I actually like the code on Beatles. Simple yes, but way better code than anything we got in the actual early-SS era.

Yeah, that's one if those ads that backfires and actually makes me want the product less.

Guys, guys. Stern isn't locking game modes behind a pay wall. It sounds like the special missions will be some kind of unique IC achievements. Maybe a multipart or limited time window type of thing.

I definitely didn't get a "mode" vibe at all from my reading of the statement.

The player never hit the left-orbit shot during the MB, and that seems like the shot that feeds to the jetpack. They did eventually hit that orbit, but it was seconds after draining down to a single ball. Ag, so close!

So perhaps we would have seen the jetpack do something if the player had hit that shit during the actual mb.

I really hope that spinner sound is temporary. It's not good. Sounds very out-of-place, and kind of annoying.

It's nothing at all like the satisfying spinner sounds on games like JP3 or Avengers. I think they were going for some kind of pile of diamonds jingling together sound, but it does not work for me.

It is good, but it shouldn't be overused. Right now they are using the James Bond Theme music for both the Jetpack MB and for the Bird1 MB, and that's not great IMO.

Imagine if Godzilla MB, Tank MB, and MechaGodzilla MB all used the Blue OC song. Would be crazy. And that's what we've got right now on Bond. So I'd imagine they'll change for release.

Right. Martin is not just good--he was the number 1 ranked player in the UK for literally years, until he decided to step back from competing as much. So to say he's good, would be an understatement.

I watched the Pinball News video again, and there is a lot to like here. A few quick thoughts:

-Code is obviously super basic at this point--I don't think we can even call it 50% coded yet by what I saw.

-Layout seems like a winner

-I like the use of other parts of Bond movie scores besides the main theme-song. The high-score entry music is a really great piece of music from one of the Connery movies (can't remember which off the top of my head)

-Seems to have some voiced movie clips, so that bodes well for theme integration once the game code is farther along

-As has been beaten to death, Spinner sound needs to go! It's so out-of-place.

I just finished the last of the Connery Bond movies yesterday, and I gotta say...I actually think "From Russia with Love" might be my favorite.

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It has a real Cold-War spy-thriller feel, and it's got a lot of classic murder-on-a-train-mystery shenanigans. The final fight between Bond and the henchman Grant (played by Robert Shaw of Jaws fame) is surprisingly visceral and brutal, with the two of them having to fight it out in a small room on a train. One of the more engaging and realistic-feeling fights of the era. And the Bond Girl of the film, Tatiana Romanova, is in my Top 3 of the Connery women.

My personal favorite Bond Girl of the era is probably Tiffany Case from Diamonds Are Forever.

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Aside from being easy on the eyes, and mostly clad in lingerie and bikinis through the film, she plays one of the biggest roles of any of Bond girls. And she probably has the most character development too. Only Pussy Galore comes close in this regard.

Watching these movies also gave me a new perspective on Austin Powers.

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They pulled so many references from these movies--from Dr. Evil's look, to the villain's lair inside a volcano, pools of flesh-eating piranhas, No. 2 henchman with an eyepatch, the hitmen trying to kill Bond disguised as roomservice bringing in a dinner cart, to the hero shockingly punching a woman only to have it revealed he was an evil agent in drag all along, ect.

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I really enjoyed the Connery Bond films quite a bit. And man, the theme songs were killer from Goldfinger, to Thunderball, to You Only Live Twice, to Diamonds Are Forever, really good stuff! Dr. No is probably the only one of the films I don't plan on ever watching again. Although it's got some good scenes (especially in the first half), it's a bit too creaky and slow for me to really be interested in going back to it. But it's still not a bad film, and worth watching once at least.

To say I'm now more pumped than ever for Stern's 007 would be an understatement!

I'm sorry, but you're dumb dude. Brianna very clearly stated that she loved the old Bond films, so obviously she doesn't want to "cancel" them. It's like you guys are making up things to be mad at, in order to confirm your worldview.

While waiting for Stern Bond to ship, a lot of us are watching or re-watching the old movies, and giving our takes. The issue of consent is certainly a problematic element in most the Connery Bond movies, and it's okay for people to point that out. I definitely felt uncomfortable watching some of the scenes with my 10-year-old daughter in the room. What saves them, to a certain extent, is that after each of the "problematic" scenes, the women always seem very enamored of James, and quite "into" him. So I think that reduces the cringe-factor quite a bit.

But other than a few brief scenes, the Connery Bond movies still hold up pretty damn well, and are a lot of fun.

Well said.

I agree with your comment on the history element to watching these movies too. One thing that I really enjoyed while watching "From Russia With Love" was all the location scenes of 1960s Istanbul. It was great to see the what the people and streets of the city looked like back then, and getting to see it all in the full-HD of the recent releases is a nice treat. Makes them feel more "real" than if all we had was blurry SD copies of the films.

Definitely, a time capsule element to the movies, for sure.

Would be pretty hilarious if the hype thread for the game got locked before the game even came out!

I apologize for using the word "dumb." I agree that it was perhaps a bit unkind of me. I'm not so sure that it's a reflection on my maturity or intelligence, but I'll try to restrain myself in future.

As far as the personal attack thing goes, I'm happy for us to all have different opinions, and I particularly respect well-thought out expressions of those opinions. In this case, I made a personal statement about you because I felt your comment was very poorly reasoned, and displayed either a high level of disingenuousness or a lack of comprehension of the post that you were quoting. So that's why I used the word that I did. But I won't do so again.

No, we only get to do that if they reveal Pulp Fiction, but then don't ship games or do any streams of it for a month. THEN we get to analyze the movie!

There's a system. A process, if you will!

Nice. I've got that set as well. The movies look great. It's really cool to see them looking so high definition. All I had growing up were blurry reruns on TV.

I snagged a "Like New" used copy for 50 bucks shipped a few weeks ago. Good value.

Hmm, that might be an Australian thing. The movies didn't seem altered in any way that I noticed. Pussy Galore and her flying circus were intact and glorious in the version of Goldfinger that I watched.

IDK, the layout on Bond looks great to me. Don't think it needs "saving", the way the BM66 layout did.

What is there codewise is what I wanted to see. Lots of synced video clips, and scenes advancing as you make shots. So the direction the code is heading towards, works for me.

Finally finished watching the stream. Definitely seems fun to shoot, and with that upper flipper there is some big multishot flow-potential.

My heart broke a little while Mike Vinikour was playing his last ball though. He was getting far into the Goldfinger mode, but it canceled out of it when he started JetPack MB. And when JetPack finished it never resumed Goldfinger. So we never got to the "No Mr Bond, I expect you to Die!" line. Rough, rough code.