Even Gwyneth Paltrow is excited about the James Bond pinball launch by doing her best Jill Masterson from Goldfinger impersonation.

That's part of what gives WPC games a lot of their charm, simple to understand rules that anyone can play and some times tough objectives that good and great players can achieve. Great games on Avengers or Godzilla end up being really long because there are so many extra balls to be earned but that is needed in order to see all of the deep code features.

That's what makes having a line up of machines so great, you can have a variety of different "styles" to suit your mood.

For me, I think the perfect balance is a game that I can get close to and occasionally hit the wizard mode on 3 or 4 balls that takes maybe 20 minutes to do.

Damn.. that’s a gorgeous shot. Can’t knock the design. The building/lock mech on the back left reminds me of Godzilla from this angle. Make it great with the code guys.

Wonder what’s going on with the left “Monster Bash Creature” window behind the flipper. GG has been showing 2 figures - Scuba Bond and the enemy. Will it just be clever lighting to make a fight scene under there, or will the figures move as well?

They'll probably just light up and flop around of their own volition on a spring, just like on Monster Bash.

If it's good enough for Monster Bash it's good enough for this one!

It looks like the lights will turn on and off to showcase the scene. Figures won't move.

I think the figures move but not mechanically. Maybe spring? Video seemed to show them wobbling back and forth a bit.

Yes. Just like Monster Bash. This will be the same.

I can't wait to see all the hilarious things people hide under the window instead of the scuba divers...

Either a dildo or a bottle of lube. Bookmark it!

Is this pic the SLE?

Nope

A toy of Steve Ritchie with a concrete block on his legs?

Its the premium

Some naked Bond girls on a spring.

The Pro would be ideal for an LCD mod like they did with CTBL.

I was afraid that when they started the LCD era, too much emphasis would be on that screen. I am not a fan of video clips from movies played over and over. That’s what I don’t like about the Star Wars pin, I love the Star Wars movies but don’t want to see these clips played over and over, I will watch my movies on my big screen for that. I would have preferred the DMD for this.
To me the DMD is better suited to pinball. They are an art in themselves, something I really like with those dots. One could argue that the DMD screen cost more than these LCD screens.

Has anyone else noticed the fine-grained orange peel clear on most of these photos? I picked up a NIB Deadpool pro this spring and it has this same texture. I can't imagine this is the look Stern is going for now, right? My Deadpool plays just fine, but my AIQ playfield (which was swapped due to warping) is like glass, that was spring 2021 and looks beautiful (plays just as good).

Hope whatever they are doing is not the new process moving forward. I feel like this playfield could really pop with an ultra glossy finish. That being said, seems like the playfield lottery is still in effect; good luck everyone.

It doesn't bother me in the slightest

People keep mentioning the see-through figure like on Monster Bash. I've played a fair amount of MB (enough at least to get Monsters of Rock) and I had no idea there was something visible through the playfield. Goes to show how variable what matters in terms of pinball/BOM can be to different types of players.

When you shoot the far left creature shot, the window illuminates for a second revealing the lil' creech on a spring.

It's truly immersive and epic and is such a world under glass you'll want to move there.

Any word if the new code arrived?

Godzilla is long because of so many extra balls? How are you getting extra balls? I hardly ever do.

Agree with this. I way prefer dmd.

From the Godzilla Rulesheet over on TiltForums:

Extra Balls:
Extra balls are instantly awarded once any of the below tasks have been achieved.

Conquer 2 Cities
Collect 5 City Combos
Destroy 3 Saucers
Destroy 10 Jet Fighters
Make 12 shots during Monster Rampage the first time


Cities and Saucers often come naturally -- especially if you can shatz the right inlane for a double Saucer kill after destroying the first one. Learn the Tokyo City Combos so you have two before you move on.

I generally agree (at least that DMD animations better react to and reward playfield action [in contrast to the barrage of out of sync clips in some LCD games]), but Elvira and ACNC have made good use of the LCD in my opinion (ACNC being the best in regard to bringing the DMD formula to LCD).

I got a Deadpool Premium date May 21, 2022 and it has the finest clear coat that I have ever seen on a Stern. When they had the chipping problems back in the early JP and Iron Maiden days the removed the art from under posts and went with a really thin clear to remedy the issues. Now it seems like the clear is a little thicker again and really smooth and shiny. I suppose it varies from batch to batch but my GZ and Rush also have really nice clear coats on them.

Some GZ are showing up with REALLY THIN clear. Maybe Stern is still using multiple vendors for the printing and clear and some are better than others? Both the Pro and Prem NIB GZs I had came in looking fine, but I've seen some with water-thin clear recently. So thin the ARTWORK ink was raised above it.

Also, I always change my home games to award extra balls on a replay, them adjust the replay threshold up as I get better. I like earning a long game. Try it if you haven't.

That's ridiculous. Yet another reason that I'm done buying NIB Sterns.

Wow, my GZ clear is thin, I can feel the inserts but feeling the artwork? Jeez that’s concerning.

My DP and GZ were made about a month apart, GZ has thin clear and hardly any dimples. DP has thicker, glossier clear and has a lot of dimples. I’d rather have the thicker clear and dimples but maybe I’m wrong. I guess time will tell how they hold up compared to each other.

Yes, please make video screen assets full size. Smallish is no good and takes away from the enjoyment of Bond films coupled with game play. Post card size movie clips are a no go imo.

Agreed, making movie assets full screen size is imperative for immersion and making it enjoyable. SW is a good example of how not to do screen movie assets. The small movie clip sizes look old and archaic on Stern back box screens when undersized. Give us full size please and over lay graphics appropriately as done on GZ.

Beat the Tier 1 Kaiju in 2 cities, 10 jet fighters, 3 Saucer Attacks, 5 City Combos, then there is one from getting enough shots during Rampage. Im usually good for getting 3 of those but maybe 4. So a 7 ball game potentially.

Holy F-ing S

It's actually really indescribable.

So much silence from Stern on this release… a Gomez podcast, a few launch hype videos, then nuttin. I guess I don’t watch closely enough. That their standard MO?

Typically at this point we would have gotten a Jack Danger twitch stream with Gomez and team taking us through the game. For whatever reason the game isn't ready for that yet. During one interview Gomez said he hopes to do the stream "in a couple weeks" so maybe we'll see it in the next week or two. Pretty messy launch for Stern but hopefully they can pull it together.

Well my turtles is out the door to make room for this. If it ain’t good I’ll have to shop around for a different pin.

Thank you. I am usually able to just play a game a lot and figure it all out. I can't seem to do that with Godzilla. I guess I need to get better. Lol.

Now that is some witty shit right there.

The master of Wit

Doing the same thing with the same machine.

Because Turtles is really an undesirable crap theme. GL with it

Or the appeal is just “limited”

Run Chubbie Run!!!

There's something to be said about this. While I was once down on Lonnie after futilely chopping wood for years playing TF and dealing with his built-in progress roadblock, I now much prefer playing Stranger Things than AIQ. I think there's room for both types of games in the hobby. I own both and plan to keep them for a while to appeal to me and guests. I think my favorite game "at the moment" is Iron Man and it's the cheapest and simplest game I own.

I like to do this as well, but I do not have this option on GZ. I have been wondering why not - is this true on all GZs? (Many of the “standard adjustments” are missing on mine.)

LOL - Yeah, theme is weak but it’s a good shooter. Just not for me and I’m still not exactly sure how scoring works on it after owning it for 2 years.

"Good move human."

Welcome to the world of pinball Chubs.

I agree though. If you can’t figure out the scoring on a game then what’s the point.?

Lyman was the master. Pick one of his games

Thank you. Good idea.

Dougy old buddy you had me in lock step with you over the craziness of the dream target of Stern wannabe stock holders schilling Bond 60th at an insane price of $25k. But now you have to slam TMNT which is an awesome game. You better check with your local arcades to straighten out your misconception concerning Turtles theme, as its number one in most every arcade on the planet. An ever-green title that young and old absolutely love. If it was a “crap theme” then why did Nickelodeon pay $60 million way back in 2009 to acquire turtles? If sold today that “theme” would garner many times more dollars to the seller. You need some sleep buddy as you’re speaking like an old man that has no clue as to what IPs are worth. TMNT is an outstanding highly desirable game in every way and one of Stern’s best kept secret values in the current HUO market. It’s an amazing shooters gem waiting for discovering from people with an open mind and loaded with toys too!

Personally, I couldn’t stand the cartoon as a kid. The game itself was gorgeous and I kinda liked the artwork but the gameplay didn’t work for me. Couldn’t stand right ramp. Very difficult to hit on the fly because it was a tight shot and especially that shot the under the left flipper while holding it up. What a buzzkill that shot was.

Right ramp shot is close not tight and is an easy shot to hit from both flippers, after a spending a little time to learn where the shot are located on the flipper. Same can be said for the LAIR shot under the left flipper. Hit it 95% of the time by back handing from the left flipper. Right flipper is only about 10% of the time. TMNT is one of John Borg’s most underrated all time greatest layouts. Tron 2.0 on steroids!