my #1 criticism of the game, and I really hope that Stern addresses it in their final code update (but I doubt it). In any event, I still find the game to be a lot of fun, so it's not a deal-breaker.

Lastly, early runs of the playfield had problems with insert ghosting, chipping, etc. Fortunately, I dodged that particular bullet.

All of that said, I love my GB, and I have no plans to part with it. The modes are a lot of fun, there's plenty of humor sprinkled throughout the game, the multi-balls are an adrenaline rush, and due to the depth of the code, it's very challenging (I've owned the game for more than a year and have only beaten the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man mode once). Do the mods that I mentioned earlier, add a shaker motor, and you'll have a blast.

Assuming some of the voice work gets tweaked and the code gets fleshed out, this is going to be one of Stern's very best. It's awesome already, and they're nowhere near done with it. Some have complained about the location of the pops, but I absolutely love the unique layout and feel that it has great flow. The music is perfect: from the ominous theme, to the "let's go kick some zombie ass" metal of Riot, to the backwoods little ditty that plays during Crossbow. And the dots! TWD has some of the best animations I've ever seen, and the match sequence is straight up badass. This is definitely one of those "one more game!" type of pins. It pulls you right in and keeps you coming back for more. It reminds me a little bit of Bram Stoker's Dracula in that none of the shots are terribly difficult, but you'll be punished severely if you miss or are afraid to nudge (those outlanes are BRUTAL and the left ramp will kick your ass if you only make it up 2/3 of the way). My only gripes are that I wish they had gotten some of the actors from the show or used sound clips from the series, and the lights on the Pro are fairly plain (I plan to modify mine quite a bit with colors under the inserts, and reds and warms in the GI. That should spruce it up big time). All in all: an awesome game that should be exceptional when it's finished.

I've owned this game for a couple of years now, but have held off on posting a review until achieving the proper balance of both rum and Coke Zero in my system (subsequently, any grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors will be blamed on said chemical balance). The best game to mod, hands down. Mine is completely tricked out and the crown jewel of my collection. That said, how's the gameplay? Just as good, in this guy's opinion. Is it the deepest game out there? No way. But the flow, music, voice work, light show, multiballs, and fun more than make up for it. And despite what the naysayers say, it's f***'in' hard, man. I've been sooooo close to Portal multiple times, but still haven't made it. This is Stern's best game, and the best pinball machine since Medieval Madness. There, I said it. :)

The first pin that I owned twice. BSD rocks!!! It's not deep at all, but it's brutally difficult if you don't hit your shots, and still maddening even in those ever-so-rare moments when you do. Stacking the multiballs for the "30 milllllllllllion" callout is one of the most satisfying feats in all of pinball. The "mist multiball' is hands-down the best 2-ball multiball ever (and you can stack it all the way up to 4 balls if you play your cards right). Bang-for-buck: the best DMD-era game out there, and one of the most addictive games ever made. This is an A-list-caliber game that can be had for B-list money. "It is a beast: a monster."

Love the classic Universal monster/drive-in theme. Love the retro music (haters gonna hate). Love the artwork. I love pretty much everything about this game. This was the first pin I ever owned, and I recently brought it back into my lineup. Creature is fantastic! I even have the side art tattooed on the outside of my right forearm. It's one of the easiest games to teach a non-pin person (the ruleset is very simple to grasp), but it's very tough to master. For every awesome game I have on it, I have 5 games in which I completely suck. My current machine is tricked out with all sorts of bells and whistles, and will never leave my collection. Oh, and CFTBL has the best attract mode of all time.

Quite possibly the funniest game ever made. Awesome theme with great flow, cool artwork, hilarious voice work, an easy-to-grasp rule set, and fun interactive toys/gameplay. I wanted one of these for a very long time, and was thrilled to finally land one in my game room. Scared Stiff is "tits!"

Some games in the top 100 are pretty overrated, in my opinion. Medieval Madness, however, isn't one of them. This game is pretty much universally loved. I'm trying to think of a legitimate criticism of it, and I'm drawing a blank. It's the complete package, and even though I've played it a thousand times, it still manages to make me smile and laugh every single time. An absolute blast of a game.

Quite possibly the deepest game ever. Some people complain about the long ball times. Those people are dumb. Complaining about long ball times is like complaining about gratuitous nudity in an 80's movie. This game is just plain FUN, and isn't that what it's all about? Awesome modes, fantastic multiballs, a bash toy, an upper playfield (of sorts), a magnet, great voice work, cool artwork, and a "plot" to the game that feels like you're Elija "The Good Son and Back to Future Part 2 kid" Wood. Plain and simple: one of my very favorites.

The #1 selling pinball machine of all time, and deservedly so. The Addams Family really has it all: great flow, fun modes, excellent artwork, cool gimmicks/toys (like utilizing THING for the ball lock, "the power" magnets, and THING flips), and of course, spirited custom voice work by Anjelica Huston and the late Raul Julia. This game was so far ahead of its time that even 25+ years later, it feels every bit as innovative as machines being released today. When people find out that I own pinball machines, the first question they usually ask is "do you have The Addams Family?" When I say "yep!" their eyes light up. That's the magic that this game packs. It unites casual players and hobbyists alike. Good show, old man.

Best game ever. Fantastic theme, addictive gameplay, great music, cool features, etc, etc, etc. This one has it all.