Apollyon's ratings

The game simply rocks. Fast pin with great flow, but not a drain monster (which allows you to enjoy the depth of code). While there is no one "toy", the 3 main mechs in the prem / le (left ramp diverter, sarcophagus lock, middle ramp) all together make the game super fun to shoot. The rules are so well done. Fun modes with shots that relate to what is going on (breaking Eddie out of prison, steering the ship, etc), and a bunch of wizard modes to strive for. Artwork is amazing. Awesome custom speech. While the music may not be for everyone, it has completely grown on me as I have played it. The only minor gripes are that the sound quality is not perfect and the lighting effects could be a tiny bit better (e.g. fading like in Metallica). But these are super minor compared to the game as a whole. Love it.

Extremely fun game. Shots are smooth and fun to hit, with a good mix of risk / reward. Sound on the game is amazing, other that a lack of callouts from the show (as of 1.23). The rules are great at this point already with many different ways to approach each game. Upper playfield is fun to shoot and has great added rules (extra multiball, collecting castles, adding time / shots to modes, etc). I have not felt that the lighting is too over the top (and I do play it in a dimly lit room) - sure it effs with you at times, but that is a part of the experience. While the artwork could be a bit better in ways, the whole game looks great as a whole.

I do have the left orbit issue, but that is allegedly being worked on. Other than that my game has played perfect.

Overall, IMO Steve / Dwight have done a great job with this game!

Very pleased with the pro version. Extremely fast, fluid and fun to shoot. And very solid code on release. Love the scoring opportunities with multipliers. Glad they are using the voices from the show. The artwork is a letdown, but it does look better in person.

Rating based on 1.24 code. Love the feel of the shots. When you hit them, they are very smooth. Its a very punishing game with great one more game feel. New code really polishes this game a lot. Outstanding dots. I don't mind the different voices at all, but I wasn't big into the shows. All this game needs now is color chaning GI lighting and the game will be complete.

All in all, this is a fast, brutal, unforgiving , FUN game. Very Borg. My only gripe is that it is a bit too unforgiving of a game for the depth of code that is there.

I want to like this game. I really do. The game has good flow. Its fast and smooth. And the Vengeance ship is a good toy that shakes and fires the ball back at you. Playfield looks pretty good. Lighting on the LE looks good, but there are no GI lighting changes.

But I just can't get over the fact that the rules are crappy. The modes are generic. Timing out modes is a valid strategy which is lunacy. Not being able to complete level one modes with successful shots is dumb. And it sucks that the stacking is so limited. If you are in a mode, and you start Klingon MB, you finish the mode eventually and you are stuck in KMB without the ability to start a new mode. I get bored very easily playing this game. I play a game and have little to no desire to start another.

Changes from pro to LE also suck with respect to gameplay. There is so little difference. The LE looks pretty but plays the same as the pro. The left lane dual kickout is a horrible cop-out.

Meh.

Further edit after release of 1.6. This game is unbelievable. Lighting, modes, toy integration. Its off the charts. Blackened is a great new mode. One of my all time favourites.

Review based on 1.51 code. After a number of plays on this game with earlier code, I was extremely "meh" on it. Start sparky, snake, coffin or grave marker MB with seek and destroy and fuel. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Then I played it on the latest code and the game clicked big time. They did so many things right with the code / rules in 1.5 on. Outstanding use of the GI lighting, especially in fade to black, enter sandman, mystery, etc. Nailed how the hammer should sync with the sounds. Great risk reward in the crank it up modes. Love how the main MB modes are separate from getting to crank it up modes (i.e. you do not need super jackpots to get to CIU), but you still have the seek and destroy strategy to light the lanes to help get you to CIU. Great playfield and backbox artwork. The cabinet artwork on the pro / premium is ok, but the LE looks awesome.

Love the toys - WAY more interactive than other Stern games (e.g. Star Trek). Snake 2x scoring strategy is so well done. Hammer / coffin toy is extremely cool. Grave marker and sparky are solid.

I am not that big of a Metallica fan (music wise), but the gameplay sold me on this one. Great job Lyman and Borg!

With the current code (1.3) the game is on its way to being a long-term hit. Good flow. Great sounds, music and dots.

I do really miss the LE features. This is one pro that feels stripped down compared to the LE. I love the NC mechs, LED lighting and spinner.

Game has a lot of good things going for it. Nice open playfield with smooth ramp shots. Like the inline targets. Snake still has his fangs and was fun to shoot. I also like the placement of the mystery shot further off to the side (felt better than where Xmen / IJ4 / others are). Sparky is great when you fry him. Fast flowing game. Solid dots and callouts were good.

What I did not like was the pop up diverter on the loop shots and how it worked. Killed the flow. Rules still need a fair bit of work on the one I played. Pro has great features and did not feel overly stripped down. Except for the hammer lock. Without the hammer, the coffin shot seems really lame. Otherwise I would not miss the snake jaw and the up and down cross.

Review based on 1.4 code.

Overall, I love the game. Amazing sounds. I was worried about the voice acting not being from the movies, but overall its done really well. The only voices that bother me a bit are CA and BW. Even the Fury from Georgia doesn't bother me. Great sound effects, and the music, again not from the movie, still works well. Overall sound package could be mixed better.

Playfield inserts look beautiful. I love the lighting. Very rich colors with no white GIs.

Initially the 4 side shots in the game seem hard. This is not a game for beginners. You need to dial in your shots, and progress a fair bit into the game for it to really kick in.

One of the great things about the game for homeowners is that you can set it up as easy or hard as you want. Great customization (which is needed IMO as some settings on normal are too hard (i.e. BW 18 hits to get to vs mode).

The biggest issues I have with it is the visibility for some shots. The Loki lock plastic on the LE is in a horrible position. That has to be moved. The loki insert lights are covered as is the upper right rollover lanes. These don't bother me as much as I sit when I play and I can see what's up. The plastic above the Thor drop targets should be dremmeled out as it would improve visibility, and stop the ball from getting trapped there after hitting the last target (i.e. when the targets pop back up, the ball would fly away rather than getting trapped as is does now).

Overall, a very fun game. One more game feel for sure. First wizard mode that is attainable.

Currently one of my favourites!

EDIT - re scored this game after 1.5 came out. This game is a blast. Deadpool has made a great game even better. Love it!

I have held off on reviewing the game until 1.24 came out as 1.23 was truly a hot mess. So far I love the direction of the code for 1.24. Great stacking, with the ability to choose what all should stack. I personally love the ability to stack a hero once I start a villain. Much better use of Nightcrawler. Far fewer bugs than before. Game is a LOT of fun to play. Manic at times, but very deep with lots of modes to play. Great villain multiballs.

As for the LE additions, I love the Nightcrawler popups. Spinning disc is subtle, but a solid addition to the randomness of the game (and amazing for Magneto multiball). Iceramp is ok, but needs to be implemented better.

Dots and callouts are great except for beast. Extremely well done voices for the most part.

Cabinet, playfield and powder coating for my LE Magneto look amazing.

This game is almost a great one. One more solid update adding Deadpool, combos, Dark Phoenix, and fix up the remaining bugs and this will be a killer game.

Review based on 1.5 code.

My first impressions of the game are awesome. I love the look of the LE. It looks so much better than the pro. LED's really pop. Powder coating looks amazing. Great looking machine all around. I think its even better optically than my Xmen LE Magneto. Combo is the way to go IMO.

Gameplay has been super fun. And I love the LE additions. Starscream adds challenge and randomness. I was worried that I would not like the Ironhide mini playfield, but I think its a blast so far. Great change of pace, useful bounses, and its great to start double scoring and then Ironhide as you can rack up the bonuses. Shaker motor seems a bit mild compared to other games even on maximum.

Flow is definitely there. Delays on IH and SC ramps doesn't bother me in the least.

After lots of plays, I have really warmed up to the modes. I think they are different, fun and challenging. Sure they may be a bit generic in that there is no specific reason why you shoot any particular shot at any time (just make 10 or 11 shots), but each mode is different and most importantly FUN!

What sets this game over the top for me (and really adds to the modes) is the sound. Love the music, sound effects and callouts. Blackout and Shockwave sound awesome. Each one sounds and feels different. Great sound FX for super pops and super spinners. I was not a high fan of the movies or the cartoon growing up, so the voice differences between OP and MT don't bother me that much.

Its a fast and intense game. Similar to IM in that its an adrenaline rush.

I played a lot of the pro before deciding on getting this. Liked it more the more I played it, and after watching a lot of video of the LE, I thought it would be worth it for the extras.

I think with a code update, this game will go up in value. People will soon see that this is in fact a great game. Fun, fast, amazing looking and sounding.

Edited rating based on latest code and more plays. Tonnes of great scoring strategy with risk and reward. Still hate the cannon placement. Its a good game but just not my cup of tea.

Liked the Premium a lot better than the pro. The playfield on the Premium looks way better. LED's really improve the look. Ramps have good flow. Lower playfield is pretty cool, but not as good as TSPP's living room. Not a fan of the cannon - both the cheap look, and how it blocks the view of the right inlane. Rules are deep (with code updates) and provide lots of replay-ability. I generally like mode based games than scoring based games (ACDC is clearly more score oriented), but I liked the Premium.

Had a lot of fun playing this game. The more I played it, the more I liked it. Liked the upper spinning disc - added randomness and speed but not in a cheap way. Plays super fast. Liked the combos from the upper flipper to end of the line jackpot. Playfield is ok, not the best but nice. Worried a bit that the gameplay is a bit shallow and linear, but for me, that is not the be all to end all as I love IM and its pretty basic. Want to get some more time on the machine (too bad there are none in town and I have to track them down in the wild when I travel). I would consider picking one up one day. Fun and fast!

EDIT: Finally got some quality time on this game in a home environment (loved it so much that I traded for it) and rerated the game. Awesome sounds made even better with a sub hooked up. LED's are a must for this game. Fun, fast and addicting game that is an assault on the senses. Love it! Fact is, it is excellent. Amazing sounds, flow and them integration. LOVE it. Rating is based on a nicely modded pro with 1.74 code.

Only caveat is that the game is somewhat shallow code wise and is best in a collection with a few deeper games.

Had a great time with this machine. Its a nice balance between deep and fun. Ship and Kraken are solid. Liked the rules. Different feel (close shots) but I thought it worked well. Sure it is stop and go, and you wait for the ball to return more than other games, but it was a winner for me.

Rating based on the pro version. Didn't help that it was not great shape (flipper rubber came off, balls would get stuck under the cannon, etc). Kind of alarming with being on route for less than a month! Is very fast. Kind of like Ironman. Modes seemed too generic or simplistic for me (shoot ramp x time for multiball, or other ramp x times for same). Changing music mid ball broke the flow for me. Cannon was ok, but not a big selling point for me. Just ok overall. Not my favourite, even though I do love ac/dc music.

My review is based on the pro model. Liked the Megatron multiball and kickout, but the toy looked really lame compared to the other two. Optimus didn't register all hits, but was fun to bash. Lower playfield seemed dark - LED's in the LE would really help brighten it up. I had a lot of fun playing the game, but there was a disconnect as others have noted in the rules. It didn't seem like there was any reason to hit the shots in the mode other than because the software told me to. No real progress towards something. Flow was good. Had a "one more game feel" to it, as there is a real challenge to it. Overall, pretty solid.

I am sure I was colored by the shape that the machine was in that I played, but this was not a hit for me at all. In a word, I found myself quite bored.

Just could not get into this one. Theme is important, and I love the new batman movies, but I felt removed given the poor voice actors. Why not just use more voice samples from the movies? "Batman" didn't even sound like C Bale. I preferred Iron Man's use of a generic voice and Jarvis mixed in with voice samples from the movies.

Didn't mind the crane at all, but the Joker toy felt lame.

Decent playfield layout, but overall I was unimpressed.

I had fun playing this, but the Raiders shot seemed SO repetitive to get the ark multiball (19 times???). Playfield looks decent, maybe a bit bare. Love the theme, but it just wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Lots of fun to play. I am a fan of the show, so the theme really struck a chord with me. Just hearing some of the call outs makes me laugh. Like everyone says, its uber deep. Something that is a must own both from the perspective that its a blast to play, but also because you'll always have something new to aim for.

It can be tough at times for a beginner player, but they seem to love playing it (at least the ones who have come over to play it).

Very different playfield from my other two machines (LOTR and SM), which really compliments them well (TSPP is busier, different pop bumper location, etc).

Upper playfield is well implemented to the theme, and IMHO, much better than FG and Shrek (I found those to be very disappointing).

Overall, love it. Get one if you can.

So I have to edit my review as I have now purchased a NIB Iron man based on recommendations from the good people here at Pinside.

Boy what a difference a new fully functioning machine makes.

Like others have said, it looks like a stripped down version of earlier Sterns. But you can't change the fact that this game is FUN FUN FUN.

Like the Iron Monger toy and magnets, and the War Machine kickback is awesome. Can be a really tough game to play as it is super fast, but it is certainly a rush! Certainly has that "one more game" feel for me.

As I thought and as stated by others on this site, it is a great compliment to my other machines (LOTR< TSPP and SM).

Excellent integration of the movie theme. Feels like you are playing through the trilogy. Great variety to the movie multiballs - each very challenging and different. Rules are deep enough to keep you playing for years. Playfield open, but with challenging shots to make. Paths of the Dead could be improved, but only a minor gripe. Best voice call out I have heard to date (Two Towers - "to WAR!!!!"). Excellent compliment to SM.

Love the layout. Feels light and smooth to play. Excellent integration of the villains. Like others have said, its like you are battling against the 4 of them. Good integration of the movies. Like the music too. Rules aren't super deep, but still a blast to play. Some of the voice calls get a bit repetitive. Overall, love the game. Great as a compliment to LOTR.