Absolutely Metallica (of any flavor) over Iron Man. It's a much better game for longevity because of the software. Period. Unless you're a super ironman fanboy and the theme really gets you off -- this is a clear and easy decision.

/have both, love both -- but if I could only have one it's Metallica without question

I agree. I really really like Metallica. But I also like the music.

Aren't the layouts almost identical? Gameplay via the software is different, but shots are are almost exactly the same.

you need to add a poll to this thread, but I agree that MET is the better of the two in terms of enjoyability, bang for the buck and flow (in my opinion)

Yeah, they're pretty close - no denying the ramp/pops placement. The war-machine/drop targets are similar, but the drops don't fire the ball back at you. Whiplash magnet/Snake similar position, but different in effect. No scoop on the IM. Center basher is much farther back (and generally safer) than IM.

Hmmm, maybe I'll have to look into getting a met. Anyone want to sell me one, send a pm.

Well I prefer IM. However, with these choices, you really won't go wrong.

Actually, one point to consider is whether or not you play to the rules and really try to make shots and achieve goals. If you're not that deep of a player and just like playing without too much heavy thought, then Iron Man may be the better choice. Metallica is at its best when you're really playing into the software -- where Ironman is pretty simple and everything you do is forward progress to something.

I have both, but Met Premium wins. Similar layouts, but Met's got the metal ramps with that "schling" feel every time you hit them, crazy crazy GI color changing lights, color changing inserts, the hammer lock, the snake jaw, Sparky, the rising gravestone, deep rules, amazing art. Absolutely one of Stern's best, glad they put it back into production as it kills the Pro, IMO. IM is awesome too, but if I had to pick one...Metallica!

are there any good cheater/ short hand ruleset guides for MET?

I still dont 'get' that game which means I probably ned to take a deeper dive.

Is Metallica even considered a re-release ? Hasn't it been active on their site since it was available ? They are just continuing the run.
Re-rereleased woudl be a game that went into the archive and that you could still not order through a distributor.

-The 4 main features are all there to start Multiballs (Sparky, Snake, Grave, Coffin)

-Hitting all those things multiple times (or shooting shots with their inserts lit) will light the big inserts over the flippers....light all 4 to light Crank It Up modes at the scoop.

-Spelling FUEL lights the 2x insert at the Fuel Lane shot....doing it multiple times will start Fuel mode which is a fast scoring mode

-Shooting a shot lights the spider arrow which means that shot is "selected". While that shot is selected, shooting Sparky/Snake/Grave/Coffin will light the insert on that shot. When all are lit, that shot will pulse. Shoot it to start the captive ball hurry up. Hit the captive ball to "complete" that shot. Complete all those shots to start Seek and Destroy

-Shoot ramps to spell METALLICA to start Lady Justice mode.

-Shoot guitar picks and collect the band members. Collect them all for Blackened mode

-In multiball, shoot guitar picks to open Snake's jaw. Get the ball in there to Add-a-ball & start 2x scoring. If you also get the Fuel Lane 2x, you can stack and get 4x for a bit. Get a Jackpot during 4x and you'll hear "JACK-F*CKIN'-POT!!!!"

-If you start Coffin Multiball, you can stack one other Multiball with it. Otherwise, Multiballs aren't stackable.

-Collecting all the lane inserts lights Mystery...however getting more lane inserts before you collect Mystery takes you to "deeper levels" of Mystery for better prizes!

-Bumpers fire "pistons"....collecting them all per bumper lights the piston inserts at the Fuel lane...shoot it to collect the points.

There's more than that, but that's the Cliff-Notes off the top of my head version!

- Collect a certain(t) amount of each item listed (snake etc...) To light Crank It Up 'CIU.' This is where the big points are.
4 modes, pick one, shot shoots, collect big points.
- Collect all 4 items when in CIU which lights the scoop so you can exit CIU collecting the amount of points you earned inside CIU, and also a matching amount of points.
- Make sure to complete fuel inside CIU and hit the playfield doubler before you leave in order to double you exit CIU score.
- Go through all 4 CIU to reach the Wizard.

I play my IM more, but really dig them both. The games on IM are so quick you can literally fire it up anytime, even if you just need to kill a couple minutes while the Mrs is picking which shoes to wear. I love how Whiplash, Iron Monger and War Machine all fight back. Jericho and DOD jackpot are a total rush. It's a killer pin.

Met is great, too. I couldnt choose and have both sitting next to each other.

I haven't played Iron Man enough to know if it is a good game or not, but Metallica Premium (in my opinion) is the best pinball machine ever made. I have a blast playing it every time.

Own both, Metallica would stay before IM. Just sold my Pro to go premium. I'm not even a fan of the band..

If anyone is interested in trading their met for my IMve, I might be interested. Love IM, but willing to mix it up.

At it's very basic level, it's a collection game. You are hitting/collecting 4 diff'rent items enough times to get to the CIU, kind of a mini wizard mode, 4 times to get to the Wizard Mode.

What's the price difference?

how do I know which items I have collected/left to collect when in CIU?
I was in it the other day, the mystery kept lighting but only giving me a mystery when I shot it and no jackpot. My jackpot was at 36mil and I could not figure out how to cash in. I assume I still needed to collect something?

Disagree. I've owned both. Had MET for a year. Very good pin. It's obviously deeper than IM. That doesn't make it a more fun or addicting pin than IM. I've owned IM twice, combined for about 2 years now. I much prefer IM over MET.

IM is more addicting, and does a much better job of getting the adrenaline going than MET does. And as good as MET is, it never had that "just one more game" pull to it like IM does.

When I'd play MET, I'd almost always play about 2 games and feel like I was done. IM makes you push that Start button over and over...

At the end of owning MET, it started to feel a bit like chopping wood, as all I ever cared about was getting to CIU.

You just have to hit Sparky/Snake/Grave/Coffin once while in CIU to light each big insert...all 4 let you hit the CIU scoop and choose to cash in or keep going. The Blue CIU light has to be lit. Mystery will just give you mystery.

No, I don't think it counts as a re release. Just a re run of a current license. I think the license has to have expired and time had gone by before its a Re - Release or VE.

They hadn't planned on making more but due to customer and distributor demand decided to make another run.

Rarehero explained it there...really it's risk vs. reward. Do you keep going when you can cash out, do you try to double it before you leave? That's the fun.

metallica by a long shot, ironman is good but met premium is great

Love the music and will someday own a MET premium and an ACDC Premium side by side.

Go Metallica

Imve, metallica is good, similar layout and the art is nice, but im is more fun and feels more intense!

I thought about buying a MetPro or Premium several times and I came close to pulling the trigger but when I went back to play it again to verify I really wanted it, it just didn't do it for me. Now if I found the right deal then maybe I will own one some day.

IM is just awesome in your face fun, it makes you press that start button over and over again even after having your ass handed to you.

Shot geometry/layout on these machines is basically the same...for me, though, I go IM. Way more of a rush to play. You hit the primary targets in IM and the ball goes flying ---the machine is fighting back --- not nearly the same in MET. IM is crazy fun and fast...MET feels laborious.

I agree that IM is the one that really keeps you on the edge, the feeling of fighting to stay alive to do battle. The challenge of getting to Do or Die and Jericho never gets old. Music and sound effects are great, as are a lot of the quotes from the film. The music in MET is not that great even if you like the band as some of the songs don't really get you pumped to play pinball.

MET can feel tedious in comparison to IM.

I've played MET alot on route and I actually want one. After owning a very sweet modded and brassed IM for 3 years I'd trade up for a MET Premium. That said, I think IM is the better all around game, as far as I know thus far. MET is kind of a grind. Do this, do that a million times. The difference is that when you're trying to achieve a "multi-hit" objective on IM, you're shitting your pants worried about draining. No game is faster or more harrowing than IM. The exhileration factor with IM is off the charts. That quality is extremely rare in a pin. MET is more of a journey ala LOTR (I'd say TSPP too but much more flow on MET and LOTR) and there's alot to be said for that too.

If I get a MET maybe I'll change my mind. But my vote goes for IM now.

When IMVE first was released, I made this decision, went with IMVE and am so glad, I don't mean to say Met is bad, but for me, the music is too much. I don't really care for the music or the band. ON the other hand, AcDc music really gets you pumped TNT, etc.. But Met is just depressing IMO, while playing Metallica at a friends house it was almost like I was wishing the ball would drain so I didn't have to listen to the music any more.

I had not played Met premium until lately, but still feel like IM is better for me. Met has much cooler dots and more rules, but IM is just short and intense with great callouts and music and to me the best integration of a shaker I've felt. Plus, if you like spinners like I do it has three that play well into the rules, and the center shot (hard to make when you are under the gun). It's just one of my favorite pins.

Love the shake with the war machine cannon. Very cool!

The challenging part of making a music based theme is engulfing the player into the music in order to bring the theme (or band) to life. to capture this properly, you need to avoid constantly changing the music like so many non-music pins do. Lyman does this majestically with ACDC and Metallica.

But sometimes in doing so, some features or rules are sacrificed. On the topic of Metallica, that sacrifice is making the rules more of a 'grind' feel. So while it is a grind type game, it works because it's a hell yea, super fuckin jackpot experience. Unfortunately, once the novelty and rush aspects wear out, the grind becomes too prominent.

That said; IM has that one more game feel to it. While its rulesheet is much more sparse than MET, it doesn't take much to get the game going nor does it take much to get the adrenalin flowing. It's only a matter of minutes before you're fully engulfed in the game.

Conclusion: Metallica has more novelty, but IM has more delivery IMO

I was thinking as well with the drones, you get a tactile feedback when you hit an active drone. I'm sure there are other pins with great shaker integration, but to me IM is top, maybe because it's so open and looks so sparse, that it just adds that extra layer of immersion.

I agree with Eksaybee on this, in particular for me, you can almost get IM to open up in a short few minutes. Many other games take more effort to get a good game going.

I know owners of pins will defend them, so likely I'd rate my own pins higher than others might. But of all my pins, I think IM is rated lower than in should be on the top100 rating. I'd place it up with Tron (ish). I give Tron more kodoos for slightly more rules ( super spinner, super pops, SOS etc..) but I like Tron and IM equal, I think Tron is slightly nicer over all but IM is more intense to play.

Location play you'd definitely want to go IM. Shorter games == more plays. If you're the owner putting it on location that is.

In-line drop targets are the coolest thing in anything, anywhere.

Got to admit that it warms my heart to see all the support for my beloved IM.

There is no doubt about the intensity of IM. It does what it sets out to do incredibly well. I had it and loved it. It is a really great machine. But, what it sets out to do is pretty much one thing. It does have that one more game feeling, but every one of those games is an arm wrestle, and you have to take this machine on to play it. Most other games allow you to decide how you want to approach them. The shallowness of IM is not its apparently short rule set..its rules per se are elegant and exciting and super punchy and enjoyable..the shallowness is that it is exactly the SAME experience every time you play it. While that is a good experience, you can't vary it. Which is OK, if you can mix it up with other machines. But if you get bored with arm wrestling all the time you may get bored with IM.

I don't disagree with your analysis. But even with that analysis, my conclusion was that I got bored with MET and played it less than IM, despite owning IM first.

So in the end it appears we just circle back to: Everybody likes different things. You should find/play both somewhere near you and make a decision.

Barcade = Metallica

Lots of customers will be "whoa! Metallica pinball!?!?!" *quarters drop - start button hit* "oh shit this game has blackened, battery, creeping death...hell yea old school Metallica this is amazing"

Whereas IM would be more "oh cool a pinball machine" *quarters drop - start button hit* ....game over "dang That was cool for a second but I sure suck at pinball, anyone want to play darts...?"

EDIT: basically; if I'm drinking beer and playing pinball - Metallica. Otherwise, IM.

I agree with this, I wouldn't want to have IM if it was my only pin for sure, but in a lineup of my 8 pins it's great. If only one pin, I'd probably go with Tspp or AcDc premium.

And I can totally see how this would happen, too. My ownership of Met is also in its final stages. There is a lot of hit-accumulation to get through to the good stuff here. It might have been better if CIU was also achievable some alternate way to the current massive shot accumulation. Perhaps it should have been a mystery award?