BriannaWu's ratings

Venom is one of the most addictive, innovative game designs to ever come out of Stern. It’s essentially a roguelike, limited lives, and you get more powerful every game. Most people will be able to beat Venom if they play long enough.

The game design is simple. Beat a boss. Beat a sub boss. Beat Knull. To qualify for a fight, you have to beat three mini modes which require you to make two shots. It’s wildly addictive gameplay to make your six shots and try to beat the boss.

The cabinet art is stunning, as is the playfield and backglass. The only downside to venom are super mediocre toys.

One of the most innovative game designs to come out of the pinball industry in ages.

Venom is an RPG that carries your progress over to the next game. The core gameplay loop is simple. Hit a light, and hit the follow up shot. Do this three times, and you fight a boss. It’s much harder than it sounds. I love that every pinball player will be able to beat this game if they stick to it.

The fan layout shoots well, but a lot of shots don’t quite go all the way up for long gameplay sessions. The toys and sounds are subpar, but the code is also very early.

It feels like everyone in pinball was super cynical when this was announced and it feels like Venom bore the brunt of a lot of general anger at Stern about pricing. I think it’s stopping them from appreciating a truly unique game.

I wanted to love this game, truly. But a fundamentally flawed layout ruins this game - and no amount of code updates will fix it.

I walk away from every game of Bond angry. The drains feel random and unfair. The theme feel underbaked, and none of the toys truly stand out.

It says so much that Bond 60th has 1/10th of the tech and ends up being a better game. I love Gomez, but this was a real miss.

I know Foo Fighters is currently the hotness everyone is talking about - but to my mind, Scooby Doo is one of the finest, most addictive games to come out this year.

To me, it's not the theme - I'm a very casual Scooby Doo fan. It's the gameplay, which is wildly addicting. This is one of the very best laid-out tables I've ever played. The shots are difficult and rewarding. The bookcase upper flipper is FANTASTIC.

It's hard to overstate how great every one of the villain mystery modes are. They've really found a way to differentiate them with gameplay, and as they are tied to the cartoon - you feel an emotional need to beat them beyond most games. I feel like I've let down the gang when I don't succeed.

The reason Scooby Doo has that, "Just one more game!" feel is the shots. Spooky excels at "control" pinball games. There's a subtlety in making the shots that you understand more and more as you play. This is the reason I'm considering buying one - because I know it would be deeply rewarding to learn and master. It feels like Halloween, but better.

The code is admittedly underbaked, especially with character selection - but I'm sure that will be addressed soon.

I can't say enough positive things about this game. If you like control type pinball, this will be your jam.

Alien LE is a hard game to rate. This is flat out the most beautiful machine I own. The theme execution is flawless, and the sound design is a masterclass.

But the layout and shot feel is not great. The rules aren’t great either. The fundamentals of the game are simply not there the way they are with masterpieces like Twilight Zone or Godzilla.

As a piece of art, it’s hard to beat. As a game, it’s one I enjoy - but it’s only a B.

Bond 60th is technically unimpressive, has no real toys or gimmicks, and the most underbaked code this side of the EM era.

And yet, it is glorious and I love it. In my view, it’s a far better game than the Gomez 007, which despite having more toys and better immersion leaves me feeling angry every time I play due to a flawed layout. Bond 60th has better fundamentals leading to a much better game with glorious flow.

The real star is the music, the Moby 007 theme. Despite having very few callouts, the energetic music manages to paint over a total lack of movie clips, or any callback lines from the actors. The glorious back glass also helps sell the theme, but otherwise, the theme is theadbare. I understand they are calling it a throwback pin to the 80s, but for $20,000 the execution feels cheap.

I would liken Bond 60th to a classic car. Collectors enjoy them because the lack of electronics means a more engaging experience. There’s nothing here but extremely well executed fundamentals. Hit the MI6 targets. Hit the Bond targets. Get five spinners going. Every drain feels like your own fault, which is the best way a pinball game can be.

Bonus points for including cooperative mode, which should be in every game. But the LCD design is a UI crime, with a cheap Spectre Logo thrown on black and no artistic flair. 80s and 90s games sold the theme with dot matrix animations, but they don’t even try. Critical information like the objective of the villain mode takes time to appear, which is just poor design.

I know this review is mostly critical, but this really is an excellent game. And I suspect it will be a highly sought after machine in a decade. Just don’t go into it expecting modern Stern polish. It’s not there.

It’s weird giving this game 10s in every category, but I own it and it more than earns it. Godzilla is simply the best pinball game of this era, one that collectors will seek and every serious collection needs to have at least once.

Mandalorian is a really great game, and one of the better Star Wars pins. I like that the lower half of the playfield is a ton of ball lanes to hit the ball through. It’s chaotic but you’re always hitting something.

I can’t say I love the helmet playfield zone, and I wish Grogu wasn’t the main toy. The videos get a little bit repetitive.

I didn’t really enjoy Rush, though I’m not a fan of the band - which is the biggest factor for enjoying a music pin.

As a piece of game design, I can’t say I really found the shots rewarding or to have good flow. I did appreciate all the voice samples of the band.

Toy Story 4 is a good game. I don’t think it’s a $12,000 game, but for fans of the franchise it might be.

The best aspect of this game is the color and cheeriness of the game and characters. It’s also an easier game, and shoots better than other JJP games.

The worst aspect is it’s not a particularly fun game to shoot. There’s no shot I get a thrill from hitting.

I think your love of this game is going to come down to theme.

24 is a deeply flawed game, primarily with the sound design. But, it’s also a trashy, totally fun game! Why wouldn’t it be? It’s made by the guy behind Terminator 2, STTNG, High Speed and many of the greatest of all time.

The problem is this is a great theme poorly executed. 24 the TV show is serious. 24 the pinball game is a cartoon. The music and voice acting deliberately communicates “silly.” The result is a game that just feels off. The game would be better if they stuck to serious and had the music from the show.

Mary Lynn Raskjubb, the actress behind Chloe, did a very mixed job. Some of the lines are dead on for her character - others are ultra cringe. The outcome is the shots and layouts are just terrible.

Overall, only 900 of these were made. They’re hard to find, and a worthwhile experience.

This is an excellent game, and it's easy to see why it's ranked so highly. I own the machine, and I do think the overall ratings are too high for several reasons.

A. The music is not good. The default theme is flat out annoying, actually.
B. You get a lot of ball outs from the outlane off the left bumper, which feels unfair.
C. The machine is really tough to get dialed in.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great machine, and is in the "never sell" category. But, there's stuff to critique.

Full disclosure: I am not a Rush fan. But I am a huge Borg fan, and have been very curious about this pin. Played a ton of it today, and unfortunately I don’t think it’s his best work.

The table doesn’t feel like it has flow, and the time machine mechanism on the pro is a real letdown. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get into it.

Judging from the forums, people who love Rush have a very different reaction than I did, but as a pure pinball game this is not a pin I can recommend.

This could’ve been a great game, but the callouts ruin it and will play the same line until you lose your mind.

Playfield is above average, and it fits the theme well enough. I can’t say there’s good shot flow. The main problem are the callouts! This is the reason “variation” is a category here on Pinside.

If there’s a mathematical average pinball game, it’s this one. Mediocre theme implementation, mediocre flow, mediocre callouts.

Nothing on this game is bad, but nothing on it rises above feeling phoned in. I cannot say I enjoyed it.

Deadpool is legitimately good! Not a particularly deep game, you basically set up fights and work through them. And the callouts are very annoying, but overall a really solid game.

The 16-bit feel of the game is charming, and the playfield is accessible. There’s not great flow, but everything you have to hit on the board is fair.

There are some games that are a high wire act like TMNT. That’s not Deadpool. It’s easy, fun, accessible and reasonably deep. Not every pin needs to be difficult!

This is a game you need to sink time into to understand. I didn’t particularly like it when I played in a bar the first time. But, when you own one - you see that it’s one of the greatest games of all time.

No other pinball game has a “One more game” quality like Jurassic Park. You’re either in the flow, or you’re playing like garbage. There’s a wonderful sense of progression as you move through the paddocks.

But that also means that when you’re not playing well, the game is miserable. The raptor cage also is the weakest part of the playfield, adding little and taking up tons of space.

Jurassic Park is a hard game. It’s frustrating. But it’s utterly engaging.

I have such mixed feelings on this game. I cannot imagine a better implementation of a theme in pinball. The Rick and Morty charm just oozes through. The music, animation, call outs and theme are literally the best in the business.

But that playfield. It’s just barren. The shots are all difficult, the ball drains are too frequent, and it really feels like an uphill battle the entire time you play.

This is a game with AMAZING potential. It could have been one of the greatest of all time. But it is knocked down to above average because none of the shots feel good.

This is a surprisingly great game! It hits the Bond theme perfectly. The magnet gimmick in the bottom of the playfield is great, and there’s a lot of 90s charm oozing from this game.

The code is kind of basic, but it’s a Sega game from the 90s. The real star of the show is the use of the Bond license.

If I ever see one in the wild, will buy instantly. Yes, it’s slower and less refined than a modern game - but there’s so much charm here.

If there’s a such thing as a T3 mega fan, that’s me. I love Claire Danes, I love the TX. I love the dark ending. I want to love this game.

That’s why it pains me to say this is not a good pinball game. The board flow is weird, the music and shots aren’t great. The voice acting shines, but everything else is utterly average.

The gimmick of this game, a ping pong ball you shoot in the backglass is honestly silly.

Still - an average Stern from this era does still reach a high level of quality! But a Terminator game should be special, and this simply is not it.

This game is overly simplistic to play with a basic playfield, but really punches above its weight!

The thing that makes this game fun is it’s biggest flaw. An ultra basic playfield. This is good because it’s straightforward for less skilled players! But there’s also not much depth for playing, which is why I would be hesitant to add one to my collection.

Also want to be honest and say I’m not a Beatles fan particularly, so the theme is lost on me personally. But as far as being a good pinball game - it’s way more fun than it deserves to be. Very casual friendly!

I’m not a Led Zeppelin fan at all, but I really like this machine! As far as toys go, the center playfield spinner is EXCELLENT. The playfield has great flow, as you would expect from a Richie game.

These music games are all my dad’s music and not my thing, but if I had to own one this would definitely be it.

All modern pinball games have a certain threshold of quality. The rules hit a certain threshold of complexity, the music has a certain level of quality, the flippers and table geo is generally good.

Which is why Wonka is so surprisingly terrible. This is a bad game with instadrains, maddening geometry, bizarre board flow, and a complete lack of polish.

Not trying to disrespect the developers. I've never played any of their other games, but I'm truly shocked by how bad this game is.

Is the Demigorgon the greatest gimmick in pinball history? Very arguably. If you haven't played this, there's a projector screen which lowers. There, behind it is a shaking giant monster. You have to shoot the ball up the ramp to land in the Demigorgon's mouth. It's a thrilling moment.

But, beyond that amazing moment, the rest of the game feels lacking. There aren't great missions. So much of the playfield is monopolized by the screen, that you're just chipping around the edges.

If you see it on location, be sure to play it. But, it's not one I would add to my home.

Great table concept that is absolutely ruined by poor voice acting. It's not just that this guy is not Ryan Reynolds. It's that his work and the lines are so phoned in, it destroys what would otherwise be an EXCELLENT table.

The good: I LOVE THESE GAME RULES! The idea of setting up fights is great. The 16-bit era display animations are 10/10. When you're in a fight, it's clear what you need to do - and there's a straightforward way to do it. The ideas behind scoring are some of my favorite in a table.

But, they also included some of the worst, most annoying characters in the Deadpool universe. Why is Baby Deadpool in this game this much?!?! The jokes just aren't Deadpool quality either. Every single line in a game like Star Trek TNG is memorable. The lines here are just mildly amusing.

If they'd spent more time on the sound design, this could've been a true classic.

I am not the target audience for this game, and frankly the absurdly sexualized backglass would make this too embarrassing to have in my collection, like something a 12-year-old would love. That said, this game punches way, way, way above its weight in terms of fun.

I saw an interview with the actress behind Elvira, and she seems like a really fun person. That charm oozes into this game and her video clips. I'd probably go as far to say that she is one of the more talented actors doing shot callouts in any Stern title. Compare her "jackpot" lines to the ones in Turtles, Avengers, Deadpool, and it's very clear who has talent. It genuinely draws you in.

Which is why it's a shame the table layout is so basic, and the gameplay is a bit slow. The shots are not particularly interesting, nor are the ramps or toys. The main interactive feature are the fun video clips and the voice acting.

Overall, this game adds up to way more than the sum of its parts.

This is an above average Stern, but the phoned in theme stops it from truly being a table worth your time.

The good is that the shots are an absolute delight when you hit them. The ramps are extreme, and the whole table has an excellent feel. The bad is the voice acting. Why can't Stern hire better voice actors? It just feels phoned in and low rent.

The rule set is incomprehensible. If I added this to my home collection, I'm sure I would learn it - but to play on location, it's just too much.

How can this game be so much worse than Halloween?! It's just astonishing. I played these two identically laid out tables side by side - Halloween is amazing, Ultraman is a total fail. It really shows how much sound design, theme and rules shape a game.

Stern's Godzilla shows how to tell a giant monster story on a pinball table. You talk about the destruction, introduce the monsters with fun clips. There's none of that on Ultraman. In fact, if you look at the display - you will lose a ball. So, you don't even have a chance to perceive the theme.

There is a repetitive chime sound from the show that plays every four seconds and will drive you absolutely crazy.

The good is if you have a "control" playstyle like I do, the layout is EXCELLENT. When you drain, it feels like it's your fault. The shots are tough but fair to hit - and there's nothing on the table that's unreasonable to do.

But unless you have a thing against horror, there's no reason to get this over Halloween. It has better rules, better voice acting, better sound design, and is just wildly more immersive.

One of the greatest games ever made for a reason. Buttery smooth gameplay, fun scoring, a deep ruleset. There's not much to say about AFM that hasn't been heralded for decades.

This is not a good table, and frankly it fails the theme. Gameplay is basic, the playfield is a fail, and Stern missed the mark.

Sometimes, you play videogames where they oversimplify mechanics to reach a casual audience. That feels like what Stern has done here. I can imagine someone who doesn't seriously play pinball having fun, but for collectors - this table doesn't have substance. Just a real disappointment.

I've never given a pinball table a perfect score before, but Godzilla more than earns it. This is one of the greatest tables ever made, if not the greatest table.

I've never had a game enthrall me like this. The callouts are amazing. The music is simple, but creates intensity. The shaker motor set to high creates incredible immersion.

I care much more about shot layout than toys, but the toys on this table are incredible. Mechagodzilla, the bridge, the building, the axis magnet - they bring you joy when you play it. I cannot imagine the building collapse ever getting old.

Stern knocked it out of the park, here. Just amazing work.

I’m re-reviewing Halloween now that I have it. I honestly think this is going to be a pinball machine that will become more and more appreciated as time goes on. As a piece of game design, it’s flat out the best machine I own.

What makes Halloween so good is the emotion it nails. You wouldn’t think you could adapt survival horror to a pinball game - but they did. In every mode you feel like you’re going to barely survive - but it also feels fair. What you need to do it straightforward, it’s the execution that is tense and difficult.

The music is flat out incredible. John Carpenter’s soundtrack is legendary - and it makes for an amazing pin. It uses the movie clips effectively, and the art is incredible.

So, what’s not great with the pin? Well, Spooky’s quality control issues are not understated. My pin is buggy. It glitches, there are hardware issues. Everyone who buys one has to spend time sorting it out.

But, if you can deal with all of that, there is a truly amazing game to play here. I’m thrilled with my purchase.

I think this is an inferior game to STTNG pinball, though well above average. The missions feel generic, and the sound design falls flat for me. The playfield art just feels generic.

That said, the gameplay is smooth, and there’s a much stronger rhythm to playing.

Weirdly compelling, but objectively a very dated game. Half the balls that you launch you don’t even get to swing at. The fact that it’s electromechanical pushes the fun factor.

This really is one of the most classic pinball games ever made. Funhouse seems like a property that has always existed, despite only being in this single pinball game - which is a real credit to the design work.

The gameplay is really tough. The rules are archaic. But that’s part of the fun of the table, slowly uncovering the mystery.

I’ve always been surprised this one isn’t ranked higher.

I think this is a better than average pinball table, but suffers from a poor layout and generic sound design. It’s really hard to find rhythm or flow on the table. It’s really a shame because with a few tweaks to the game design this could really be excellent. It does fit the Starship Troopers theme very well.

I don’t understand why so many people feel this is better that Star Trek: Next Generation Pinball. It’s got a lot of the same ideas, but while the gameplay is stronger, everything else feels weaker.

Designed by the same person as STTNG, it’s faster gameplay with more animation and variation. But it just lacks the magic. With STTNG, it's recreating classic tropes from the series. In this one, the modes are all forgettable moments from the 2009 film. Destroy the Drill? I don't even remember this scene. Space jump? Sure?

Also, STTNG playfield art is classic, this is just plain clean graphics. It's so boring.

The flow of this one is drastically better, but everything else is worse.

Xenon is my guilty pinball pleasure. It’s a historically important game, one of the first with voice acting and the sound design is too notch. The artwork is breathtaking, everything I love about 70s sci-fi.

But it’s not a good game.

The path is so straightforward to win. Sink the ball in the cup three times. Do tube shot. Repeat. Multiball. That’s it. And yet, that simplicity makes gameplay flow. I love the game, though it’s not a defensible opinion.

I've owned this game for a while, and wanted to update my thoughts.

THE GOOD: Literally the best artwork of any pinball table, great voice acting. 3D April can be modded to be a FANTASTIC representation of the character we all know and love.

I also appreciate how many modes there are. All pinball games should have a cooperative mode for playing with new people, and the half-shell challenge is excellent for teaching you the shots. Owning this game WILL make you a better player for all pinball games because it is so hard.

THE BAD: TMNT is a good game to have in your collection, but it's also flawed. This is unquestionably the most unforgiving pinball game I've ever played. It's frustrating that your score in this game comes down to a few make or break moments. Don't have octopus for your multiball? You wasted your time. Can't hit the spinner for multiball? You wasted your time. Like all Borg games, this is very dependent on stacks. And if your stacks are set up and you drain? Well, I've been tempted to break the glass before.

There is no shot in this game that hasn't upset me, because they are all hard to hit consistently. But, that's also what makes you return to the game over and over.

TLDR: I call this "TurtleSouls." It's brutal, unforgiving, but rewarding to master.

This machine is a nightmare to keep running. But, in my opinion it’s one of the greatest pinball games of all time. I think it’s mostly the sound design, which really keeps you engaged in the Star Trek universe. Every line in quotable.

The rules are straightforward, almost to the detriment. There’s one correct decision to make whenever you have an option. This is good and bad.

The play speed is also slow compared to modern games. But, there is so much magic in the layout. Hitting to Picard Maneuver is ALWAYS a thrill.

The opto circuits are quirky, and if you own the table be prepared to become an expert at maintaining them. Parts are not terrible to locate, but not plentiful either.