Congo was my first DMD - I think I picked it up in 2004. The poll results here seem about right to me - 50/50. If you'd done the same poll 10 years ago, it would have been a landslide for Creech. Audio is what gives Congo the edge for me. I love the jungle drums and music. I'm not a 50's guy, so the drive-in theme and 50's music don't quite do it for me. I still like playing it though.

Amy good gorilla. I watch my Congo DVD the way some people watch "The Room" - so bad it's good. In fact I think I'll watch it again tonight.

I like the Amy audio...gotta watch the movie. My niece loves Amy.

This is so funny. Congo was RGP's favorite whipping boy when I bought mine - everybody "knew" that Congo sucked. I liked the game, but thought about selling it a few times (many years ago). I'm glad I ignored the forum static and decided to keep it.

Congo, RBION and Avatar are in a similar class - great sleeper games for $3000-3500.

Can't speak for STTNG, but Congo is a much better game than NGG and I wouldn't even compare them. I couldn't sell my NGG fast enough. There are a dozen better Lawlor games with similar layouts. But if you want a game that plays like Congo, Tron is pretty much your only option. And even Tron doesn't have a volcano ramp.

Wow, I couldn't disagree more. Not that Congo is a great movie - it's not. But the movie gives you the context for everything that happens in the game. I didn't even know one of the lead voices in the game was a black actor (Ernie Hudson) until I watched the movie. "Shoot the Satellite!" takes on more meaning too.

I forgot about the martini belch at the end:

Cool, you kept my mind map! I seriously need to find time to do more. I've only done Congo and NASCAR so far. In both cases, I did the mindmaps to blunt the criticism that the games are "shallow".

If there's a Creature for $4500 and a Congo for $3200, I would choose Congo.
If they were the same price, I'd choose Creature, but based on layout rather than theme. I actually think the CFTBL theme has jumped the shark, whereas fighting killer apes with lasers while a volcano is erupting is timeless.

Well let's face it, the main theme of the CFTBL pin is the drive-in movie theater. That's pretty cool if you're old enough to remember going to the drive-in, but it's not very relatable otherwise. The 50's music grates on me. I love the music from Congo, probably Vince Pontarelli's best work. Plus the DCS sound was a big improvement over WPC, and actually sounds better than my LOTR (Whitestar).

If Creature is so timeless, why hasn't it been remade in 61 years?
I was kidding about Congo's theme being timeless (the "wink" was implied). It's just a fun movie.

Hmm, I thought we were comparing Creech and Congo. Anyway, Congo is '95.

_{Post edited by swampfire: I stand corrected - DCS came before WPC95}

Ah, sorry. Congo was the first WPC-95. I didn't know DCS predated that MPU.

Last thing I want to say is, I wouldn't want to go the movies with some of you guys. Of course Congo isn't believable, but neither are most of the movies that pins are based on. I love bad scifi, and I think I'll watch "The Core" again tonight.

I hope you'll accept "agree to disagree"; I'm not really arguing.

There's already a molded volcano and 2 gorillas, so less room to add stuff. But if you visit the Congo thread you'll see lots of mods. Shaker, blades, LEDS, powder-coated armor in lots of different colors...lots of creative modding going on. I also expect a color DMD to come out any day now, and that will look great.

I do understand that Congo's orange & black look isn't for everyone. I remember seeing it in '95 in an arcade, and thinking that it was a strange-looking game. It didn't grow on me until I played it in a bar in Denver years later and really got into the gameplay. But even when I bought my Congo, I didn't expect it to be a keeper. It just turned into a family favorite, so it stayed during all those years that it was mocked by the pinball community. It was a good lesson in ignoring what other people think.

I watched it on BluRay last night in the home theater, while the family was watching the Grammys. I was disappointed that it was 16:9, but it's still a good upgrade from the DVD. Once you get through the first half of the movie (Jo Don Baker's overacting, awkward character-establishing scenes), it's a decent action flick. The SFX are really good for pre-CGI 1995. Laura Linney is hotter than I remember, which means my standards are slipping as I get older. There are a lot of corny jokes, and yes, a cigarillo-smoking gorilla. Still better than the Grammys, I bet.

It's a shame they didn't make a Maximum Overdrive pin. That would have been great next to Congo.

EDIT: I forgot that the pins come alive and murder people too!

"Damn you all to hell" Multiball!