Cheddar's ratings

4 Queens has that one more game quality that is hard to define. For such a simple layout I find myself trying to play it different ways to bump that score up and get more queens. The T-Rex flippers may be tiny but when well tuned deliver a wicked backhand sending the ball back to the saucer for a lit "Spot a letter" or to the lanes if you are not.

The combo of the slings are the Zipper-Flipper releases right above them make side to side motion almost certain death and a feeling of satisfaction if you live.

Pinbot has a simple 2 ball multiball that is activated by dropping the target bank and locking 2 balls. During multiball you need to re-lock 1 ball and then hit the left ramp to collect bonuses.

Add to this this the ability to re-drop to the shooter lane to collect multiplied skillshots and the planet hopping through the drop targets or the suicide target and this makes pinbot a fun game.

The soundtrack and the call-outs are fun but not amazing.

I might not have pinbot if I didn't have the bride. I comeback to pinbot just often enough to want him in my collection.

The Bride is an excellent game. The different loops clearly spell out the actions as you hit them, the face with the speaker panel key spells out that the goal is to make a woman. When you do make the woman the sounds, the lights, the heartbeat. Going into metamorphosis makes my youngest daughter run in from the next room so she can shout "My God She's Alive!"

I think of Judge Dredd like a easier Theatre of Magic. Instead of the trunk you have the left loop and the sniper tower. There are 3 multiball modes and the deadworld multiball is a challenge to progress through the dark judges.

The artwork and sounds are top notch, taken directly from the comic and with superb voice acting. This is pre-Stallone so no cheese here.

The background music during regular play is a little repetitive but only because it's not as catchy as some games.

This is one of the only games that I had to have myself even though a good friend had one and I can play his.

When you first start to play your right arm can get tired from over flippering that side. Some might think it's a 1 trick pony but after extended play you start to enjoy hitting the loops and spinners for huge points.

Hitting a crucial shot is immediately awarded a cool light show with pulse driving sounds affects. This game is a keeper

I wasn't sure if I would like Hurricane but I got a good deal on a clunker and I was willing to fix it up even if I didn't want to keep it in the end. Art wise this might be the best of the roller coaster pins. The semi-demonic clowns seem to have a different attitude depending on whose looking at them. The call-outs are good and really only the dummy gets repetitive.

The downside for me is the slow play. Certain shots take the ball around the hurricane loop or into the ferris wheels. This is a serious break in game play. This can be very useful in multiball but a drag during single. This is a great feature for beginners but annoying for more experienced players.

The rules are kind of figure it out as you go. You complete all targets and shoot each ramp, complete the dummy, hit the ramp again and Clown Time. The Palace mode and looping modes you just have to stumble on yourself. The machine will prompt you but you have to listen for the signal.

This is the game we always come back to. I am impressed by the simple ruleset. You can play a simple game with a couple of shots. Learning a couple of skill shots allow you to recover from mistakes and extend your gameplay.

This game has some of the best wipes and fades. The light design is excellent and using the bonus matrix as a dot matrix display is genius.