HighNoon's ratings

Playfield
Smooth shooting. All of the shots are fun to shoot and satisfying. The BATTLE and EPIC targets at the lower end of the playfield are well integrated into gameplay and you actually want to shoot them. On a lot of other games, I feel like targets in these positions are just throw-ins and don't figure in to gameplay much. The only tight shot is the turbocharger, but I believe that is by design. It makes it satisfying to hit and a real surprise when you hit it accidentally and find the ball rocketing back to the flippers.

Toys
I wish it had one more toy. However, when you're playing you don't really notice. I like the supercharger and I like the way the spinning car is integrated into gameplay. It's a nice visual reward for getting the tach up. Being able to choose you're own Hot Wheels to add is a lot of fun. This game is definitely a case of more than the sum of it's parts toy-wise.

Sound
The sound system works well. I believe it is scaled back a bit from Houdini, and Octoberfest, but it still thumps if you crank it up. Callouts are adequate during gameplay. The web show audio is fun. I hope they tweak the music a bit...it's not all that memorable at the moment.

Display
Well implemented. Colorful, fun to watch, and informative about your progress. I like the Hot Wheels web show. For those of you who wanted the display to be centered, I don't think you'll notice once you start playing. I kinda like it off center.

Rules
Well done American! Varied objectives that are all fun in their own right. Encourages you to shoot all around the playfield. Objectives are satisfying to get and didn't feel like I had to chop wood to get anywhere. I really like the EPIC risk/reward rules. You can really build it up but you lose it if you drain before collecting. Collecting cars, the battles, the race, the turbo charger, the tach, redline mania, the skillshots, loop crash, building track...all fun to do.

Art
I like the art a lot. It's quite a blast of orange, but it works. I actually like just standing and looking at the game.

Light Show
The light show is absolutely fantastic, right up there with WOZ, TNA, and Hobbit. The red line mania mode and the checkered flag effect when you win the race are my favorites so far. I especially like the inserts with multiple lights. The game as a whole is beautiful.

Fun
Over everything else, this is my top metric. Is it fun? Yes, Hot Wheels is a blast to play and it keeps me coming back for more. I think a lot of people are going to like this game once they play it. I hope they sell a ton of them.

Gorgeous art...backglass, playfield, and cabinet. My favorite cabinet of all time. The game is pretty fun to play with straightforward rules. Not too easy to shoot the center loop if the game is set up right and that makes for a pretty good risk/reward shot. If you miss the center loop, you're probably going to brick and drain. I love the kicker that shoots the ball back up the playfield.

Absolutely great game with a great theme. Upper playfield and the split second loop are a lot of fun. I particularly like the rules with the stars on the lower drop targets. You have to hit the outside drops first before the star in the middle in order to light extra ball/special.

Super fun game to play. Artwork is simple, but I like it. Gameplay is awesome and keeps me coming back over and over. Nothing like getting the Doodle Bug value built up and getting the Doodle Bug to run! Not an easy thing to keep it running.

A game that people love to hate...we really enjoy playing it. I think people are overly hard on this game. It has a unique layout that is actually pretty fun to shoot and the rules are outstanding. Combined with a winning theme, it's looking like a keeper at this point.

Great game with fantastic toys, rules, sounds, and art. The glider that comes out of the pyramid is great fun to watch. My favorite toys, however, are the Horus and Anubis targets that lift up off the playfield to reveal a path behind them. Seems simple, but they are very satisfying to hit.

Modes, modes, and modes...great game to play that's even better if you love Indy (who doesn't?). I like the path of adventure, but my favorite toy is the little pyramid that spins around and spits out balls.

Very unique layout...I like that it's not a rehash of the same similar designs that have been done over and over. Great fun to play.

Black Rose is a heck of a game. Kind of like a System 11 on steroids. I love the video modes, the whirlpool ramp, the integration of the cannon, and sinking ships!

Fun game with all the sound, rule, and gameplay magic that is customary of the System 11 games. I'd love to own one someday.

Awesome theme integration, good art, and great sound effects (I LOVE the voices). The latest rules are great with lots of fun modes to shoot as well as several great wizard modes. Lots of different shots on the playfield, but some of them are pretty tight.

Great game! Rules, DMD animation, and sound are top notch. Art could be better. Playfield layout is the one thing about this game that keeps it from being a favorite of mine.

Probably the greatest toy every put in a pinball machine...the castle is flat out awesome for theme integration and fun. Rules are simple, but fun. Not a huge fan of the trolls.

Sounds are a blast on this machine and the art is really great. I like Firepower, but something about it doesn't suck me back in for play after play. Hard to put my finger on why, though.

Beautiful artwork and that Harry Williams charm in game design. My favorite classic Stern.

Awesome theme integration, good art, and great sound effects (I LOVE the voices). The latest rules are great with lots of fun modes to shoot as well as several great wizard modes. Lots of different shots on the playfield, but some of them are pretty tight.

The T-rex toy is right up there for greatest toy of all time (second only maybe to the Medieval Madness castle). I can't get enough of that thing grabbing the ball and then chewing it up.

I think Whirlwind is quite possibly the best pinball machine ever made. I don't think that there's anything I would change about it. It is the standard by which I rate other machines so, yes, I believe it deserves the score I gave it.

Some of my (many) favorite things about the game:
*The attract music/light show after you finish a game.
*The fan.
*The spinners.
*The great ruleset.
*The fantastic artwork.

Wizard of Oz is one of the best pinball machines ever made. There is really nothing that I don't like about this game. Art...beautiful. LCD animation...awesome. Rules...perfect. Gameplay...out of this world. My family and I love it.

Sorcerer has a great artwork package (backglass, playfield, and cabinet). In fact, the backglass is one of my all-time favorites. I like the easy to start multiball (if I could ever hit that darn ramp!) and spelling SORCERER is risky but rewarding. The timed drop targets in the mini playfield area are cool. I really like the taunting sorcerer..."You are done, boy!" All in all, Sorcerer is a good-looking, fun game.

Beautiful artwork and color scheme. Great gameplay. I like the ruleset with several different objectives to go for (A/B orbit, kickout, drop targets). I really like the orbit shot. To me, this is the top Bally solid state chimer.

My favorite thing about Comet is the playfield artwork. It's almost like a Where's Waldo drawing and every time I look at it I find something funny and new. The Comet ramp and associated sound effect is cool. The ball slows down at the top of the ramp and then rushes down the to the bottom, just like a real roller coaster. The cycle rump is hard to hit and a bit random. I put green LEDs behind the fun house to give it a spooky look that was pretty cool. What I don't like about Comet is that it seems to have a fair amount of dead shots on the playfield.

Fathom artwork is flat out awesome, especially the backglass. Sounds are good and I actually like the cheesy voice. Gameplay is fun. The memory drop targets guarding the kickout holes for multiball is genius.

The playfield and backglass artwork package is my personal favorite. The gameplay is fun and really matches the narrative of the theme. It's all about getting your rocket ready and blasting off for multiball! Here are the steps: Spell B-L-A-S-T-O-F-F, lock the first two stages of the rocket, countdown 5-4-3-2-1 (in order), then lock the third stage for three ball multiball. The voice is great and announces each time you complete a task towards multiball. If going for score, don't forget to work the spinner and drops on the right side of the playfield. The four slingshots really speed up the gameplay and makes me forget it's a widebody. Flight 2000 is a really great game.

Flash is awesome. The gameplay is fast and furious. The FLASH flashers are cool, but the associated sound is even better. Sounds great with a subwoofer...lets everyone know you cleared the drop targets. Nothing like lighting the pop bumpers, dropping the 5-bank to light the spinner, and nailing that spinner. Yeah, the artwork is bad. But it's righteously bad and I love it.

I think this game doesn't always get its due. Yeah, the art and the sound aren't all that great but I love the layout of the playfield. The center ramp area alone has many great shots: right warning track to the bullpen, left warning track, hit the glove soft for a single, hit the glove hard for a catch, get past the glove into the center for a home run (or raise the middle ramp to shoot over the glove), left loop for an inning, right loop for multiball, and left and right scoreboard shots for a letter. How many other games have that many cool shots in a four inch square area of the playfield? Add to that the repeatable orbit shot for big points and the scoop-captive ball-drop target combo for a steal.

This game is fun and a bargain at that.

STTNG, to me, is the pinnacle of pinball design (so far). This game has everything. Great flow, great rules, great sound, and a whole lot of fun. Everything they put in this game brings the theme to life and makes me feel like I'm on the bridge of the Enterprise when I play.

This is far and away my favorite machine of all time, so my rating may be a little biased. I love the different objectives. Do I go for the drop targets to try to get to the sun or do I go for a big multiball? Depends on the current solar jackpot amount.

I love the theme, the artwork, and the rules. This one's never leaving my collection.