JodyG's ratings

I have 150 games played on this now, so I feel I can make a somewhat informed review here.

To me, this is not a true band pin. This is an alien game that has an awesome Foo Fighters soundtrack. Going this direction on theme as opposed to the same old juke box you play pinball on is an incredibly smart move that will drive many more people toward this game than the previous formula used on band pins. Lastability in my house will increase significantly from this.

Premium features:
The dead post brings a grin to my face every stinking time. It always bounces up to the right flipper just right that you can actually make a shot that you are aiming for. For such a simple device, it adds a ton to the game...your ball save on the left side is no longer a guarantee if you fail to get that left flipper up in time. I love it.

The upper playfield is not a given, in fact it is tricky to loop it consecutively. If anything, I find that I wind up hitting the ball too high on the flipper which leads to the ball going too slowly around the mini PF. The ramp shot to get to the upper PF is tight, which is kind of a good thing here, because I would not want it to be super easy to get up there all the time.

The sculpted FooBot is pretty cool, and the fact that it is not a hard sculpt, but is pliable and can shake is nice...it does not feel like some homemade 3D printed mod like the way a lot of sculpts are. I love that it talks $hit on you, kind of like BKSOR.

Gameplay:
Of all the games I have owned, this game has me coming back to it harder than any previous game. Games can be quick at times, but I have found that this seems to be more of a problem if you try and flail your way through the game. You really need to slow down at times and control the ball...I find trying to shoot the van on the fly from the right flipper is difficult, but slowing down the ball makes it much easier. Not making a clean shot here risks a rocket drain, so it pays to slow it down a bit. this shot is also quite easy to backhand from the left. I found the game brutality was dialed down a notch by lowering the pitch a bit from the recommended 7.0-7.1 degrees. 6.6-6.8 seems to be a better fit.

I really like that you have a variety of van modes to choose from, as opposed to being more or less railroaded into a narrower path like they did on the Stern Jurassic Park. Multiballs are not super easy to get, which I appreciate. Foo Bot multiball is very easy to control when you will receive it, and I like to stack it with a van mode when possible. I personally do not care for multiball heavy games as I feel the MB should be a reward, not a given. So this one feels just about right to me.

There is still a lot of rule code to be implemented yet as well as sound callouts missing at this time, so I have rated that accordingly. The game plays well as it is, so I am excited to see what is added. The drop target bank is a nice risk/reward play and the code implementation tying the paddle together with the drops is really nice.

Artwork
Love the playfield artwork. Very colorful, and Zombie Yeti really loaded up details and easter eggs in this one again. The cabinet artwork is my least favorite of the 3 models, but it is buried in a line of games anyway, so it is an afterthought for me personally.

Animations
These are the best I have seen on a Stern game to date...they exceeded my expectations.

Lighting
Playfield is bright, I see no need to add any kind of additional lighting. My Stern JP looks very dark by comparison. The delays on Stern's expression lighting across all games is disappointing though. These should be available on day 1.

Sound
The code is still developing here, so there are a lot of callouts missing it seems. There is an adult mode option, but not much coded into that yet. As far as physical sound goes, this game really begs for a speaker upgrade. I am not one to blast the sound on my games, but the lack of bass on these tunes is definitely noticeable.

Overall, this game is really doing it for me so far. Once the code matures, I think Foo will be a solid top 3 game for the next few years. Nothing is ever bolted to the floor in my game room, but there will be several other games that would go before this one if I had to part with a few.

This game is pretty embarrassing how little is in it and how weak the code is. I guess Stern spent so much on licensing, all they had money left for was some lights and a big billboard sized target. The art is so great on this game, yet everything else falls flat on its face. What a shame!

Count me as one of the ones who actually enjoy this game. This game has relatively short ball times, but I do enjoy the pro much more than the Premium/LE. I don't think I would buy one NIB, but I would consider owning this if I found a decently priced used one. I really liked the artwork, and the music is pretty catchy. Not the best game Stern has put out in the last couple years, but well ahead of a few others.

I really thought this game would be bad from what I read....and it wasn't as bad as I thought. But it isn't great, that is for sure. Lots of cheap drains shooting at the middle targets, and machine build quality is substandard since the ball lock stop post was defective on the one I played, and the one ball gate kept trapping the ball. Would I own it? No. But hey, it's not as bad as Munsters...so thats kinda good, right? Light shows were decent, but overall it is a pretty big miss here by Stern.

Currently my all time favorite pin...I really need to own this one some day. The variety of shots, relatively loaded playfield, and decent art really do it for me on this one.

I really wanted a Waterworld for a while and finally wound up owning one. The rules are surprisingly deep once you understand how they work. But at the end of the day...the game just didn't grow on me. It is still a great value DMD game, it just wasn't a long term keeper for me.

Another Gottlieb 80b that I can't get into. If the playfield is not set steep enough, it really turns in to a slow yawn-fest. Single level, plain jane game.

As someone who loves most cheesy Gottlieb games of this era, this is one I just cannot get into. The game is a single level, slow and boring. Even at $900, it is a hard pass for me.

This is, in my opinion, one of the more underrated 80B games out there. The layout is very unique, and the gameplay is a lot like the later system 3 games where you are trying to complete a series of shots around the playfield in order to advance. Sure, it isn't one of the great Williams games, but for the money...Victory is a great value.

Road Show is a great machine that you can still get for a decent price. The machine is absolutely loaded with good mechs and a variety of shots. I am not a big country music fan, but surprisingly the soundtrack doesn't bother me. I guess because it isn't the pop country of today. Some people do not like the linear mode structure, but I do not mind it so much as you don't necessarily take the same route each time. This is also one of the few games I didn't feel the need to run out and buy LED's for. The incandescent bulbs actually look more inviting to me.

Road kings is one of those bargain games that can be fun for a newer pinball player. The game rules are pretty basic, yet the game is still tricky. You need to be sure your left flipper is strong if you want to make the ramp shot. There are actually a ton of flashers in this game, so some of the light shows are borderline blinding. I rate this one on a "bang for the buck" scale, and it really isn't too bad when you look at it that way.

Ghostbusters is such a beautiful game, but the lack of code updates and missing modes really ding this one for me. Adding the centerpost mod is nearly a must, and putting time in on this game will force you to hone your shooting skills. The layout is great, if you are not easily frustrated. The unbalanced scoring makes it hard to really gauge how well you did. You can have a 3 million point game, then follow it up with a 2 billion point game the next time. I really want to live my Pro more, but Stern/Dwight's lack of code care in regards to scoring and missing modes after the fact leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I really didn't care much for GOTG a year ago, but I recently gave it another chance. I am really glad I did...the code improvements have really done wonders for this game. I added Clelands sound mod to the game, and the game has really come to life. The 8 missions to choose from when you start the game really keeps things fresh from play to play.

I really enjoy this game, and if you get a chance to play or pick one up- do it! Torpedo Alley should really be more popular than it is. With only 1002 copies made, there probably are not to many left out there. The stereo sound package is excellent for a game of this era. The gameplay is a bit addicting to me, and relatively simple to learn. Sinking the fleet in the allotted amount of time can be a tricky task, and hitting the right torpedo tube is also somewhat difficult. This game tends to produce airballs off the blue targets, so adding a lexan protector on top of them is a good idea (cut down 90% of them on mine). Most of these games have smashed up mountains from all the airballs. Sinking the fleet has a pretty rewarding light show to go along with it. This game is begging to have a shaker motor installed it for the various torpedo hits. Overall, I do not see myself giving up this game up any time soon.

As other raters have mentioned, this game plays you a bit. The artwork is a favorite of mine- the cab decoration especially, is beautiful. This machine belongs at the end of your row! The playfield has a unique, 3-dimensional look which is visually pleasing to stare at. The gameplay itself is not terribly deep at all, but is tricky nonetheless. Building the jackpot and then getting through the escape gate in the allotted amount of time is fairly tricky. Achieving the 2-ball multiball without going through the escape gate is very difficult. I probably would not buy this pin as my only pin, but it has staying power in my collection from the artwork alone.

I really wanted to lie this one, but I just couldn't get into it. Very boring and repetitive, and I am not sure it is possible to even beat the Pac-maze in attack mode. The theme is a great classic, but the game gets old very fast.

LW3 is a great bargain game for someone looking for their first DMD. I grew up in the age of the LW movies, so this game has been pretty fun so far. The animations and movie references come from not just Lethal Weapon 3, but also movies 1 and 2. The game is easy to pick up for people who may be more casual pinball players. LW3 definitely could use some additional GI lighting if you have it in a dark room, but it isn't terrible. The gameplay isn't super deep, but it definitely isn't shallow either.

Strange Science has a very interesting playfield, nice art and good lighting. Unfortunately, I found it to be a bit of a 1 trick pony. Load the atom smasher, that is it. Make sure your flippers are freshly rebuilt, or you will have trouble making the center ramp and the atom smasher. The sounds are not great, and there is zero background music. After playing this for a few months, it is a bit of a head scratcher on why it is rated so high.

The crime here is that people write this game off because the translite art is not to their liking. If it bothers you that much, buy an alternate translite. Let me leave you in on a little secret- this game is a great bang for the buck machine. There are far worse playing machines out there, but you wouldn't know it by the ratings. The random sniper drops are very unique and fun. The ramp shot is a bit of a letdown, so you should be playing the spinner and the top lanes to increase your score multiplier if you are looking for points. Give this machine more of a chance...there are games out there 2x and 3x more expensive that are just not at all fun.

This game gets a bad rap, but it is a really good bang for your buck machine. You don't need to watch a video or read a book to figure out the gameplay. Hit the ball where the arrows are lit, and light the "MILLION" lights to get the jackpot. Being able to choose difficulty levels is also a plus on this game, and not found on many other games of this era.

I do not fully understand why this gets such a bad rap. I have played far more games that I couldn't wait to be done sinking the third ball. When people come over to play my machines, this one currently is played the most, especially among beginner and casual players. I did add additional GI lighting to mine, which made the game look 100% better.