I’m surprised you don’t like WOZ; it’s a players dream with rules and stacking. So much depth and breadth that add up to a lot of excitement and Adrenalin. And despite the theme; the integration of the theme and call outs are very well done.

Houdini, on the other hand, nothing exciting or fun about it. But yea, it does look pretty.

You musta been playing a 6.5deg low flipper power WOZ. Adrenaline might not be the right word, but stacking multiball after multiball with so many unique rules to each; then a little fireball frenzy or battle the wicked witch; the rush factor makes for some great pinball. Granted, I had my WOZ at 7deg with strong flipper power. Shots felt good, brutality was in line, and the craziness was top notch. Great wizard call outs mixed in with some fantastic supporting call outs. It's really a fantastic machine. The game does have great variety of speed from stop n go to fast and hectic. Then there's no place like home; not a big fan favorite nor was I, until I got my success rate up to 30%, knowing you have a chance to fight to get your ball back is fantastic. Prior to an attainable success rate, I thought it was a worthless mode, but that just adds to the depth the game offers.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying and I hear you bro. I feel I'm actually in the minority on what I like and dislike about Houdini; and I haven't played the latest code. Haven't had the chance, or desire even, to play it in months. So like all new pins, there's hope that my feelings for the pin might change; it has for games like SW and even WOZ. That said, I happen to like the shots and layout a lot. I found the lock shot and orbits very satisfying to shoot. The milk can shot and half loop to hit stage are clever. For the limited time I had on it, I found that I did like the rules. I enjoyed the staging combo hurry ups to be fun; in fact that combo mode was the only thing I found fun about the game. My problem with the pin is the ear wrenching sound package. Combo mode aside; the game is too stop n go for my liking, the multiball action is very lackluster for the layout, and there was nothing exciting or inviting that wanted me to keep playing. I am very much with Nick on my thoughts of how much I had to force myself to play the game rather than wanting to play. It just did not have that pinball rush draw to it and aside from the hurry up combo mode, a lot has to do with the lack of intensity in the sound, choreography, and fluency of the game. You could even tell in Kevin's voice there's a hint of hesitation in his review, like something is missing about the game. I like games that are fast, brutal, challenging, and intense. Aside from challenging, I didn't find any of those other attributes that keeps bringing me back to play again and again. All in all it's not a bad pin, and the overall package is presented very well; it's just a game I have no desire to own or go out of my way to play, Different strokes....