BamBam's ratings

I am happy with my purchase of a GTF DE. Clearly this is a polarizing game, but I liked the theme and artwork, plus I am happy with my previous purchase of a Hot Wheels, so I went ahead.

The pin-stadium-like lighting is great. The theme is fully fleshed out, and it plays well. I'm not a great player but I've gotten pretty far in the modes, if not scores. It has decent replay value. I'm not sure yet how to utilize the ramp diverter, so there's room to grow! My friends who have tried it have all been fans.

Cons: It has several bugs; I am still waiting for a patch, and the company's communication is not great. There also isn't a lot of mods which I enjoy installing.

I bought this machine because we wanted to get a DMD and it is her favorite of our collection! Also me and my son play it a lot.

It is very colorful on the cabinet and playfield. There is a backbox animation where Bullwinkle pulls something out of a hat, and the DMD animations are amusing and varied.

The game plays pretty fast, and I like the Swooshing noises everytime the ball goes around the orbit. There is plenty of variation. Most importantly it is fun!

Also, this game of in 1993, and there are surprisingly a lot of mods available for it, which I enjoy. 3D-printed stuff, decals, color DMD, etc.

Cons: The Nell motor, which refers to a lady named Nell who is tied to a log that is supposed to move towards a buzzsaw is broken on my machine and I understand that is a common issue and can be fixed. Also the kicker on the left frequently has trouble getting the ball out and I'm not sure why.

Verdict: We will be keeping this one for a long time.

Background: I'm a Beatles fan and would have bought one of these except they were way overpriced compared to other new machines. They have the gold edition at my local pinball place and I usually play it at least once every time I go. I think it is good, but not as good as it could have been. Here is my review:

Beatles theme Sells itself!

Sound- It starts with Ed Sullivan introducing them and then alternates between song clips and fans screaming. This is great except it never seems to finish a song. I don't know if this is because I suck and it ends when the ball drains or it starts another mode, but I'll start singing every time and then the song ends. (On Led Zeppelin the songs keep playing even after the ball drains.) Also the rest of the sounds are like a slot machine. (Ding ding ding ding!)

Layout-This is based on an old game called Sea Witch. The layout is basically the same except the Beatles has a spinning magnetic wheel in the middle and it's faster and smoother, possibly just because it's a newer game. There are three flippers and the goal is to get and keep the ball in the top half of the field, where it bounces around the bumpers and occasionally scores a jackpot. Not too deep, but it intentionally feels like a retro pinball machine in that the goal is straightforward to get more points. Not exactly my thing (I like bosses and multiballs) but I see the attraction. It has a nice flow.

Artwork-It's beautiful! Blue neon. The videos are entertaining but there seems to be a lot of clips of Ringo laughing like a goofball.

Repayability- I like just looking at the thing! I love the Beatles music and it definitely says "Play me!" visually and otherwise. It would look great in anyone's gameroom. It's not my favorite though, as I'm not aware if there is anything left for me to see? I play it, enjoy it, get my fix and move on. However, I really liked it and recommend anyone who is interested to try it before they buy it.

This is my first pinball machine that I've bought, and I'm very happy with it.
Design: There are two ramps that go up either side, and bumpers in the middle. The are targets up and down the side as well. It's a pretty straightforward setup, and the various targets you need to hit are clearly illuminated which I like. There are five Hot Wheels cars on the Layfield which you can switch out with most other Hot Wheels which is fun. One of them spins around when you hit a target which I pretty much ignore (or it would be annoying). I really like getting the gorilla or dinosaur mini games; the whole machine shakes and lights up! Lots of fun.

Artwork: I really like the artwork, but I have to imagine it's not for everyone. It's really Orange, seems like it might not be for everyone. The shot indicators are great. The TV in the backbox tells you what to do, and the animations (I believe they're originally from a YouTube series) are great! They communicate the theme of the game, which is fun, go fast, get lots of points, etc.

Sounds: The animations are like stop motion, and there's a news station that reports (game-related) news ("News flash! Someone tried to play a game without putting any money in!"), an evil scientist cackling about taking over the city (Hot Wheels City!) and a sheriff making wry comments ("Well, that didn't go very well did it?") it sounds good and is not too repetitive.

Other: This game has that "One more game" feeling! It's a lot of fun and more if you play with someone. I got some of the Mod Couple mods, and they are so good I have to say they probably should have been on there to begin with (tire bumpers that look like tires, the orange gorilla). Also, looking at the available toppers for other machines, I feel like they could have made something awesome (maybe some combination of lights and a moving car set with a loop-de-loop?) but these are minor criticisms. The theme, sounds and fun factor are great for this game. I totally recommend it!