dontpanicflip's ratings

I really enjoy this game. Fantastic art, great theme, awesome toys, and cool ruleset with online RPG aspects. Overall a fantastic game!

I think JP will go down as one of Stern’s most successful games. What Keith and the team did with limited assets is quite amazing. I love how immersed the Ruleset is in the Jurassic Park world. It feels very much like role-playing. Great job overall!

TMNT is another great game from Stern. I struggle to decide which game I like more, this or Jurassic Park. I think I’ll need to give TMNT another month before I decide that. Until then, I can’t wait to play another game :-)

I’ve put about 30 games on this now and I’m going to call this a very fun game. The layout and rules are wonderful. But I’d also call it the most visually disgusting game I’ve played. I’m not big into horror and I’ve got a young kid, so I can’t have this game in the house. I wouldn’t want this game in house. It’s horrible in an aesthetic sense which I think they were going for. If Stern decides to put out a VE with comic art, I’d buy it. But this is one I can only play on location when my daughter isn’t with me.

I’ve had a MET Pro for a little over 3 months now and I’d seriously consider a Premium. Very fun/balanced pin with some the best art in pinball. Sparky is wonderful. Snake is mean. Crosses are dangerous. Very well designed game.

I love this game. So much fun. Great music, wonderful call-outs "HIPPOS!". The rules on it are pretty simple but the game has me coming back often to try and get to the super multi-ball (collect 100 diamonds). I've got a Congo and I've modded it quite a bit to super bright LEDs everywhere. Beautiful pin. This one is going to stay in the collection ;-)

I've got about ~30 games on this now and the rule-set isn't complete but the game is super fun to play, it's beautiful, and the theme integration is top-notch. I dig the shots and I like how difficult the right ramp shot is. You can definitely feel the difference when you hit the ball just right and it flies up into the ball-lock. I'm excited to see what happens as the game makes its way to V1.0.

Would love to see the game let you run multiple modes a bit easier. For ex. When you lock in Lil'Deadpool, you should be able to start a mode and THEN initiate lil'deadpool multi-ball. The call-outs are lacking and repetitive. Would like some better humor in upcoming versions. Maybe some call-outs that talk about Stern not having enough money to get Spider-Man licensing? Deadpool has a serious bromance with Spider-man in the comics. And I don't think this is going to happen, but an "adult" mode where Deadpool is a bit more himself would be good. Doesn't have to swear, I don't think swearing is what makes Deadpool 'R' rated, but some better adult oriented humor. Maybe a few sexual innuendos that are a bit "deeper" than your cliched ball jokes? Maybe licensing is the issue with Deadpool not seeming "like" Deadpool in the game? Pinball is such a geeky sport, you'd think a few people in Stern would have been a bit more familiar with Deadpool from the comic books and made sure he felt like Deadpool in the final product.

The game looks like Deadpool, it plays fun, the voices are solid... the call-outs just don't FEEL like Deadpool. Stern has (@0.84) really missed the mark trying to make Deadpool a family friendly game. Absolute wrong theme to attempt that on. Comparable to making a family friendly Rick and Morty or Archer table. They’re all ‘R’ rated characters from ‘R’ rated media. Sigh...

I'll re-review at V1.0.

Amazing game I want added to the personal collection! The layout is insanely fun, and the theming is really fun (if a bit outdated). The genie is beautiful when lit up and you really FEEL his anger when you’re fighting him to save the princess.

One of the most fun games I’ve played. Will play at any shop anytime I see it! One of Lawlor’s finest games!

The game is filled with toys, the pin is one of the most beautiful, but... I don't play this all that often. I don't like all the roll overs and for all the shots on this game, it feels small. It doesn't help that it always feels like the flippers aren't powerful enough. Still an amazing pin and I'd love to have one, one day so I can really figure out the ruleset and attempt to the beat the game.

This is an amazing pin done by an amazing company (JJP). One of Lawlor's finest creations. Unfortunately, the theme is meh. I owned this pin for ~6 months and got rid of it. The music started to irritate me and the ruleset felt repetitive over time. Granted, I move through games pretty quick but DI held up the longest so far. Seriously great game. It's challenging, deep, and has pretty dang good flow.

I find myself skipping this pin for others that are more fun.

Update 10/16/2018: I still skip this pin but... I know now that the ruleset is ridiculously deep. I think that if the local on-location pinball joint had a premium or LE, I'd play this more often. This has to be one of the ugliest playfields ever. I may stream this in the near future and get someone to walk me through the ruleset. Regardless of my like/dislike, I'd like to be able to put up 100-200 million consistently on this pin. And I love the show so...

Wow! What a fun game. I don't have one so I can't mess with the audio settings which I know can be manipulated, but the Houdini at my local arcade has great sound but some of the call-outs get irritating. Beautiful pin. Super fun to shoot. The theme is done well but it's Houdini. Houdini was never on my top 100 list of dream theme's but damn American Pinball did a great job of incorporating Houdini and Steampunk into the theme. Someone really did there homework here. Lot's of interesting information about Houdini. FW is good. Shots are hard but something to work towards.
Update
I’ve played this a bunch more and it’s still fun but I think some of the shots are too tight. And it’s not about having more time on the pin to get better, I understand that and realize I would probably make shots more consistently with practice. It’s that I shouldn’t have to work so hard to enjoy myself on the pin. Still like it, will still drop a few dollars into it on location, but I updated my rating to reflect my no longer wanting the pin in my collection right now. At this point, I’d rather have something fun. My GB Premium is my challenging pin and don’t need another just yet. That said, when I’m ready to move on from GB, Houdini might replace it :-)

I think the scrunched up layout is the only real negative to this game. The left side of the pin is awful. If you can look beyond that, it is a beautiful fun pin.

I've played this about 10 times now and still struggle to WANT to play it again. I love the music but struggle with the spinning saucer toy. It's so... boring. Add to that, the movie was a let down. I would have preferred a combo box with references to the original. It plays well, has decent flow. Unfortunately, I don't like playing it.

Update 10/16/2018 - I've come to appreciate this game but... I still don't like playing it. I feel like maybe if I were a better player, I'd spend more time on it on-location. Maybe if the on-location game was in better condition? Also, I don't like how expensive this game is for how much fun it is to play. It seems off by a significant factor. That said, a fully decked out version of this is easy top 10. But do you rate the game based on the mods? I didn't.

I’ve played this a bunch at my local arcade and now feel comfortable rating it. Very good. I love Indiana Jones but I'm not too thrilled about the theme (I actually prefer the Stern Indiana Jones theme integration). I hate that both pins are so yellow. Possibly best call-outs in pinball. Game play is solid. Toys are fun. Layout is good. It's a solid pin but I don't think $8,000.00 to $12,000.00 is justified.

This game keeps me coming back and I’m not even a Star Trek fanboy. Everything is fun about this!

I've spent quite a bit of time in the past couple of months playing at a local club called "Pinball Jones" which has many of the Top 20 games on the floor. What really makes me think Stern did a good job with Guardians is that it is the game I keep going back to. I love Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars, and Indiana Jones... but Guardians is always calling me from the back corner. So much fun to play and when it flows, it's easy to put more quarters in.

It is worth noting that the software is still buggy. I've been playing on 0.7. 0.8 was released a week or two ago and it is supposed to fix quite a few bugs and add (2) new songs to the mix. The call-outs are lacking in 0.7.

Edit: too many of the call-outs are not the original actors and I find that disappointing. I haven't tried 0.87 yet, but this game's lack of good call-outs is really keeping it from being great.

Update: running Cleland’s FW at 1.02 and the game is much better. It won’t last long in my collection because it seems... too simple? Complete 4 modes to get to Cherry bomb, complete the rest to save Xander. Half complete them all for immolation initiative. The whole pin seems too repetitive to me. Like I’m just grinding to get to Cherry Bomb MB.