pinball2020's ratings

This was a Holy Grail machine for me and I love it.
It is fun, silly and has replay ability.
Since I first played one decades ago I spent the rest of the time trying to get a hold of one and a few years ago I did and love it. If you get a chance to play one, please do. Not hard to learn, has silly call outs and a sense of urgency. All that and it is a Data East machine so you know you are in for a good time.

I owned this as one of my very first pinball machines and bought it from the Santa Monica Pier. It was beaten down and somebody placed a car bulb in one of the sockets and half the boards were ruined. Repaired and working later on it was a great game to play when I had arcade machines at home and no furniture in the dining room. The room had mirrors and with the lights and sounds flashing made for madness when the lights were turned off.

Ultimately I sold this to someone who treasured it - it was one sent to the UK he said and came back to the US.

Pros: Addictive lighting, sounds and music. The game is pure fun. Call outs are great and great for friends to come over.

Cons: Sadly, over the years I don't think it has the one more game feeling as others have pointed out. We grow, we change what we like. I will always remember this great machine though not sure I would buy it again.

I just love Data East Games - what can I say?

Time Machine has the wonderful radio call outs as well as quasi rip off music from the 80s, 70s, 60s, and 50s plus the incredible sounds of when the Time Machine scoring changes to old school actual chimes. They are loud and fun.

Add to that the 1,000,000 point Starwarp shot which - for me at least - isn't always an easy shot (especially when I play the machine in the dark) - and you have a great gaming combination.

So if you can, and you enjoy straightforward games - nothing too deep - spend some TIME on this MACHINE and have some fun :).

This is a grail machine for me and Stern delivered.

CONS:
* There is one voice in the game that sounds like Joe DeRita (Curly Joe from Three Stooges). Tolerable but tiring.
* Need more completed game code in this game as of this post.
* Hoping all the toys don't break all at once in the future.

PLUSES:
* Flowing game.
*Toys and call outs work well.
* Fun.

Do I love Gold Rush? Yes I do. I already had a Klondike and you either love the randomness of the slot machine reels in the game or you don't. I love them as do friends who play the machine.

Gold Rush is the four person version of Klondike and has the same style of reels with prospector/mining things.

I love the vibe for playing and the highs and lows of getting a jackpot reel setting and then hitting an advance and losing the chance to get the bonus. Again, personal taste.

Extra trivia for you:
Klondike has both replay and Add A Ball features. Single Player.
Gold Rush has both replay and Add A Ball features. Multi Player.
Yukon has Add A Ball feature only. Single Player.
Yukon Special is like Klondike but has Add A Ball feature only and numerals on it's reels. Single Player - Export market. Playing field has different artwork with prospector cooking food and bear sniffing behind him - cute fun stuff.
Jackpot is like Gold Rush but for the export market and has slot machine pictures (bars, cherries, bells, oranges) on the reels. Export market.

Whenever I go to AYCE GOGI I find myself drawn to his game. It is fun. I did not get to play the original version of this machine though I watched people playing it and watched the original breaking down a lot.

PROS: I love the ability to select between movies - Alien or Aliens.
Love the AMBUSH mode.
Love the Alien when it grabs balls and the wild magnets.

CONS: Some tough drains on the sides or center (if you don't have the ball save).
In space, nobody can see if you match at the end of the game. No match in the game or not enabled?
Sometimes the multi balls all pile up in the shooter.

OVERALL: I liked it and for me, it has that one more game pull (but I am also a fan of Alien/Aliens).

Fair warning - I am a huge comic book and art fan. This is right up my alley. I love the bright colors - that is one of the reasons I am into comic art.

My premium I ordered is not here yet but I played the LE one that was out and I was not disappointed.

I love the flow and the fact that it is battles. I love the Dr. Strange portal, Captain Marvel, the subway and all the nice touches that make me want to keep coming back to the machine to play it.

Thank you Stern Team for a wonderful, entertaining game. Now where did I put that time gem so I can go to the future and get my premium machine? :)

UPDATED REVIEW FROM PLAYING MY PREMIUM MACHINE: Still a 10 out of 10.

Since this is essentially a Limited machine some more thoughts - I love the details on the playing field and watching the demo mode in between games - when I am not frustrated by some shots and quickly playing back-to-back games.

The code update .93 and now .94 helps. The subway balls don't linger like when I first got the machine - thnx for the update, team - and looking forward to seeing the new hidden skill shot that the new code added.

Suggest if you have the money to get it he Premium machine (or Limited) - in my opinion the extra feaures are worth the money. Hey, if you can't you can't. This is a hobby right? Looking at the rating of this review when I started editing it -there were 9 down votes and 9 up votes.

Remember this is subjective stuff and I love pinball to begin with and throw in comic book related stuff and I am in Heaven.

For those who are not into comic books (or haven't been for awhile):

The Black Watch have appeared in the Avengers:Infinity War and Avengers:End Game movies. They are Thanos' lieutenants who indeed do the scut work - like getting the infinity gems for him. There is a lot of comic soap opera stuff and you can find it on the Internet if you don't want to read the comics.

Looking forward still to finding out where Adam Warlock is in the game.

As other true fans have noted (true believers? :) ) - would be awesome to see in the code something where a snap shuts down the entire game or all the balls launch and then it gets snapped.

Klondike is one of the games I remember as a kid and had fun with.

I love the slot machine reels and the agony/ecstasy as others have stated who own or play the machine where you are set for 5000 points only to hit a reel button and have it set back to 500. Eeks. It is that frustration that pulls me back in and the days that I am hitting the 3000, 5000 and getting extra balls or games make up for the frustration days. I need to remind myself that the purpose of pinball machines is to separate you from your quarters. Klondike is set up for that very well.

If you are purist looking for consistent skill shots this machine is not for you. If you want to have some fun and enjoy some pinball please give it a game or two.

Klondike is the replay version of Yukon.

As others have said the showmanship and integration is wonderful. A fun design with a lot of love. The game play for me while good was not great. A lot of extreme results while playing it - got successfully into the other modes or just draining quickly. For me, the flippers didn't have enough oomph. Maybe after the game is tweaked a bit and settings changed my results would vary.

It is quite a kick to hear some of the songs with the light show synchronized as the ball is moving down through the field. Unfortunately, that also is a bit of a distraction and requires someone else plays so I can watch the Guitar Hero style lights moving in synchronicity with the music. Ah, first world problems, right? :)

I did not mind all the multi ball modes that I heard some people complaining about while playing. I think what they meant to say was there are too many balls on the playing field and can't get the shots they want. That happens but that is true in any newer multi ball game and it takes some practice to work around it.

I recommend the game for playing at least a few times to see the show and experience the machine. I am not a true fan and would not necessarily want this in my collection (I let you know this now before the storm of down voting hits). That being said it is worth playing. As are a lot of the new machines that are out. The game is fun.

It is exciting to be alive now if you are a fan of pinball.

I really like this game. I don't think this is the first American game with the spinner in the center. The Four Aces that came out the same year had it however it was a single player whereas Aces and Kings is the Four player version of something similar. It is fun and hard. This is not the type of game that you approach and expect to get high points (for one thing it is single digit to hundreds for scoring). The shots are hard but rewarding when you get them.

Hit the Four Aces for a chance to get an extra ball. Hit the Four Kings for a chance to get an extra ball.

The attractive ladies (who probably are taking a poker break from the Four Aces game : ) ) are all holding cards. There is one lady in the upper left hand backglass behind the scoring who looks like she is having entirely too much fun.

I like the game, people come over and love it when we play and want to buy it from me. Maybe it is all the LEDs and LED colored bulbs under the pop bumpers that I put in to jazz up the game.

Dunno but the game is fun and friends dig it.

Try it sometime if you can, may not be for you but you never know.

I usually see this at pinball museums these days and jump at a chance to play it. While not as fun for me as other EMs this game has it's draw with the tic tac toe theme. It is a simple yet fun theme.

Pure hi octane joy.
Hot Wheels retro toy references? Check.
Hot Wheels You Tube series animations? Check.
Awesome game play? Check.
Replay-ability? Check.
The progressive game play as you shift gears is very cool, the light show is spectacular and not overwhelming.
The synchronization of the shaker motor with the dinosaur movements is wonderful and entertaining.
The game was delivered in a box that looked like it would protect a tank.
The game feels like it is built like a tank.
Menu access - very clear and intuitive.
Looking forward to working my way through the levels.
This was my very first NIB game and I am very pleased with my decision.
Thank you, American Pinball, and please keep up the great work!
Thank you, OnTilt Pinball, for help with the setup.

For it's day and time this was pretty cool. It is cool enough that I wanted it and got one. This isn't for everyone and it is subjective - as is everything else on this site :).

Cons: You need to get hotter flippers and practice to get the ball up to the top of the field.

Pros: I like 'em steep and hard to hit and plan on changing the rubbers but it is fun the way it is. In case you haven't read other posts or unaware - this is a center shooter pinball machine. There is no shooter lane - the ball is launched from the right flipper and goes up the ramp. Boom. You take it from there. Season to taste and yes, it may not be everyone's taste.

I am a fan of the series.

THE CONS: Having played the PRO and LE editions it looks like they have moved the on screen information from the big screen to the smaller screen while the upper screen does....what? Maybe that is just a setting thing. The center toy shot is still hard. The machine needs tweaking so that the goofy angle bounce back shots don't drain. Seems a bit repetitive.
Not sure how soon I would get bored of faceless inter-dimensional monsters on the screens all the time.

THE PROS: Love the fact the toy vibrates and sounds like it squeals more when it gets hit (has anyone figured a way to change the settings to get an in the mouth shot?). The lights on the playing field look cool. Can't wait to see the Upside Down lights when they get installed. Loved the Demodogs.

Waiting to see where it goes and to see what this thread looks like a year from now :)

As usual, this is one subjective opinion and respect to everyone.

Played the game at AYCE GOGI and liked it:

CONS: Repetitive on the call outs and and for me, the purple lit shots to activate the adventure modes are hard. Could be because I have not sank enough quarters into it yet. Like all pinball machines I think once you have played it for a few weeks unless you are a die hard fan - and even if you are one, you may get tired of the same animations and call outs.

PROS: Once you hit adventure modes you get some great sequences from the series. Has the great Spooky timer in the lower center of the playing field that allows the Immortality Field to bring back your ball. The Adventure Modes feature our fan favorite things like killing the parasites that are in the house while in lockdown mode. In fact at least a couple adventures involved killing things quickly. There was another adventure from the Purge episode. See a pattern here :)?

It may take some more playing to hit some of the other levels. One person I saw was pretty good at getting the Adventure levels and was explaining some of the shots. There looked to be a very hard shot on the lower left side just above the left drain are. Have no idea how one would make it. Also no idea how long it takes to activate Anti-Gravity (on right side). I really should read the rules :). I love the purple colors on it.

I like it. At first I wasn't too sure but once I had the T-Rex eat the ball a few times I was drawn in. The timers to get complete different things seems to run out on me a bit too often but that is probably because I am not playing it enough. Like everyone else, would love to get one and curious how the moving T-Rex head will last over the years.

This is a great ball bearing shooting game that can be played in small doses. It is fun to chase the lights. After about ten times of playing and grooving to the cool sounds of Williams games that come from the cabinet buy the game and give it as a gift to children of people who were rude to you so the noise can drive them crazy all night. Who doesn't love the sound of endless ballbearings rolling? :)

I like dice and I love the theme of the derelict groom stopping to shoot dice while the bride stands around. So - if you weren't a dice player already - Little Joe is dice slang for a "hard four" that is a pair of twos. Also known as "Little Joe from Kokomo". Of course the remaining people who would scream that at a crap table are probably dead or me at this point. Anyways, I digress. I like this game alot.

I enjoyed playing the game and am a huge Wonka fan. I think because I lean more to being a casual player that some of the shots just didn't do it for me. The layout and gameplay are amazing. The lightshow when you are in the Wonkatania is fun and reminds me of the Gene Wilder movie. Lawlor did an amazing job on the design of this game.

Having played both the original and the remake my conclusion is that I like them both. Great game, great theme and just plain fun.

At first when I got this I was wondering if I would love it because it didn't have the lights of men on bases in the backglass. And then I started playing it and remembered........

There is something very Zen about the chimes and bells in this game and the lights turning on and off. It is very soothing and just plain fun.

It doesn't hurt to have the extra games knock at 10 runs and hitting the high scores.

This is another favorite of mine not only from my childhood but for also having friends over and taking turns to see who can get the most runs.

I think if you love baseball pins or love baseball you should give it a try.

It goes without saying that pinball is highly subjective (like a lot of other hobbies and loves in life :) ).
I played this game as a kid and when I saw it as an adult, after playing a lot of newer machines and my old Transporter:The Rescue, was wondering what was it that had the grab that pulled me in?

It was the simplicity of the game and for me, the sense of nostalgia. It also helps that you love EM games.

The gameplay is "simple". Keep trying to run over the nine buttons that are lit in the center of the playing field to activate a double or triple mode. You try to also keep running over or hitting buttons that advance the bonus by 1000 each. While doing this you try to light up the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten lights to turn on the extra ball light for the right inner lane. The ability to get those lit depends on getting lucky with the upper right hand flipper and some practice with the lower flippers.

It is not a high scoring game - once you get to 99,999 if you are lucky and have played it enough it goes back to zero :). It is a game that requires patience and is addictive and fun. If you like the playing card themes you will like it. If you hate playing card themes - run away, run away.

The strong/weak point is the dual left side flippers that you have to "untrain" your reactions to from previous games because if you have one flipper up the other one goes up and the ball sneaks under it. Letting the ball bounce around on the flippers and then waiting to catch it works on this game.

Major frustrations are when the ball goes down the sides after you have turned on the EXTRA BALL light or have actually gotten all the lights for the 3x bonus except one and you lose the chance to get 3x.

But these are not only first world problems, they are just the thing that calls you back to the game.

Where this game shines is having friends over and playing it in 2, 3 or 4 player mode. Gameplay is relaxed until the ball starts ricocheting within the bumpers on top and then look out - things get wild, then back to "normal".

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