balt's ratings

Godzilla, Elvira, and Deadpool are my three favorite modern Stern pins. Godzilla=diorama whereas Avengers=wireform rollercoaster.
This game deserves the praise and awards heaped on it.

This pin is great fun and I bet the Lyman code will make it even better. Thanks to Brian Allan for making an alternate translite too.

Played the game at Expo '21. It was the only new-ish release without a line. I was not inspired to ever play it again.
Update: I played HW again at MGC '22 and stand by my initial impressing. This pin is not for me.

The theme, lower pop bumper, 2.0 lock, music, and light shows are the best parts of this pin. I haven't learned to reliably hit the garage shot yet. The upper loop from the third flipper is a fun repeatable shot. What could be better: I always prefer a plunger over a launch button. The topper motor on the machine I played was silly loud. I think we can all agree this pin needs more slut dragons.

What a great game! Completely worthy of the praise it receives. Beautiful and fun to play. I haven't flipped all the Capcom pins yet, but I bet this one will remain my favorite.

I don't care for most Sega pins, but this is an exception, maggot. I appreciate the optional third flipper. The bug that pops up from beneath the playfield is laughable, but honestly, so is the film. Fun to flip but not a game I would choose to own.

An innovative layout with a healthy variety of shots. The pin I played was not steep, so gameplay was slow and floaty. Ball times are super long if you don't flub the second pair of flippers. A cool widebody, play it if you can find one.

The X-Files is a spooky world of aliens and monsters. This pin's primary gimmick is a filing cabinet. Talk about missed opportunities! I haven't seen every episode yet, but I consider myself a lifelong X-Files fan. I wish this pin was much, much better. I flip a few games when I find one in the wild, but I would never choose to own it. The sound clips are garbled, the tight shots make it a bounce fest, and it's just one multiball after another. I do appreciate the sound effects, music, and backglass but that's about all.

Now this is unique and fun! Give it a try if you can find one. There are levers on each side of the machine that you press to nudge the playfield as the ball falls toward the drain. The are no flippers, but you can keep the ball in play for quite a while by using the pops and rubbers. The one video I've seen online, has the levers replaced with flipper buttons - not nearly as cool.

I enjoy this pin more than most EM's. Great art and and a playfield layout that is more than OK.

Great backglass, decent playfield art, and can't go wrong with drop targets. A real looker, play it if you can find it.

The playfield layout is OK and worth a flip. Probably not a theme most people would care for, but I dig the art most of all.

This is the first EM I played in competition. It was fun to compete head to head, but only because we were cheering each other on, trying to slowly rack up points. Taken out of that context, the symmetry of this playfield kills it for me.

I won't call this playfield creative because it is symmetrical, but the upper third of it is certainly unique. A real snoozfest.

Points for a creative layout but not particularly fun to play or look at.

I dig the dragon targets and the art. I don't dig the symmetrical playfield. Worth a flip when you find one.

I challenge you NOT to see a ball sack when you look at the center feature art on this game. Keep those pointy people away! Holy pop bumpers too. Another victim of a symmetrical design.

So much symmetry! Designers know, you only have to create half a pinball machine if you make it symmetrical. It's also half as fun to play. Hard pass for me.

I love drop targets, but this wide open playfield doesn't keep me engaged for long. Eye candy that I'd rather admire than play.

The drop targets make this game worth a few flips. After that, the poor playfield art has me ready to move on.

I enjoy playing this game when I encounter one. The code has come a long way since it was first released. The animations have improved too, but remain the weakest link overall. Lots to do and explore, I don't tire of it quickly.

This is my preferred layout, I'm no fan of the upper playfield on the Prem/LE. Shoots fast and has an old school feel to it. Probably takes itself too seriously at times. My favorite in the Black Kight trilogy. I'm not into toppers, but this one might have the best.

Another beauty to look at, I just don't care to flip it. Also, acres of real estate at the bottom of the playfield but no fun to be found there. Certainly a classic theme, but also a tired one.

Beautiful to look at, great theme, quirky, and humor that I can appreciate. I don't care for the taunts spoken or implied. I'd rather look at this one instead of play it.

Fun to flip, beautiful playfield, tons to do. A great freshman effort by Eric Meunier. This pin earns my quarters every time I see one.

Great theme integration, but the pinched bottom of the playfield limits the shots from the main flippers. Doesn't keep me coming back for more. Not a top 20 game in my book; I'm surprised they made so many.

A great George Gomez layout, beautiful art by Zombie Yetti, and fun humor and music. This is one of the few modern Sterns that I would be thrilled to own.

Fun to shoot, but not to listen to or watch. The theme does nothing for me, nor does the music. It's not hard to find other games I'd rather play.

I love the theme, music, and callouts. Even if I wasn't such a STTNG series fan, this would still be a great pin for the playfield layout.

All around fun game and solid performer. I'm always happy to play one on location but the theme isn't one I need in my home. I'd like to see how it would fair in a rockin' cage match with ACDC, KISS, GNR, and Aerosmith.

My favorite Pat Lawlor game. So much innovation and variety of shots! Someday I hope to keep a Rudy captive in my basement.

Everything about this game is fun, it checks all the boxes for a good flippin' time. Monster Bash and Deadpool are George Gomez's best playfield layouts so far.

I'm a big fan of all three Elvira pins. I'd be happy to have any of them in my collection, but this is my favorite. The ball times are long, which is fine by me, since there is so much content to explore. Compare this game to The Munsters which was released the same year with a similar spooky-humor theme.

I'm a big fan of all three Elvira pins and would be happy to own any of them. Of the three, this one is the weakest because of the low fidelity callouts and whiny sound effects. The series only gets better from here.

This is our first home pin. The game plays fast if you concentrate on the two drop banks close to the flippers. On the other hand, firing the ball through the pops into the upper playfield buys you a few moments to relax. I like the art and original theme; it looks like a backlit comic book with flashy lights. An average game for our family is a score in the tens of thousands and is over within 2 minutes. Lookout, the outlanes are drain monsters. I turned off the continuous background sound/noise and the game came with straight flippers instead of bananas. I think the straight flippers are the key to enjoying this pin in a small collection, changing it from an odd-ball pin to a fast traditional shooter. Overall, I'm happy with this pin and plan to keep it as our collection grows.

This is one of the oldest pins I enjoy. The music and shots are fun, and I'm always happy to have a third flipper. Definitely an early John Trudeau gem. That playfield though, so much red!

I generally enjoy JPOP pins, and I like this one best. I'm no fan of that dog on the backglass - it would have to be replaced if I ever own one. I scored more goals in one game on this pin than I ever did in 9 years of playing real soccer as a kid. So it's fun!

Without a doubt, this pin is fun and belongs in the same category as Medieval Madness. Unlike that pin, I find Attack from Mars to be too repetitive. When I encounter one, I play a few games and then move on.

I put this pin in the same rare category as Paragon: "Old wide-bodies I actually like." The great art reminds me of a comic book. I would buy it if one comes up near me.

I love that the backglass was put to work in this game. I also love playing this pin. The sound, art, and shots are all fun. The market price for this used pin says it all. The Elvira series just keeps getting better.

I enjoy shooting this game, too bad the sound is so lo-fi and the art belongs in a Chuck E. Cheese. Probably my best bet for a re-theme since I like the layout but don't care for the aesthetics.

I finally had a chance to play this pin at a convention and I can see why it is so popular. I'm looking forward to playing it again if I can find one near me. One weakness I noticed is it's hard to see the dragon, he needs a spotlight on him.

After I had a blast playing this game I looked up the designer and was pleasantly surprised to see it was John Trudeau. It suddenly made sense that he was involved considering how much I also like Ghostbusters. Great design, sound, and shots on this pin. I wish the creature hologram was more interesting considering how much space it takes up on the playfield. Also, if the ramps aren't perfectly clear, it gets hard to see what's going on in the upper playfield. I guess the price reflects the demand, I wish I could pick one up.

Simple rules and addictive to play, like the pinball equivalent of Tetris. The music and lights are top notch. I expect to own a used one someday. If I could change one thing, I wish the video graphics were as colorful as the backglass and cabinet.

MAY 2018 - 9.364
I've been playing pinball regularly for about 5 months and this is the first game I would buy if I had $5K to blow. Highlights for me are the theme, art, sound, and layout. Yes, the center drain is cruelly wide, but consider that incentive to learn to nudge.
FEB 2019 - 7.360
Now that I've played many more pins, I can see where this pin falls flat. Kudos remain for the art and sound. The linear rules blow and so does that flipper gap.
SEPT 2019 - 8.400
New and better code means higher score.