Quoted from ktownhero:I find the hammer kind of annoying though.
Totally disagree here. The hammer smashing the ball into the playfield is my favorite trick in the game. Anytime I have someone new over to play it and the hammer does its thing, they are always like "that's friggen cool". I think having the shaker and upgraded sound really adds to its effect. If you have neither, I can see how it may be slightly underwhelming.