I've had a couple people ask me to post my thoughts on the game now that I have one. Never done this before as truth be told I just play for fun and I kinda suck at pinball, but I'll give it a shot. Here's some thoughts with the latest code as of today.
I grew up with this movie so the theme is perfect, more so because I've been wanting a horror themed game for a while. The art, sound and light package are brilliant, I really don't think that comes across on videos well at all. In person it looks amazing and the sound quality from a Spooky pin is always a treat.
This is my first Spooky pin as my previous games were from Stern but build quality overall seems good. A few issues on mine, the topper had come apart but took a few seconds to put back together. One thing though, make sure you have a full allen key set as the knife on the topper came off in shipping and it took the smallest possible allen key on my set to adjust the set screw to put it back together. Mine also has a broken rubber on the right side of the middle playfield, I've emailed support to get a new one. One more thing is when the ball ends up back in the shooter lane during play, on mine it sometimes gets stuck on the rollover near the plunger and I have to shake the machine quite a bit to get it to roll over it so I can replunge. Maybe I need to adjust that rollover, not sure, in the meantime I removed the tilt bob so I can shake it as needed when it gets stuck there. Overall it has fewer issues than my NIB Elvira's House Of Horrors did.
I normally hate mini play fields. For example I prefer AC/DC Pro to the premium because I dislike the lower playfield on it, don't like the lower playfield on Munsters, don't like the upper playfield on Black Knight Sword of Rage, etc. In this game the middle playfield is just average but the top playfield is actually pretty cool. I find myself really working the game to get those pretzel loops then banging the ramp, very satisfying. I can no longer say I dislike all mini playfields.
The ball hides on this game more than on any game I've played in recent memory. Tough to explain but there are instances where now you see it, now you don't, then boom the ball is back. The inlanes are the example most talk about but it happens in other instances. For this particular game I really like it because it adds tension, almost like the ball is Michael and popping up here and there, it's unique and it works.
Not super crazy about the topper. The idea of the rotating knife is cool but when you play you can't really see because it's hidden behind the Halloween banner and it's kinda noisy.
The shots to me feel good. Ramps on other games sometimes frustrate the hell out of me, but on this game I can hit them ok. Locations of the targets are cool as are the goals assigned to them. It's not fast like TNA, now flowy like LZ but it's it's own thing. I was initially afraid it would feel too cluttered but that hasn't turned out to be the case. I prefer Stern flippers as they seem more powerful but these are fine for this game. One quibble thus far is that the ball seems to end up back in the shooter lane more than I'd like.
This is not a complex game which to me is good. I haven't watched many videos on it but so far I've been able to figure it out on my own. There is the occasional confusion like the game will say mystery is lit and I can't see mystery anywhere on the playfield. I think the blood scoop on this game is the mystery shot as on Ultra Man it's actually labelled mystery. Being a noob player I find some games are just too deep, too complex, too layered and I'll never figure them out so I like that this game seems more understandable and approachable. I think if you're the type that always gets to wizard modes or you have Deadflip level of skill then this game won't last you. For me it's good and very different from other games out there so I like it.
Latest animations are very cool, minor quibble is that they seem over compressed so compression artifacts are easily visible. The lcd screen does seem kinda low quality to where blacks are basically light gray. Not really a huge thing in the grand scheme of this because I find this particular game affords me the least amount of time to actually see the screen because of the way the ball creeps around the playfield.
Latest code update is really nice, gives clearly selectable goals and modes on screen, and it's always nice having multiple ways to start multiball. The hidden skill shot is neat, got that one by accident one game and was a pleasant surprise. I've read that some people complain that you can just hit the center ramp over and over, truth be told I think every pin in existence has someone saying "Just do _____ over and over" so I don't think it's an issue.
My distributor mentioned that the early runs used a 2 amp fuse for the flippers and it can burn out, apparently the solution is to replace those with a 5 amp fuse. I'll just wait until mine pop before I swap them although presumably this is fixed on current builds.
Ok that's some thoughts, hopefully this is useful to someone. I personally love the game, wouldn't have bought it if I didn't. I think it fits nicely into a collection as it's so different, only issue I could see is expert players tiring of it quick.
Alton, IA
Love the new blood shop in the latest code, find blood, spend it on stuff, I dig it.
Edmonton, AB
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Collectors edition
