chadderack's ratings

Fun because it's cheesy... and the woman on the backglass isn't hard to look at. The heavy breathing sounds when you start each ball are hilarious. But other than that... it's kind of a joke pin. If you have room for one, go for it.

Unique game, but a clunker. If you like having unique stuff, get one. Otherwise, pass. Not fun at all. Played in league and would rather never play it again.

Fairly terrible game. Played on location and it wasn't set up all that well... really floaty and the flippers didn't have a lot of strength. That said, when you could hit the shots it seemed really uninteresting. Has giant hole in right side of playfield similar to South Park... which doesn't help things.

The side ramp shot is a thrill to hit... the challenge of getting multiple super jackpots always brings me back for more... have only reached Crime Wave once... which also adds to lastability.

Played this in a tournament a few times. A lot of fun.

Played it at Louisville. Fantastic game. Overall control was fantastic--it didn't feel like I was being cheated out of my turn by cheaply designed ramp returns or unfair ball guides/posts that punish good shots. Great sights and sounds, and the ramps flow incredibly well. Once I get a chance to actually watch what is happening on the giant LCD screen I know I'll just like the game more.

It feels (in spirit) like Whirlwind 3000--not just a funnel cloud coming, but several natural disasters. The game (LE version) will make its way into my lineup around summertime, according to Jack. Over a thousand people ahead of me in line!

Was in on the SMVE before I knew about the changes. Let me just say that after a month of owning this thing, the changes don't really matter--the music is the same, the shots are the same, the modes are essentially the same (except for their names) and all the important stuff is the same. People who down rate this on art are insane--the art looks fantastic, and I am an artist with many years drawing experience.

The game plays really fast, and it's a hoot. I think it will be a keeper. Getting to Super Hero is a serious challenge.

This game is probably one of the most overrated games ever. First, there's no bounce over on the flippers, making it almost entirely impossible to control the ball. The feed from the goldmine is nearly impossible to predict, so that even a drop catch is questionable. Combine this with over-sensitive slings, and this makes for a ball that is nearly impossible to trap. If the ball goes into the boulder garden, forget about it... 90% chance it will go to the outlane. The most infuriating feature is that the locks for the first multiball are WAAAY too easy to light. That would seem like a positive, but when you're trying to stack 5x with multiball, the multiball gets achieved well before 5x--unless you want to chance going into the boulder garden and a 90% chance of drain in the outlane.

All of these things means you have to keep the ball in motion constantly (no trap) which, of course, means riskier and more difficult shots on a machine that punishes bad shots already. Unless your aim is impeccable and the power to the upper flipper is excellent (mine is not) you won't be able to relight the whirlpool easily which makes the game nearly unfair to play. This game is a turd. Wish I hadn't overpayed for it.

Pretty darn fun. Not sure why it's rated this low, other than the fact it is a System 11 (non-DMD). The music is cheesy, the artwork is cheesy and bordering on sexist... but that's fun. The FLIP/DON'T FLIP feature is neat... and the side ramp is fun to hit.

Managed to put my initials up on the machine on my first game... which, of course, helps the rating :P

Just got to play this one. Must say it's a lot more fun than it seems. Challenging and interesting even for someone who doesn't care about NBA or basketball.

Just played one this last week end; seems more forgiving than my AC/DC Prem Luci edition. First time playing this version I hit 111 million. What's not to like?

A lot of exciting shots on this one. Only played a handful of times but it definitely has the "one more game" aspect to it, and it doesn't kick you in the pills as harshly as something like Iron Man. Should be rated higher. Very cool game.

A fun machine. Have played it a handful of times. Great rules; you can bash on Sparky until you understand the deeper rules, and still have fun. Glad that "Sad But True" is one of the tunes... not much of a Metallica (metalcore/speed metal) fan, so that one cool "grunge" song from them helps me connect to the pin.

Fun game. Got to play it last week. The lighting is superior; the warp ramp is a trip. It kind of has a "one more game" feel to it, though the modes seem too simplistic. Hit a few shots, then move on to the next one.

Shooting under the upper flipper is a neat game play gimmick.

Decent game. Kind of overrated; the scoring seems too inflated. Doesn't really grab me in terms of the game play. The call outs are great, though. Cool that Patrick Stewart and others did some.

Underrated. Playfield layout is good. The callouts are kind of funny... with Forrest Gump (or his sound-alike) being one of the contestants. Rules are pretty clever.

Excellent job pulling off this theme, really. Hit the green targets for multiball; hit the B-O-N-U-S letters to spin the big wheel!

This is a really fun game. Played it at Lyons and won in a tournament on it. Nudging is the order of the day... getting the ball into the bonus collect on the upper left seems to award a lot of points after the ball has drained. Keep the ball near the upper playfield and you'll score well. Backglass isn't bad to look at either.

Nostalgia piece #6,532. At the local grocery store arcade room for about a year. What a cool rush to keep hitting those millions ramps!

Loved Homer saying "Chocolate! Double Chocolate! TRIPLE Chocolate!"

Really hit the theme square on, which is where TSPP feels off to me as a major Simpsons fan. TSPP feels like a set of fragmented "Simpsons related" elements kind of loosely thrown together. Data East Simpsons is well integrated, simple, and just eye popping and fun. The sounds, the music, and the flashing lights make it a great game.

I'll probably buy one soon and restore it.

Another nostalgia piece from 20 years ago for me; this one was at the local grocery store "arcade room" for several months.

The flow elements and rules are OK, and the gameplay progress is fairly linear (though you can progress towards WABAC and a "puzzle scene" separately).

I found that multiball (or "Tri-Ball" as it's called) is much too easy to achieve, making it less exciting... although hitting more than one jackpot or getting a double jackpot is a challenge.

The animated backglass is unique and cool with Bullwinkle pulling different things out of his hat.

However, where this pin really shines is in the audio... superb callouts (despite "Wrong hat!") and magnificent music--especially the post Tri-Ball jackpot music. It's fantastic--some of the best music in pinball, even though it's just a groovy version of the "Rocky & Bullwinkle Show" theme.

The game can be a little frustrating at times because the rules are so linear and simple, and an untimely drain can really raise the hairs on the back of your neck. However, if you do pull off a "death-save" (which is fairly easy on the machine) the machine recognizes you for it and Mr. Peabody says "Good boy!"

Scoring is a bit inflated; it's a good pin for beginners... I don't imagine it's a great pin for tournament players.

Not a bad game. Might want to give it a few more plays. Can be really easy to get a high score without much skill, though, with the roulette wheel... kinda makes scoring a joke. A well designed rule set, though, and great callouts.

Really unique. Played this in the tournament at Lyons; and even though I only got to play it twice, it made me want to play it again. Super challenging shots in the upper playfield (a TRUE upper playfield--lol). Once you go over that top jump, you'll feel a rush... trust me.

Might actually buy one in the future.

This is a helluva fun game, and the one I'm currently playing A LOT. It seems you can really build your flipper skills playing this one. It can be super frustrating.

If you don't understand how to re-light the continents by hitting the right ramp, the game can downright make you want to smash the playfield glass!

But if you take deep breaths and calmly shoot, you'll find yourself getting better and better at not just this machine but at all machines. It's a skill-building machine.

Also it's really a rush to hit a super jackpot... especially after collecting a continent jackpot. Still haven't seen Atlantis; this one will be in my collection likely forever.

Another game I played back in the day. Haven't played it for 20 years. It was the first "fan layout" that I remember, and also the first DMD... really liked Arnie's voice and the unique cannon shot. Never played it enough to get good at it, but if there is one in a bar or an arcade somewhere I'll play it again.

Pretty fun game. Played it at Lyons; would like to play it some more to kind of discover more about it. The magna save feature is fun... and trying to sneak the ball past the goalie-on-a-stick is kind of neat.

Played this one (a really good condition one) at a bar for about two hours. It's a decent game; one that I would drop more quarters into. However, it didn't grab me. Unlike others will surely say, I didn't find the callouts to be that funny... I think FG humor is typically too over the top and once you expect "over the top" all the time, it loses its edge. The humor is more crass than clever I think.

However, the mini pinball upper playfield is cool and sorta fun.

I remember this one as being a lot of fun. There was some mystery and sexiness to Red that I always wanted more of, for some reason. Would like to play it some more to get through more of the "map".

Played this a couple times at the local movie theater. It's decent; but not awesome. The crane/wrecking ball thing is a bit confusing and interesting to try to figure out. In the end I didn't really stay interested in trying to figure out the ins and outs of the game... but would like to play it a few more times.

Another nostalgic one for me. There was an Elvira and the Party Monster's in my University Union building which I would skip class to play. Remembered the cheesy dancing rubber monsters, the groovy/sexy organ music, and of course the sultry Elvira in both drawn form and voice form.

Cheesy, campy horror theme. I could see myself picking one of these up. It's a helluva fun pin. Plus it's liable to give ya a woody just listening to it.

This game is above average. Played it for the first time at Lyons and liked it. Would have to spend some more time with it, but it feels like a game I could grow to like.

A redneck game that doesn't play like a redneck game. Pretty fun. I'm as non-redneck as they get, and this game could possibly make it into my extended collection some day.

I played this game 20 years ago and remembered just how fun it was, even when getting my butt handed to me. The machine had a creepy vibe and amazing music, sounds, and callouts.

Now that I own one 20 years later, I can honestly say that no pin has more vibe nor is just as freakin badass. And getting all 3 multiballs stacked is hard, but a lot of fun.

Decent game. The super charger is pretty cool. Gear shifter for the launch button is a little hokey, but it's integrated well into the game. Fun, but not a keeper.

This game is a bitch! In a good way. Definitely want to play it more and explore its mysteries. It kicked my buns quite a bit at Lyons; but it's the good kind of kick.

An overrated game, tbh. The spinning discs are cute but not really that interesting. Seems like there are about two shots in the game; the right ramp and the skyway ramp. The multiball modes aren't really as fun as they should be considering the work one has to go to to get them.

Not a bad game; but I would pass on owning one.

Great pin from back in the day. Played this one a lot up at college when it was relatively new. Love the little bastard Rudy. He's such a pain in the ass! But he's likeable anyway. Makes it all the more enjoyable to smack him in the mouth with the ball.

The "animations" are the alpha-numeric animations... which are pretty cool considering the limitations of that.

Might own someday; but could do without.

Let me put this in perspective:

I'm an original Simpsons fan. I watched the show as an adult since 1990. I created a fan website called "I can't believe it's a Simpsons Site" back in the late 90's. I wrote articles for the fansite "The Simpsons Archive" where I used to be on staff. I have boxes and boxes of Simpsons VHS tapes recorded from TV from over 22 years of watching the show.

I don't really like TSPP.

I've tried to play this on location a few times, and the game didn't grab me. It didn't feel like "The Simpsons" to me... it felt like a stranger butting in to "The Simpsons" or something. It seems whomever themed the game didn't really pay attention too closely to the real vibe of the show.

The biggest issues I have with the game is that it doesn't seem too fun. It's too complicated. Several of the DMD animations play too often (like Homer rooting through his box of junk). Even if I were to eventually be able to get longer ball times on the game, I wouldn't be intrigued enough to try and start all of the modes because they just don't carry the spirit of the humor of the show. It's literally like a few sound bites from the actors... but no attempt seems to have been made to create a funny "narrative." The modes could almost apply to any game, not to a culturally iconic show with some of the best written humor for television in history.

Maybe I would like it after playing it about another 100 times. It doesn't feel like a game that would grab me, though.

Luci edition gets this rating. Fun game, but can be very frustrating. If you get in that groove, though, nothing is better than trying to nail a song jackpot with the cannon during multiball.

This is a pretty fun machine, but I think it's a bit overrated.

The one thing that jumps out is the music's repetitiveness. After about 30 seconds you want to put the game on mute, but that's a shame since the call outs are reasonably funny.

Not as funny as Monster Bash; but that would be a tall order.

Not a fan of the troll popups... they're a bit too kiddy for me, though they do up the challenge of the game.

Might pick up a remake (MMr).

UPDATE: I've owned this game for a month, and I'm in love with it. Is it perfect? It may as well be. Playfield art? That shouldn't be as big of a factor... the only thing I wish it had more of were the female characters--esp Arwen (Liv Tyler).

Dang near perfect, really. Only got to play it a few times on a routed machine with mushy flippers. It definitely instills in you the desire to play "just one more game." Would have been cool had the playfield artwork not been photoshopped but actually drawn by a competent artist. Would buy the game and somehow shoe-horn it into my small space!

Fairly fun game. Widebody. Definitely would like to play it some more and try to get more of those Powerball jackpots... that's fun. The main "toy" is that powerfield, but it also has the gumball machine which is unique. Might own it some day.

This is a pretty good game. I'm not a huge fan of the inflated scoring. Might own it someday if I come by a bigger room.

Damn near perfect game. The callouts and humor mixed with the music are great by themselves. I've never laughed out loud so many times at a pinball machine before. But the gameplay is addictive and fun as well. Definitely keeps you coming back.

Played this BITD at many bowling alleys and at the University Union building instead of going to class. Knew one day I'd own one (and I do!). Touring the mansion is exciting, difficult, and keeps you coming back for more. 50 million!!