Rdoyle1978 covered many of your questions but here's some more food for thought.

This is definitely a game that is ideal for a home environment instead of playing a few random games in a loud bar. It takes some time to figure out what to do and how to connect the shots but once you do it's really a blast to play. People complain about the tight inner loop shot or the milkcan shot but that's part of the skill challenge and when you do make them, it feels sooooo satisfying. It has many interesting, unique features (reversed, inverted flippers, return from the dead, loading the trunk for multiball, stage shot through the pops etc) and is perhaps the best looking pinball since Theatre of Magic.

If you haven't played Houdini since its initial release do yourself a favor and try and find a well set up example. Give it at least 10-15 games to really dig into the rules and shots (and to re-calibrate away from the typical "fan" layout). You just might be surprised.