Haymaker's ratings

I've played 3 different copies of this game now in 2 separate locations. It looks bad, but its even worse than you imagine it is.

Weak flippers. Barely can make it up the ramps. Ramp spinners, at best, are lame and barely work and at worst, reject your shots. Theres a set of drops you are meant to sweep near the top of the playfield. I kind of like that, but you really don't even notice them since they are basically parallel to your line of sight and semi buried with whatever else is up there.

Art is bad, music is generic, animations are hilariously bad. The whole BBQ and hotrods theme is done poorly on top of being bizarre. I like both of those things, and this game seems like it was made by people who know very little about either one.

Highly overrated by people already as you'd expect, but the game is mid in its current form. Code needs a lot more refinement, theres lots of better options out there right now, but it is still fairly early. Music is mostly just the Jaws theme which fits the game but has no excitement factor. Callouts by million year old Richard Dreyfus are abysmal. The upper playfield is pretty much a waste, but you need to have it because the game is super empty feeling without it. Pretty much all the main shots are at the very tippy top of the playfield. Boat/shark mech is nice compared to the Pro. Shark fin mech is pretty meh. Art ranges from average to below average. Just all around, nothing spectacular at all. Not a bad game or layout by any means, but its really not anything special at all either. Some of it will get better with code updates, but much of it will be stuck in mediocrity, but hey, if I dropped 10k on this thing I'd sing its praises too.

This is one game where I can definitively say the pro is much better than the premium. The upper playfield on this just stinks. The ramp to get up there is super steep and somewhat hard to make. Very dangerous if you roll back down. Once up there the shots are boring as you basically just bash stand ups mindlessly, or go for the very difficult and risky loop shot. It is nice that you can send your ball down to the lock from here though.

Other than the bad upper playfield found on the premium/LE only the game is just not that great to begin with. Tight clunky shots. Snipers might enjoy this game but it is very unforgiving. Thats not always a bad thing, but with so little else going for it, I would rate that as a con. The rules are rather blah with just starting songs and making shots. Most of the songs take way too many shots to complete and finishing the modes is on the very hard side, let alone completing a lot or all of them.

It may sound like I am just complaining that the game is too hard, but thats not the whole story. Its hard and boring. Not a great combo. Worth noting I have scored nearly a billion points on this game on multiple occasions so its not a matter of me being bad, its just not fun to do it. Another overly brutal game is TMNT and that game is way more fun than this. I actually kind of like TMNT but Aerosmith is arguably the worst spike 2 game. If its not the worst, its in the top 3 for sure. It would also be a contender for worst even with Sam and Spike 1 although its certainly better than some of the worst of those.

Aerosmith music is fine and I don't mind it. The jams are good enough to keep you grooving while you play. The Jackie voice is grating though. Not much else in the game other than Aerosmith music and Jackie taunting you in his annoying voice.

Pros of the game are the art looks good. I'm not the world's biggest fan of the Dirty Donnie caricature art style for the band members but you could do much worse. All the other art thats kinda like 70s groovy looks fine. Overall a nice art package, the game is pretty to look at, just not top tier. Another pro is the toybox which is a pretty awesome mech and one of the best mechs Stern has ever offered in a game.

Overall its an easy pass for me. I try to avoid playing at all these days unless I'm forced in a tournament or something. I might pop a few bucks in a pro every now and then as that game is at least somewhat enjoyable, but the premium with the upper playfield just amplifies all the other issues with this game. It is a game you don't see too often and they aren't up for sale very often either, so if you have a big collection or are just a big Aerosmith fan it might be worth tracking one down to play/own but its just not a great offering in my opinion.

Ghostbusters is a dream theme for me. I want to like this game so bad. Its got a lot going for it. Tons of shots, great artwork, fun callouts but I don't think I've ever played a more infuriating/frustrating game. So many unfair and BS drains. Airballs everywhere. I have only played without any mods so maybe with some of the mods that cut down on cheap drains and airballs its a more enjoyable experience. The flipper gap sucks but its not the main deal breaker. Its more the outlanes. Ball bounces off the metal post in the middle and goes to the outlane, shoot a scolari brother and the ball shoots back at mach speed (sometimes not even knocking the target down somehow) and drains in the outlane, Magna slings grab the ball and just loop it up and over to the outlane, ect. You get to multiball and its like 20 supernova's going off directly into your retinas and you drain all your balls because you can't see or some other BS happens. Just a lot of very short ball times, or if you do have a decent ball going something beyond your control happens and you lose it.

The amount of shots on the game is crazy, but some are very hard to hit because of the sheer amount of them. Its OK, I just wanted GB to be better. I'm hoping if I keep dumping money into it it'll eventually grow on me, but so far its been nothing but me disliking it more and more.

This game surprised me. Its actually pretty darn good. Music kind of sucks, sound FX are OK. The screeching bugs really seem to annoy some people but its not that bad. Good rules, kill the bugs by shooting their corresponding colored targets. A few different multiball modes. Deeper game than most people realize! Smooth ramps. The 3rd flipper is actually pretty neat. Truly an under appreciated game, and one of the best (probably the best) Sega game I have played so far.

One of my favorites. Pretty shallow rules but I really don't mind. Its easy for a beginner to play and understand and it remains fun for experienced players. Shoot loops and raise your RPM so you can shift gears. Simple but effective. Supercharger is a fun toy too. Artwork isn't bad but its not great either. Newer games have really raised the bar in this aspect or it could be rated a bit higher. Cool lights and sounds. La Grange is fun to hear but it would be nice to have a bit more variety. I just like this game a lot. You can walk up and have a good time no matter what. Excellent bang for your buck pinball purchase as well.

Cool and fun game but nothing exceptional about it. Kind of a funky layout but I think thats what makes it an interesting game. Its much more enjoyable to play than I expected. Artwork is really cool, and nice light show for the period too! Sound effects are above average but not great, music (or lack thereof) is typical for its age, I've heard worse though. Overall, its a solid and enjoyable pin, but I wouldn't want it to be my only game.

I've owned this game for over a year now but only recently got it running. Its a very nice low plays HOU example. Its still got all the original capcom parts in it and nice and tight. Basically plays about as good as it can get (I just put all new rubbers on as well). So what do I think of the game? Its very good, if not excellent!

Gameplay: Everybody complains about the linear nature of the game, which is true to some extent although it doesn't bug me very much. With so many tricks to complete its very difficult to actually get through them all, like REALLY hard. Yeah I wish it had a little more variety but its good and shouldn't steer you away from the game.

The flippers are very snappy and feel great. The shots are nice and smooth and satisfying. The loop is super fast both ways, and the ramp is a fun shot when you see the ball ride the wand or even when it diverts the ball to the other side. Speaking of the wand, its awesome! This game has amazing toys. The levitating ball is one of the coolest toys in pinball if you ask me. Overall a really fun game to play, I think it deserves a higher rating than it has, but don't expect the best game of all time either. Also its worth mentioning that this game has awesome lighting effects! Some modes are dark, some modes are dazzling, and some of the tricks the game can do with the lights are downright amazing. A+ for lighting effects!

Sound:
The speakers in this game crank! Really good sound quality and a ton of bass! As for the music itself, its allright. I think its one of the weaker spots in the game personally. The main music score is dark and brooding. Its not annoying and it goes with the theme, but its just ok. It does its job without being a nuisance but its nothing catchy or memorable. Theres not a lot of other music in the game which is unfortunate. I do really like the rag time song it plays in certain modes however! General sound effects are very good however!

Art: Yes, sadly there is a lot of blank red open space on the playfield. Kind of boring and a let down. The art that is there however, is really cool. I think the faces are only average but everything else looks awesome. Plus theres some really cool stuff hidden away. There's a guy pooping out swords in the upper right hand corner!! I also like the little guy running off with the plans for pinball magic who might just be reporting back to "big bad willie" (williams). The game is really chock full of little easter eggs like that which is super cool I think, and IMO makes up for quite a bit of the space left artless.

Overall, this game is excellent. I highly recommend spending some time with one! You'll have a good time and its a different experience than you get with any other brand of machine. Its too bad Capcom's time in the pinball market was so short!