Cabal73's ratings

Jersey Jack pins are interesting to me. They seem to always have a few things about them that sets them apart from Stern, Spooky and American...and mostly that is a good thing but not always. For one, their games seem to be set at a slower pace, from the moment you release the plunger all the way to the softer calibrated slings they use.

When I released the rod on GNR and sent first ball down the quick eject it felt a bit lethargic and honestly I felt it would be downhill from there. Boy was I wrong. This pin is nuts crazy fun! The lights, the sounds, the action and the crazy frantic-paced multi balls; holy S&^%! With rockband pins I tend to favor pop bumpers placed at the drop point of the ball like Stern KISS and Stern Aerosmith. This one's got them tucked away up high and since ball pours out well below them I felt the pop placement is way better this way as they are more integral to scoring. I also love the placement of the scoop. It may seem a bit too low and easy to hit but that is what makes the flow so fun. Also the COMA mode where you can hit anything to set it off. You can tell the designers wanted to not make you study all the rules and scoring conditions/multipliers but simply rock out and have fun.

I have never played a rockbank-based pinball machine and told myself 'I have to own'. I thought about buying the Iron Maiden pin but talked myself out of it. This one 'I have to own'. It is simply that immersive and engaging and there are a bunch of songs. Some rockband pins give you 5 to 8 songs. This one I'm sure is well over 20. I honestly didn't look it up but it seems like a lot.

I gave this pin a perfect score because I don't feel anything could've been better. My first impressions were maybe 1 additional ramp or a faster launch like Stern's Jurassic Park but honestly it is a non issue and after about half an hour on it I felt so well synchronized and connected to it that I feel it earns the score I gave it and for the record I have been playing pinball machines since I was 7 or 8 so that's about 40 years.

Thank you, Jersey Jack!

I finally got to play this one over at Arcade 92 in McKinney Texas. You may wonder why I rated it 'excellent' on fun factor but average to below average on everything else. Well, thats because this is one of those pin that is more than the sum of its parts.

I was dissapointed with many aspects of this pin, primarily its lackluster art design which seems like it was designed by a 7th grader. Sorry, but considering the quality of art that's out there is just no excuse. Also not sure why Spooky placed a single pop bumper on the right. It's placement is better than Rick and Morty I feel, but you might as well not have pop bumpers at all.

I did enjoy the upper part of playfield and the scoop is cool. Lower playfield is a bit open but that really allows you to hit drop targets quickly with little to get in your way. Also lighting and sound really make the overall experience.

Bottom line; first few plays I was super critical of it...then an hour and a half later I found myself still wanting to keep going...which is where the fun factor is high.

I don't feel this pin is worth what it fetches on the open market, though. Probably because of its limited production but I wouldn't spend over 3k on it.

-OGA

This, thus far, is my least favorite Jersey Jack pin. And it's not that it is a terrible pinball machine. But that it's modern pop culture theming just does not appeal to me. The Cell Phone, the social media angle, the chaos...Not really what I want to soak myself in when I pull back the plunger on a pin.

The playfield is very much cluttered with crap all over the place and honestly it seems like very little thought was placed into where everything goes and the overall flow of the game is impacted. If you play a machine by Steve Ritchie, for example, you get an amazing sense of flow. Not here.

And again I reiterate that I am not at all against Jersey Jacks. The Hobbit and Willy Wonka are amazing pins. So is their Pirates of the Caribbean which is quite innovative. I haven't played their Guns N Roses yet but everything I've seen on it points to 'epic'. But Dialed In I just can't get into...And I've dumped quite a bit of time into it. This review is not at all a first or brief impression.

I love this game. Of all the Metal and Rock N Roll pins this is my favorite. Metallica's a close second.

What makes Legacy of the Beast work is its flow. Gameplay and flow is almost karmic. Smooth game and a great selection of Maiden songs. It would have been nice had they added more tracks and Rules are a bit tough to figure out at first. But it really doesn't matter because the game flow is so good

Definitely one I'd buy

I really love this game. I wish I could afford it so I could have at home. I travel 35 miles to play it at least once monthly.

This is my favorite Jersey Jack machine and one of the most faithfully perfect-licensed pins out there. Designers are quite obvious huge Willy Wonka fans because if there was a real chocolate factory this pin would be sitting there, awaiting visitors to play.

A big thank you to Jersey Jack and I hope to someday add one to my home pin collection.

-OGA

This game was quite impressive. The quick return launch takes a bit getting used to but it's pretty cool...innovative. What's neat about it is that this pin feels different. Elvira feels like Black Knight, Munsters feels like Batman '66 but this one is like Stern's Deadpool; unique and fresh. I'm a huge Elvira fan and horrorhound yet I would get this one over the Elvira pin. Definitely check it out.

Played Ted Nugents pin quite a bit at Pinball Madness event. I really enjoyed it.

Considering owning if I find one in great condition for a decent price.

I know I am going a bit against the grain with my review. And I will disclose that I do not own it. I would love to someday add to my collection, but I did play it extensively at the museum of pinball. I also had a difficult time hearing it due to the low set volume and room noise so I tried as best to grade it by what I can hear. I am also a huge fan of the Gerry Anderson series. A couple of things that impressed me. That this pin was designed and manufactured by a relatively new company. I believe this is their only machine. Quite impressive for a first attempt. The other is that it is not manufactured in the US. I'm sure the fact it's built in China probably is what led to the lower price point compared to a Stern, American or Spooky machine.
I do agree with some reviewers that the rules and objectives in this game aren't your standard rules. One person mentioned that the playfield is cluttered and feels narrow...I can see that too, but honestly I didn't feel it took away from the overall enjoyment of it. Playing Thunderbirds by Homepin put a smile on my face. Of all the pins I played over the weekend at Pinball Madness its on my 'top 5' list. It has a lot of charm and personality. Gameplay also flows much better than some other newer machines.

All in all I feel that reviewers were too harsh on it. Maybe it's because playing it brought me back to when I used to watch Thunderbirds with my dad as a child so I enjoyed it more. But of the near 1500 pins I played all weekend this one made a lasting impression and I went back to it several times.

Try it for yourself.

Really enjoyed this one. Played it for about half an hour. Launch gimmick is a bit awkward to use but it looks super cool. For an older machine it's flashy and fast like newer machines and completes well against them. Perhaps a tad on the easy side. 3 balls lasted me over half an hour and this is with me not being a professional pinball player or having learned the machine. But I promise you it didn't get dull for a moment. Machine is engaging and entertaining, with all the wit and humor you'd expect from the Cryptkeeper.

This one was painful for me because I love and idolize Alice Cooper and was going to order this machine from Spooky Pinball for their December production but was hesitant to without playing myself since machine didn't get the hottest reviews and Rob Zombie machine was a huge let down. Well...Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle is a bit more enjoyable than Rob Zombies but this still is no Stern. For one, the playfield is oddly designed so that alot of the times the ball is bounced down the center for a cheap drain. There is a youtube video where pinball players struggle to keep the ball in play. I consider myself a decent pinball player yet I suck at this one. The visuals are gorgeous...don't get me wrong. The cinematics are great. It's issues are all on the ball's movement across the play field and cheap drains. Also, the machine breaks down alot. Balls easily get stuck near Frankenstein and glass has to be pulled back to remove. I managed to get ball stuck 3 times in 10-15 games. Also there is a glitch where you'll try and start a game and it'll say balls are missing and you have to reboot. I was told this is a software issue but still quite annoying. I really wanted to love this game but bottom line is Spooky Pinball company has a lot to learn from Stern or American Pinball. Having cool IPs is not enough.

Played this machine in depth today at Pinball Madness (will upload video on Youtube). At first play I was a bit dissappointed with the overall machine since its a modern Stern machine yet uses a vintage layout and small flippers, is low scoring and doesn't have modern lcd screens and animations. But I gave it a 2nd chance and the designers brilliance hit me! This game is a work of genius. And it is a game of true skill. Not bells and whistles or flashy presentations but pure skill. There were over a thousand machines all around me today but this one got the most amount of attention from me. I probably played for a good hour. I have never experienced a machine that made me do a complete 180 on what I thought of it so quickly.

This is the perfect machine. I’ve been playing it since it came out and had to purchase one for my home. Perfect at 7 degree incline. Fast but not too fast. Tournament modes are great. Scott Ian’s music kicks ass. Mr. Ritchie’s voice is great.

This would be a fun game to play at a pub after pounding a few. I played it sober and after being told it's pricetag I said 'nein danke'!

super cool color scheme that takes you back to the hipster lounge era. Solid machine. I would've designed more traps and ramps but that's just me.

A pizzeria here in La Habra recently acquired one and all of a sudden I find myself eating a lot more pizza. Very fun to play despite repetitive sound effects and audio.

Gorgar is tough to rate and be fair to considering it was made in 1979 and for it's time was state of the art. While it was the first table to have speech by today's standards it does not hold up well. a company like Stern should revamp it. Still, though, a fun machine to dump quarters into. I still play it whenever I come across one (a pizzeria/bar in Long Beach has one).

I really enjoy this machine. When I was trying to decide which machine to buy it was between this one, The Munsters and Black Knight Sword of Rage. Black Knight won but by very slim margins.

I really enjoy playing this machine. Definitely among my favorites. I love all the Monty Python-esqe humor and speed of play. The Blackglass and cabinet art could've been better and the animations are not really integral to the gameplay but there is enough going on for it not to be a big deal.