Funny, I disagree with this entirely. I'll take ACDC Pro over the Premium all day for playing. Just to point out there are different opinions.

I'd also argue X-men is worth the LE cost above the Pro.

Borg has said he does Pro first and then adds, Trudeau has said he does LE first and then removes. I tend to like Borgs Pros above the Premium, although again it's just taste.

So anyway, since I'm apparently not biased by owning the Premium...

I played both extensively before I purchased. I adore the theme, but as the lack of Indiana Jones games in my gameroom shows, I won't buy a game for the theme if I don't like it. And I thought I might not get a Ghostbusters.

I spent a long time on the Pro and couldn't figure out if I liked it much or not. I spent a while playing a premium, figuring I wouldn't like it enough more to justify the cost difference. In general, I find the Pro versions of Stern games to play faster, which is a huge thing for me.

GB Premium is the faster game, and it sits my basement by virtue of it being awesome, more so than the Pro. Although I did get a Pro translite because that's so much better. So, a counterpoint to your points...

You said: Predictiably random slings which favor skill over luck

To me, this is like the Iron Man argument that people used to say which said that Iron Man had no skill because of the monger magnet, yet I will argue that if you hit the monger in the right spot, you can control the magnets.

With the exception of multi ball if you are shooting well, nothing hits the slings. So if you don't want them hit, shoot better. And yes, I know that's really tough, but it makes the ball times shorter, which I really like.

You said: Better left ramp shot and right lane feed

I don't find any problem with the left ramp shot on the Prem, but one thing that bothered me on the Pro is basically everything returns to the right flipper. The left flipper on GB doesn't have many shots as is, but at least by making the right ramp go the left flipper, you have a way, even if dangerous, to safely get the ball to the left flipper via a shot. On GB pro, no such shot exists, making the right / left flipper imbalance even larger.

I also found I couldnt hit the left ramp with a backhand on the Pro but can only the Prem, although I'm not sure that is playfield geometry or just bad flipper angles on the pro I was playing.

You said: better slimer shot

I disagree. Slimer's left to right movement causes blocked shots to some things beyond him to the point that I often find myself timing my shot to avoid him so I can hit the ramp or whatever. I think that's a strategic element.

You said: better right ramp (less rejects once adjusted) and better that it does not return to same flipper

For all the stuff said about right ramp rejects, my game has almost no issues with it out of box. The Prem I played before my decision also had no issues, although they spent a bunch of time adjusting theirs. I've already detailed why I like the ball returning to the left flipper more above. And, the right ramp shot on the Pro is slow. I like a fast game.

For the record, I really like the idea of both the pro and Prem ramps, and I hope what was used in the pro is done again somewhere when a more strategic element might be able to. Be used. I love the subway dip on the premium top.

as mike notes, better flipper feel and fewer airballs

What is different to cause less airballs?

In my experience, the Premium I played had way better flipper feel then the pro. However, it seems that the early game were shipped with the flippers too low, and this has now been corrected. More Pros were made after this so I will say it's more likely to play a correct flipper alignment Pro than Prem, although this should be an easy adjustment to make.

So, you can legitimately like the Prem better. To me, it is the faster game (my favorite part of any game is speed!) and more balanced left to right with shots. That is worth it to me.

As I mentioned, Pro has the best translite (by far). The Ecto Goggles thing is stupid, although non pinball players say nice things about it.

I personally really don't like the Slimer edition and if you offered me one straight up for the Prem I have, I would say no.

☺️

I really like my LE and it is bolted to the floor. I could care less about value dropping because I am never selling. My opinion is that GB LE is a unique game and the Magnaslings work great, just like they were designed to. The Magnaslings add a level of un-predictability that you will simply not get going with the Pro. It would be like playing Iron Man without the magnet. I owned an Iron Man Classic and an Iron Man at the same time and the magnet makes a huge difference in game play. Same goes for GB, I would not consider a Pro because you will be missing a big part of the intended game design-the Magnaslings. I have games where I am amazed how the ghost play catch with the ball back and forth and the ball randomly goes where it wants to. It really keeps you on your toes. I think there is not a big difference between LE and Premium so either one is good. Just comes down to graphics and whether or not you like the bright slimmer powder or not-I love it, it really pops. There are plenty of new Stern machines that I actually prefer the Pro over Premium/LE, but GB is definitely not one of them. Go Premium/LE, you will not regret it!

Dan, you need to learn to dead pass and roll pass. that is the best feature in the design of either GB model. The game is built for dead pass and roll passing. Also drop passing.

yes it is but I like "OK OK OK"

I've been in the hobby for a few years, and I'm not a great player, but what is dead pass and roll pass? I wonder if I already do this and didn't know what to call it. Sorry if this is a stupid question but I searched it and it brought me back to this thread.

http://www.deadflip.com/tutorials/

A dead flipper pass is when you simply let the ball hit the flipper without flipping and let it bounce to the other flipper.Keep in mind the ball speed and where its gonna hit the "dead" flipper.that will determine whether its worth it or not.

Roll pass is when you have a fast rolling inland ball.Cock the flipper like a trap and simply let it roll to the other side.

Whatever flipper rubber youre using will make a difference.Superbands and that junk dont behave the same as regular or traditional flipper rubber.

My opinion... the Prem/LE has some COOL COOL extras... the subway lock, the paranormal slings, fancier library, roving slimer... that make it worth a little more. But it doesn't reinvent the wheel, they play mostly the same, and the pro is still a pretty feature rich game, so unless the extra money is trivial, I don't think the upgrade is necessary.

Believe it or not, I've been playing long enough that I know about things like this already.

As I said, "...by making the right ramp go the left flipper, you have a way, even if dangerous, to safely get the ball to the left flipper via a shot."

Not to get it there for a shot, but to get it there *via* a shot.

I already feel that the game is super right-flipper heavy, and darn near everything returns to the right flipper, and that was something I really didn't like in the Pro. In the Premium, having the one shot return to the left flipper at least balances that a bit. It's the one flaw that I really feel like is in both versions of the game, but I find that the Premium balances it a lot better.

Also, and this may have just been the geometry of the two machines that I played, but on the Pro it was impossible to backhand the left ramp, while on the Prem I tried (and on my Prem), I have no problem backhanding that ramp.

Interesting Goatdan, I didn't realize they moved them up on later production games. I think I may move my flippers up a tad and try it out. Thinking this would have solved the need to adjust the PKE ramp and I'd be able to back hand the left ramp which would be a bit of a game changer.

Thanks for the tip!

Neo was the one to first realize it - he said where the flippers came from factory was ultra low, and if you moved them up a buy the game shot far better.

I got my GB Prem new, planning to adjust the flippers, and they were already up more. Neo has the explanation somewhere else about how far to move, but I believe it is align thr flippers to be at the same angle as the in lane guide.