Plays fine. There's a bug with Thor's flasher not always working right & no dots for the wizard mode you probably will never see anyway.

Still hope for an update.

I definitely had lots of fun with it for 6 months or so. I still like it - no ill will....I just played it a ton and felt like it was time to put something else in that spot. My general thing for "long ball time" type games is - when I'm playing it, how does it compare to LOTR or TSPP - my favorite "long play games" that IMO stay super interesting during those marathon sessions....if I feel like I'd rather be playing those games, I feel like it can go. Eventually that's what happened with Avengers, but I still like it more than other "long" games I sold (TF, BDK, Xmen, etc). The shots are tight but feel great when made. I like the "Monster Bash" style rules of collecting/assembling the characters. The music and sound FX are awesome IMO. I like the GI color change FX when you start different modes. Even though the voices are all fakes, there's good "pinball humor" in the custom call outs. The Hulk & Loki Multiballs are fun and challenging.

Keep in mind, mine was well modded/dialed in...it's usually a pain-in-the-butt game out of the box and needs some TLC to get it to play flawlessly. Once I got it dialed, it stayed that way.

On mine I had to tweak the ball guide on the Cap entrance so that the ball looping around from the IM shot would go clean to the flipper instead of the sling. Many people have to dial things in w/ the BW ramp...the spinner bracket sometimes needs a tweak...sometimes you need some washers to level out the ramp sections so the ball travels smoothly.

I had Hooked's mods...his new Loki lock plastic which is so much better than the stock one as it doesn't block your view of the SHIELD target or IM's shot...also his "see clearly" mod for the Loki inserts.

There's prob a bunch of other stuff - there's a thread that's all about Avengers tweaks!

I'm no Stern software expert but I feel the Avengers current code it great. I have encountered more things I would consider "bugs" in Bally Indy 500 code than the Avengers.

That being said, I almost always end up collecting Black Widow last and it seems to take a ridiculous amount of shots to collect her compared to the other Avengers, so I would like to see that adjusted.

Also I think you should get some credit against collecting CA for making his shot once the pop bumper mode has been activated (very minor).

As for tweaks, there are several threads on Pinside describing the problems and fixes. In a nutshell:

Hulk switch adjustment (30 minutes)
Black Widow ramp adjusting (30 seconds to 5 minutes if shim washers are needed)
Black Widow ramp ball shield raising (6-8 washers and 2 minutes)
Shooter ramp tweaking (some foam pads and 2 minutes)
Shooter rod adjustment (2 minutes unless the hole through the cabinet needs to be moved/enlarged)
LEDs under slings hot glued or siliconed in place (2 mins)
Relocating the Loki Lock plastic to enhance view of Fury target(2 minutes)

Mandatory Mod for LE
Hooked "see clearly" plastics - enables view of inlane inserts

There were a few mods provided by Stern that should already be applied to any resale machine
BW to Hulk Saucer extra ring
Loki lock ball resting area sticker

Code is largely complete and very good. Spinner has no role in the game, needs one. I've had tav over a year, still love it, not going anywhere. Don't consider it a very long ball game, certainly not like tspp, and it's not stop and go like tspp can be.

The code is good in the game. They brought it to a very good level very quickly. Could have used one more polish update which we won't be getting apparently but the game as it stands is good. I think the game at the current market price is a steal.

I bought in NIB so I'll be taking a hit whenever I sell it, but that's ok, I don't buy games for investment and I've had fun with it while I owned it.

I love my Avengers and think the code is fairly complete. Would love to see an update with the bugs fixed and maybe some minor tweaks but it's not a deal breaker for me. I agree with the above that AV is at a good value price now. No telling if it will cont to drop, stabilize or start to creep up. My only concern for you is I don't think I could have this game as my only pin. At first the ball times are not long but as you get better the ball times increase drastically. It's not uncommon for me to have 20-30 min games on mine now. The problem with that in a one pin environment is that if you have a good game that takes 20-30 mins it's hard for me to press start again. At my house if I have one of those games I generally move to another pin for a while then come back to it.

Yeah, that's why I always compare long games to TSPP/LOTR. If it's not in that league, then it won't be a super long term keeper. They've set the high bar.

Funny, I hate TSPP. Always thought it was a chore.

Really like my Avengers Pro though. I tweaked the Black Widow ramp, and now I generally complete her second after Hulk (set her difficulty to easy). After the Plexus treatment, that thing is such a rewarding shot. I find IM and especially the Capt America shot WAY harder now believe it or not.

As for software I'd love to see tweaked...

- Some kind of fix for the H target! Doesn't happen much on mine, but I know it happens a LOT on other machines where the H drop target pops back up and the ball continually hits it then falls back into the extra ball/Hulk start. Easy fix would be to simply force the H to stay down an extra two seconds. Problem solved.

- Thor light as mentioned.

- Add combo champion. It's in the settings menu, why not in the game? I want to see my name in lights for the five BW shots in a row I made!

That's pretty much all I got. Fixes would be VERY easy I think, wouldn't take much time, so why not just crank it out in a day or so?

Overall, though, I think the software is very good, and the game, when dialed in, is great. Amazingly well integrated to the movie!

Should also note I've never made it to wizard mode, never even close really, so no idea about the lack of dots.

AOTH, though, is in and is a GREAT mode.

It's not, though. If you have a long TSPP (or LOTR) game, you're CONSTANTLY uncovering new and interesting modes, mini-wiz modes, etc...almost everything can stack on everything...so there's always something to shoot for & accomplish. Everything you do MEANS something for progressing toward the "ending".

Avengers is similar in that you're progressing toward something, but with a much simpler ruleset. You can stack all the Avengers "modes" during the first half of the game...but I found the 2nd half is where it starts to get a bit tedious. Once you assemble the Avengers, every time you start their modes after that, it's a Vs. mode. Every Vs. mode is a 2-ball Multiball. So - at this point in the game, not only are the modes unstackable...each Vs. mode really only has you juggling back and forth between 2 shots...and because they're Multiballs, they keep your game going forever. End an unfinished Vs. mode, you're gonna start it again....or a different one. This is the point of the game where I'd start to get bored....on the other hand, if I was playing TSPP (or LOTR) - I'd still be doing lots of interesting & stacked features & mini-wiz modes like Mystery Spot, Secret Stash, Scratchy's Revenge, Alien Invasion, etc.

Interesting. I owned a TSPP, and am a HUGE Simpsons fan. But I just found the game to feel like work, no matter how I played it. I know others who felt the same way. Just never ever clicked with me.

Avengers, OTHO, I love the VS. modes. Maybe it is due to the simpler nature of it, not sure. Could just be different strokes, though.

Needs an update.
*various minor bugs (and annoyances!): Thor flasher. Hulk "H" drop target/saucer issue. Others
*no spinner rules
*Black Widow shot useless during Hulk MB. Only shot rendered as such. All other Avengers shots can be scored towards collection if activated...but not Black Widow
*no Wizard Mode dots (so is there a payoff for finishing?)
*pops rules are sorely lacking...and when you're actually in the "pops mode" trying to collect Captain America the lights aren't even active. WTF?
*needs more variety in Nick Fury awards....especially a ball saver during Aothc mini wiz mode
*some people complain about "bonus x rape". Code could address this.

No doubt I'm forgetting something too.

Most of the people I know that have issue with the game don't understand more than about 20% of the rules, or have a hell of a time on the upper playfield making the TV and couch lock shots. It's SUPER FRUSTRATING to get the ball up there many times and get nothing out of it...

Where are your outlanes?

Adding a few washers under the bracket of the kickout solenoid corrects this.....Overall I think the code needs one more update to finish the game up proper.

Game needs a little more to it like the rest of Family Arcades post suggests.

For many, many months for me it was the only pin in the house....despite the fact that I had ACDC Premium, CSI, TFLE and IM in the house too. I think its fine as a one pin game....but I agree with RareHero that it's not as good as LOTR or sm (for me, TSPP for him) in terms of longer game games. AVLE shreds over BDK, TF and most other long games that come to mind.

Set on the low setting. Have to keep in mind I keep them that way on most of my pins for my family. If they are open they don't have any fun and then don't play the pins. I move them in and out sometimes but with Avengers it's still a fairly long ball time game for me. Some well timed nudges keeps the ball out of those lanes pretty easily.

Finally a plus for us Pro owners

Not entirely. It can help, but not a 100% fix. The h needs to go and stay down when ball goes in saucer, just as in tspp when ball goes in I&S hole. Code fixed this in TSPP, it should fix it for TAV.

Do not get me wrong....I've happily played this game in my home for 16 months. For me, now, after all this time I believe the game needs an update for me to keep it. I have done everything there is to do on this machine except finish Battle For Earth. I love this game. It's easily been my favorite since I bought it new. No one that comes over to play it has any idea that the code could be improved. All they know is the game is fun and 100% of people playing it at my house have liked it. Many have really liked it.

Alot of games need better code/rules. More polish, etc. Avengers needs polish...but since they have to go in the code to do that...they might as well make some gameplay fixes that would make the game even better than it is.

I wonder how many of us have emails Stern requesting another code update?

Quoted from TFA

*various minor bugs (and annoyances!): Thor flasher. Hulk "H" drop target/saucer issue. Others
*no spinner rules
*Black Widow shot useless during Hulk MB. Only shot rendered as such. All other Avengers shots can be scored towards collection if activated...but not Black Widow
*no Wizard Mode dots (so is there a payoff for finishing?)
*pops rules are sorely lacking...and when you're actually in the "pops mode" trying to collect Captain America the lights aren't even active.
*needs more variety in Nick Fury awards....especially a ball saver during Aothc mini wiz mode
*some people complain about "bonus x rape". Code could address this.

Stern should make right and update the code. As is it is incomplete. You cannot argue that point as the wizard mode lacks DOTS.

Anyone know how I can tell how far I am in collecting and finishing each Avenger? I can't seem to figure it out from the inserts and nothing appears on the status screen that I can see.

Code seems to be just fine. I have more issues with the mechanics and PF "features" working as they should, or not.

The "circle of character inserts" in front of the flippers tells you. If I remember correctly, flashing means you assembled (finished their mode) and solid means you completed the Vs. mode.

Also, if the character's backboard flasher is pulsing, that means that mode is currently running.

I just hate that you cant get back to the mini wizard mode if you drain.

Right, I get the circles of characters flashing means collected and solidly lit means completed.

What I was referring to is how can I tell many more shots I have to collect or complete each?

Me too! I love the music of that mode. There should be some set of shots to get back there.

You have to win the versus mode for each Avenger to complete them....a total of around 10 mixed shots for each...and there's a countdown...so check the DMD when in a Versus mode...once you won a few, could know which shot closes them out.

Freaking great game. I had an epic game last weekend...battle for earth again. There are some cool insert lighting effects and some wicked sound fx, just no dots except jackpot scores.

Thanks, I recall seeing the countdown number and bar on the VS dots.

How about a way to see how many shots are left to collect an Avenger other than making their shot and seeing "X remaining" on the dots?

How about a way to see how many shots are left to enter VS mode other than making their shot and seeing "X remaining" on the dots?

How about a way to see how many shots are left to complete an Avenger other than to enter their VS mode?

My point is the code should be updated to include this information on the status screens in addition to the limited value "generic" information on the status screens... unless someone can tell me where to find it.

I would like to see settings in the menu to select how many shots it takes to complete the VS modes. Then you could shorten the ball save times for those modes and they would be more fun and within reach for more people to be capable of completing some of them.

Thats a good one too! That way I could reduce the number of shots to collect and complete BW so my wife could get to AOTHC. Even on Easy, she and I ALLWAYS end up collecting BW and IM last.

This part of the code could use balancing...

I'm very happy with my Avengers LE and think the code is just fine. It's a great game! Way underrated.

It is absurd how badly this game, specifically the Pro, is underrated on this site.

Ok, I emailed Stern again regarding another Code update for AVLE
Maybe each of us should contact them again to keep it fresh in there minds to do us an update!

Keep the faith

I don't feel the game really needs an update. Not worth bugging stern.

Maybe with the LE's, we need a this clear perspex sheet under the raising BW ramp!
This was when the ramp is raised, we can still cross the bridge and collect towards BW?
Thoughts

Because ATM when the bridge is raised, we get nothing from the spinner (dead shot)

I don't think a clear bridge will work... I think the ball comes off the first part of the ramp at a bit of an angle. However, I have "jumped the gap" a couple times in the 100s of games I have played...

Maybe a certain number of BW spinner rotations could count as a BW shot? Similar to the Tessaract where a number of spins are required to start and collect certain things...

Come on Stern, Give us a bone please!

Would love to just see the Thor light and more importantly, music / speech adjustments fixed!

I recently just disabled the bridge function to see how I liked the change in game flow during Hulk Multi ball ( which i think is a great multi ball). I now get the credit for BW shots during Hulk Multi ball and do not miss the bridge going up at all. A secondary benefit is that the few times I do get a Hulk arm ball hang up ( I did tweek the hulk switch to be as sensitive as possible), the ball clear software seems to start faster so the delay in play is a lot less.

One software tweek I would recommend for consideration is that Hulks arms are in an "up" position versus the current "down" position when hulk is not activated during game play. That would allow the balls to flow freely underneath his arms when Hulk is not triggered. When Hulk is triggered the arms could drop down and strike the balls pretty quick so that you do not lose that particular function of the toy. Once the arm movement is complete , the arms could return to the up position.

You'd burn the coil.

I like the idea of more random arm lifting maybe when the switch is hit.

Good point. So modify the mechanical aspect to spring load the arms so that they are "up" de energized . Maybe a possible mod.

If you really need to, you can adjust the bracket that holds Hulk's arms so that his down position is not as low...however, if you tweak the plate in front of him to be uber sensitive, you'll rarely get hangups.

I have gotten the plate super sensitive with very few stuck balls. raising the arm would eliminate altogether. I thought about adjusting the plates but did not want to do that as I did not want to mess up the arm / ball impact during multi ball. Just a thought