ExitWound's ratings
Pinsider ExitWound has rated 6 machines.
This page shows all all these ratings, and forms ExitWound's personal top 6.
Rating comments
8.860/10
8 years ago
Bone Busters Inc. is definitely underrated. It's a simple game covered in an almost nostalgic skin due to its highly ripped off theme. A Ghostbusters pin would have been far more lucrative and long-lasting, no doubt. Bone Busters Inc. comes close.
What makes it good? It's simple. Lock up to three of your Bone Busting crew, then let them loose on the town zapping up skeletons! Locking the balls is one of the easiest things in the game, too. Gottlieb definitely wanted the novice players to keep inserting quarters. Shoot the left ramp (Maxwell Street) to light a randomly-lit lock. It's either going to be the ramp you just shot (Maxwell Street), the lower left capture (Headquarters), or the lower right capture (Moon Street). If the randomly chosen lock isn't Maxwell Street, the ball launches into the right ramp area so you can use the second flipper button to control a diverter (mini-flipper) to send the ball over to Headquarters or down to Moon Street to lock the ball. It's relatively easy to figure out. To start multi-ball, launch the ball up the center jump and over the bridge.
There are a few other noteworthy things that happen in Bone Busters. The upper left flipper can send the cars over the highway to collect the lit value on the right. The value is increased by hitting a target or completing the drop targets. Once dropped, the lit car value is also awarded over the highway. The lit value of the car being served is changed by hitting various targets on the playfield which make it difficult enough to choose the one you want.
Also of note is the extra time earned after your game is over. When lit on the outlanes, the ball adds bonus time that is granted after your last ball has been used. I've had it as high as 40 seconds where multiple balls were available for that time to do with as I pleased. I couldn't earn locks or increase any values on the table, but I could score what was there. The manual doesn't explain this so it's a bit confusing as to why it's part of the game at all.
The bottom of the playfield isn't normal either. The inlanes are curved, meaning that fed by the highway shot keeps the ball flowing much more quickly. There are no slingshots near the flippers either, but kick targets to keep you thinking. The ball just doesn't move around this area of the playfield as you expect it should. Things like this keep me intrigued.
Also of note is the Opera Jackpot which increases game to game if not won. It can get very lucrative to light it and collect by hitting the captive ball on the left. Nifty feature to keep people playing.
The skull topper laughs and taunts you with really bad one-liners. "Did you hear the one about the traveling salesman?" repeats over and over. "This eye's for you babe," is because he's a one-eyed skull. He's amusing in attract mode, but repeating every ten seconds on the slowest setting is just too frequent.
Being System 80b, the high score is the only one kept on a power off. There are two buttons on the front of the hot pink cabinet for initial entering, something I'm sure Gottlieb made intentional. If you put in your initials so easily, why not keep playing to do it more!
Overall, the game is quite easy to play but hard to master. The bright pink cabinet and the skull topper are fantastic aesthetics to a quirky game. I'm glad I picked this one up and am having a great time playing it. May not be for the more advanced player, but casual players can feel like they've achieved a lot in a two minute game.
What makes it good? It's simple. Lock up to three of your Bone Busting crew, then let them loose on the town zapping up skeletons! Locking the balls is one of the easiest things in the game, too. Gottlieb definitely wanted the novice players to keep inserting quarters. Shoot the left ramp (Maxwell Street) to light a randomly-lit lock. It's either going to be the ramp you just shot (Maxwell Street), the lower left capture (Headquarters), or the lower right capture (Moon Street). If the randomly chosen lock isn't Maxwell Street, the ball launches into the right ramp area so you can use the second flipper button to control a diverter (mini-flipper) to send the ball over to Headquarters or down to Moon Street to lock the ball. It's relatively easy to figure out. To start multi-ball, launch the ball up the center jump and over the bridge.
There are a few other noteworthy things that happen in Bone Busters. The upper left flipper can send the cars over the highway to collect the lit value on the right. The value is increased by hitting a target or completing the drop targets. Once dropped, the lit car value is also awarded over the highway. The lit value of the car being served is changed by hitting various targets on the playfield which make it difficult enough to choose the one you want.
Also of note is the extra time earned after your game is over. When lit on the outlanes, the ball adds bonus time that is granted after your last ball has been used. I've had it as high as 40 seconds where multiple balls were available for that time to do with as I pleased. I couldn't earn locks or increase any values on the table, but I could score what was there. The manual doesn't explain this so it's a bit confusing as to why it's part of the game at all.
The bottom of the playfield isn't normal either. The inlanes are curved, meaning that fed by the highway shot keeps the ball flowing much more quickly. There are no slingshots near the flippers either, but kick targets to keep you thinking. The ball just doesn't move around this area of the playfield as you expect it should. Things like this keep me intrigued.
Also of note is the Opera Jackpot which increases game to game if not won. It can get very lucrative to light it and collect by hitting the captive ball on the left. Nifty feature to keep people playing.
The skull topper laughs and taunts you with really bad one-liners. "Did you hear the one about the traveling salesman?" repeats over and over. "This eye's for you babe," is because he's a one-eyed skull. He's amusing in attract mode, but repeating every ten seconds on the slowest setting is just too frequent.
Being System 80b, the high score is the only one kept on a power off. There are two buttons on the front of the hot pink cabinet for initial entering, something I'm sure Gottlieb made intentional. If you put in your initials so easily, why not keep playing to do it more!
Overall, the game is quite easy to play but hard to master. The bright pink cabinet and the skull topper are fantastic aesthetics to a quirky game. I'm glad I picked this one up and am having a great time playing it. May not be for the more advanced player, but casual players can feel like they've achieved a lot in a two minute game.
7.533/10
8 years ago
Big Hurt Gottlieb, 1995
This game has its moments. It's not terrible for a baseball themed pin, something that I was afraid of. It's got a few really satisfying shots that give it a faster-feeling experience (something baseball definitely is not!) The outer loops fly around for awards; the alternating ramps during All-Stars mode is great; then there's the home run/grand slam ramp. Hit that and it really does feel like you've accomplished the impossible.
Kinda sometimes feels like Frank Thomas sat on the R&D board saying things like, "I know! How about 'Grand Slam Derby!' or have me steal home!" Some of those things raise eyebrows. Why is a plane flying overhead to advance the inning? Who flies planes over baseball stadiums?? It's odd. Collecting Frank Thomas baseball cards and trading them in for bonuses (A Gottlieb thing, apparently) is fun.
Fun game, though overall. Scores can be in the billions since running the outer left lane advances from 50,000 to a Billion for each shot. That shot's scoring is the most unbalanced on the table. Otherwise, it's a good pin for a baseball theme.
Kinda sometimes feels like Frank Thomas sat on the R&D board saying things like, "I know! How about 'Grand Slam Derby!' or have me steal home!" Some of those things raise eyebrows. Why is a plane flying overhead to advance the inning? Who flies planes over baseball stadiums?? It's odd. Collecting Frank Thomas baseball cards and trading them in for bonuses (A Gottlieb thing, apparently) is fun.
Fun game, though overall. Scores can be in the billions since running the outer left lane advances from 50,000 to a Billion for each shot. That shot's scoring is the most unbalanced on the table. Otherwise, it's a good pin for a baseball theme.
8.468/10
9 years ago
Space Shuttle Williams, 1984
This game is a fantastic period piece. You're not going to find modes or numerous multi-ball modes. What you get is an exceptional table whose biggest claim is "pure pinball". It's well executed with a fantastic layout and easy to understand rules. Casual players can adapt to the game quickly and expert players are kept playing through large bonus multipliers and very difficult outlanes.
The game features speech and a crazy light show, some things the 80's can be remembered for. Callouts aren't aplenty, but more aesthetic. The launch countdown (3-2-1) to multi-ball does a great job of creating some atmosphere around the theme, both audibly presented as well as visually - the center lamp matrix counting along. The speech will announce when the player has an airlock ball save and when the launch is aborted due to not hitting the ramp perfectly. Thirty years ago, I'm sure this was a stunning display of technology.
The music will be one of the love-it-or-hate-it aspects of the sound. The technology from this era could produce only a handful of sounds. The table sounds much like an Atari or Colecovision, with simple ramping scales of beeps and boops, non-stop. And due to limitations, it never ends. All targets and switches produce their own sounds and are easily noticed atop the music loops. The game houses an actual bell as well that buzzes like a telephone when certain targets are completed successfully. It's a fantastic experience.
Gameplay is nothing but a core pinball experience. Shoot targets to increase the multiplier and lock balls for multi-ball. The player has the ability at any time to change the ramp value, and to even start the multi-ball early. Depending how the player would like to approach the table, he or she should have a fun experience. Vicious outlanes keep the pro player in check.
Everyone should check this machine out at least once. It's simpler than today's pinball, but gives a good look see into the game's past and how technology aided the game.
The game features speech and a crazy light show, some things the 80's can be remembered for. Callouts aren't aplenty, but more aesthetic. The launch countdown (3-2-1) to multi-ball does a great job of creating some atmosphere around the theme, both audibly presented as well as visually - the center lamp matrix counting along. The speech will announce when the player has an airlock ball save and when the launch is aborted due to not hitting the ramp perfectly. Thirty years ago, I'm sure this was a stunning display of technology.
The music will be one of the love-it-or-hate-it aspects of the sound. The technology from this era could produce only a handful of sounds. The table sounds much like an Atari or Colecovision, with simple ramping scales of beeps and boops, non-stop. And due to limitations, it never ends. All targets and switches produce their own sounds and are easily noticed atop the music loops. The game houses an actual bell as well that buzzes like a telephone when certain targets are completed successfully. It's a fantastic experience.
Gameplay is nothing but a core pinball experience. Shoot targets to increase the multiplier and lock balls for multi-ball. The player has the ability at any time to change the ramp value, and to even start the multi-ball early. Depending how the player would like to approach the table, he or she should have a fun experience. Vicious outlanes keep the pro player in check.
Everyone should check this machine out at least once. It's simpler than today's pinball, but gives a good look see into the game's past and how technology aided the game.
7.791/10
10 years ago
Starship Troopers Sega, 1997
I like the table, even though many others don't. While there aren't too many trick shots or hard-to-make combos, there are enough to keep the game interesting. For instance, the left ramp will drain down the middle if it's not hit just right. And while the normal skill shot is pretty easy to attain, the secondary skill shot requires a little more finesse to pull off, something I can't routinely do after five years of playing the table! You get to pick and choose your multiball mode as the game goes on all the while moving forward from planet to planet eviscerating bugs through target hits. All in all, it's good enough to stay fun because it can be difficult at times as well as being programmed to feel badly for you when you aren't doing so hot by lighting the extra ball sink and multiball targets. I enjoy it.
