roar's ratings

My second EM, also picked this one up for free. It was a dirty dirty machine. My first 4 player EM and I was pretty out of my depths on this one. Had it running for a while, but ultimately passed it along to another local pinhead who would take better care of it. I think the artwork on it is great both on the backglass and the playfield. I am not aware of anything unique about it game play wise that makes it a keeper, I think there is a level of rarity to the EM one vs the SS version and I had the EM one, but I don't really keep up on that side of things. There are a number of EM's I like the look of that I'd love to have in the game room one day before I chase down another Cleopatra, but I still think it is a good looking and fun playing game.

My first EM! I thought it would cool next to Fathom and I believe I picked this one up for free. Remember the days you could grab EM's from people's garages or basements for free? When your ad was the only ad in the local classifieds looking for pinball machines? Those were the days!

Anyway, this guy didn't work so well when I picked it up, I would still very much consider myself a novice when it comes to EM repairs but I was able to get this up on its feet and running. I think it is a good looking game, rules are simples, shots are simple, but EM's hold a certain charm for me. With that said, I'm no EM aficionado, so take my ratings or comments with a grain of salt, I am certain there are "better" EM's out there, but if one falls in your lap for free and you like water themed games, you could do worse :).

This one didn't last too long, but, I still think it is an amazing game if you have lots of people over. Two player pinball machines are few and far between, Pitch'n'Bats are where it's at! Just a ton of fun to go a couple of rounds on one, doesn't have to be a Slugfest, the early EM's with running man units are equally engaging in my mind. At the end of the day, they are a one trick pony, fun with friends and unless you've got lots of friends over even that fun is limited to a couple of games, particularly if one person is considerably better than the other.

If I had a large collection of pins and entertained frequently I'd make room for a Slugfest... and Super Chex... and foosball table... and a bowler, all games that are great in a crowd.

I'm kind of beating that point to death. If I'm going to call anything out that Slugfest has over the em's that do the same trick, it is the dots on the dmd and the sound, I think both are really great. The home run ramp and pitch selections are nice, I like the carton styling of all the artwork, it is just a really great package. Worth a romp for sure if you haven't had one before.

This was my first Williams System 7 game... I feel like this is a pretty classic game that any 80's Bally/Williams fan should own at least once. Nice big upper playfield, fast playing lower playfield, fun sound, magna save, the game has a lot going for it. Example I had was pretty solid, I enjoyed owning it and if I had space for lots of games I'd have kept it around but my tastes evolved and it was replaced with a modern Stern. Really hard for these 80's games to compete in a small collection, but if you've got the space and you're a fan of this era of pinball, you owe it to yourself to own a Black Knight at some point!

I had been out of the hobby for a number of years and this game was my first pick-up when I re-entered. I tracked down a new playfield and some parts with plans of doing a playfield swap but ultimately didn't follow through on it and sold it to fund the purchase of a MET. I did get to spend lots of time playing it and I'm sure you've heard this before, but the game is a bit of a one trick pony with the horseshoe shot in the middle. When it's waxed up and re-rubbered the game places fast and is fun for a while, it became repetitive after a while in a single game line-up. Make sure you've got the right sized posts in that horseshoe as the shot is way too easy with skinny posts in it. Ultimately the game is more a looker than a player and fits in great amongst a row of early 80's Bally's, but I'd gravitate more towards other games from time period before looking at another SBM.

I've had Rush for coming up on 3 months now and have started to settle into a rhythm with it. Adding to the growing list of music themed games I've had through the house where I knew very little about the band or their music prior to spending time on their pin but have gained a real appreciation for it. My past experience with Rush has solely been on Rock Band and Tom Sawyer where my claim to fame is 5 staring it on Expert... but enough about that... how is the pin?

It's good. I like it. I was out of a commission a bit with a failed Node 10 board, but with a new one in place I'm back to playing it about daily and I usually turn it off feeling fulfilled. Fulfilled for me on Rush is scoring about a billion and every 2 or 3 sessions making it to Cygnus Book 1. Book 2 continues to elude me, I've had it lit a couple of times and drained, but Im confident I'll get there. 2098 is also as close as I've gotten progressing towards 2112, so I don't think that is out of reach for me either.

The shots vary enough that I don't get board playing it. The Combo system I like a lot, I often find myself chasing as many albums as I can before cashing in and shooting for the super jackpot or chasing the flashing records and rising the % to at least 100% before I start a mode. These two things are distractions towards getting to Book II but I can't seem to stop doing it so the game is doing something right. There are a couple of frustrating things on the game I have yet to spend time trying to resolve and that is bounce backs on the deadend shot and rejects out of the side ramp, both are frustrating, but not frustrating enough for me to do something about... I should too however.

Overall, I really enjoy the game, the shots are fun, wouldn't really call any of the shots "hard", beyond locking a ball behind the drop targets, I suck at that shot, but besides that, all the shots are very makable, I enjoy the variety of the modes, the mini-wizard modes are attainable for my skill level and overall, I think it's a solid game, happy to have it around for a bit.

On to my third Elwin game, after JP and IMDN I naturally had to track this one down too. I took a point off on Game Rules... as I think this one has just gone past the point of reasonable. When games need to start coming with their own rules manuals have we gone too far? Still, fun shooting game, love the Captain Marvel ramp on the Premium, very rewarding. I did have to upgrade the plunger spring and auto-plunger coil to get the shots to consistently make the ramp in the back on plunge, so that was a little frustrating. More than any other game I've owned in recent memory, this one has needed tweaking... and I'm the third owner of it! The rejects on the CM can get frustrating. Sound is pretty cool though, the Hulk Gamma hurry up is always fun and intense to shoot. The subway holding the balls for portal lock on the Premium I could probably do without to be completely honest. The ball just takes too long to traverse the subway... I just want to play... not wait for that to go through the motions. Have only owned the game for a couple of months now but it will be sticking around a llittle while longer, another great effort by Elwin.

My second Elwin pin... after owning and loving IMDN I really wanted Elwin's next effort and it didn't disappoint. I probably moved on from this game sooner than I would have liked and I would like to get it back one day. I rated it a little lower in the art department, mainly because of the playfield artwork I'd say, backless and cab are solid though... music is pretty great but where it shines is in the rules and the shots. Elwin just makes fun... unique shooting... and hard games. For me at least! I only have one gripe with the game and that is the first T-Rex multi ball on the pro takes way too long to start the mode, I get it if you have a premium and you get to watch the dinosaur eat the ball and then throw it around, but the unskipable animation on the Pro when the ball is back at your flipper waiting to go I always found frustrating. Game is amazing in all other aspects.

This was my second Borg/Lyman game... and it is about as perfect of a game as I've owned. I was a fan of the early TWD show but eventually stopped watching it, that did not hamper my appreciation of the game at all however. Never have I ever owned a game I wanted to flip over and burn to the ground one minute and then the very next have me hooting and hollering in absolute joy the next. The game is just amazing, the rules are perfectly implemented, the theme integration is fantastic, the multi-ball's and mini-wizard modes a joy... I'd have it back in a heart beat in the future. As much as I'd like to try the Premium at home, I'm not sure I want the start and stops that it adds with the extra magnet and the crossbow. I'm not much of a mod guy at all but I threw some clear drop-targets in on this game along with clear rubber rings and I thought it really helped brighten up a dark game. This game is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced, it is a hard, hard game and offers outlane drains and SDTM drains like they're going out of style, in the end, it is all worth it. Highly highly recommend.

Sign me up for another pinball based on a band I have no use for! I could name the number of Metallica songs on less than one hand before owning this game. I had left the pinball hobby for about 10 years or so after starting my family and I found my way back in through Virtual Pinball. One of the great reproductions was a Metallica and I really liked it so when I finally convinced myself a Virtual Pin was never going to satisfy my pinball itch I sold it and picked up a Metallica and I've never looked back. This game is the total package for me, love Dirty Donny's artwork, the animations on the game are great, the sound and music on it just belong together and the rules are top notch. I bought a pro and if I had it back I'd go Premium for sure. I think the snake locking mech is really awesome as well as the coffin lock mech... though I suspect I'd get irritated after a while with the interruption to flow both add I still would like to try them. I've always been a sucker for in-line drop targets and they are implemented well here... the game is just great all around, I'd highly recommend to anyone... Borg and Lyman know how to make a game!

I remember playing LOTR back in the arcade when it was first released and enjoying the heck out of it. I can still remember the first time I put a quarter in it actually. I got to play it throughout the years in peoples homes and always wanted to own one. That day came... and in all honesty it became a lunch bag let down for me. To say the game is too easy is unfair as making it to Valinor is considered by many as one of the greatest pinball achievements... and I didn't get there... but... I got close once and that was all I needed to convince myself I didn't need to make it there again. I distinctly remember the moment I decided to sell the game and that was after coming off a fantastic first ball, accomplishing a lot of the objectives and when it drained after 40 minutes of playing I turned the game off... I was bored... I didn't want to play any more. I didn't want another trip around the multi balls, I just didn't want to shoot the same shots again and bash on balrog or bash on the plantier or wait for the ball to trickle down the path of the dead. It was time to move on. I wouldn't have LOTR back, I had my spin.

This game hits all the right notes. I am admittedly NOT an Iron Maiden fan... I'm old enough to be one, but their album covers always freaked me out as a kid and I wasn't a metal head so I stayed away. The game exceeded all expectations for me as Elwin games have in general for me. My first game since I owned Fathom with a 3rd flipper, so it was good to get used to a game with one. Really unique, for me anyway, layout, sound and music integration with the theme seemed really on point. Lots of variety of shots and modes. One draw back for me as my first Premium game was the additional slow downs the Prem adds. The sarcophagus lock was really cool... the first half dozen or so times I hit... then it became boring just waiting for it to go through the motions... same thing with the lift ramp, really neat at first and then I just wanted the ball back in play. I would gladly take this game back in my collection but would honestly like to give the Pro a go if I did.

This one didn't last too long for me. I'd put it on the easy side with frequent trips to the Iron Throne for me. Targaryen being the hardest house to complete. I do think the upper playfield on the Prem/LE is something I'd like to spend more time on as I understand it ups the difficulty a bit. Over all I still think this game is really fun, as a fan of the show I thought theme integration was solid for sure. I never tired of the Blackwater multi-ball call outs, even though they weren't varied. A pretty standard feeling fan layout takes away some points on playfield layout for me, nothing terribly unique there. Worth giving a go and I'd have it back in my place with a Prem/LE in the future if one came up.

My first LE, really enjoyed this game. It is on the "easier" side of Stern games I've owned, but ultimately the fun factor really drives the score for me. Zombie Yeti does fantastic art, the callouts are the funniest in any pinball I've ever owned and the variety on them is really great. Just a solid solid effort by Stern on this one with some really unique shots, Katana and Snikt shots are extremely satisfying and the left orbit on the Premium/LE is great... and a disco ball??? Come on, this game has it all.

Entirely biased review here :) First game I ever owned, love the game, which doesn't mean it couldn't do things better, but this is as good as it gets for pre-90's games for me.