Awesome! Looks like they got rid of the WOZ and replaced it with the Metallica?

I might have to go over this afternoon and check it out....

They got rid of WOZ? I'm in MI this week and planned on going there tonight. Why would they get rid of WOZ?

I dunno if they did, I just swear that WOZ was there between Tron and Elvis before. I could also be dead wrong.

Awesome! Now you get to play Metallica!!!!!

Lol. Marvin has a WOZ on order. Im not sure where or if the sample game has gone.

I thought pinchroma said all the pre-production pins were heading back to send the production ones. Probably what's going on here.

Just got back from closing down Marvin's! In short, Metallica is totally awesome! (and WOZ is indeed gone)

Some impressions while the game is still fresh in my mind:

- The game is FAST! I've never played essentially a NIB game before but everything on this game is crisp, fast, smooth and crazy-powerful. It makes the badass Tron next to it seem in need of a tune up.

- Metal ramps! Incredibly satisfying to hit full-blast.

- In-Line drop targets! My favorite playfield feature this side of spinners and they just aren't around nearly as much as they should be.

- Combos! Wow, what a rush! I hit a 5-way combo on my second game and felt like a million bucks.

- The sound is excellent! Listening to your favorite Metallica song while bashing tons of available stuff and zipping around fluid orbits and ramps, each with their own sound (the captive ball 'CLANG!' is the best) is a great time. The sound is cranked up super-loud at Marvin's too - play it before they turn it down!

- The callouts are great! I know, I can't believe I said that either. From watching videos, I stepped up to the machine with my mind made up that I hated the band callouts. Well, they might sound goofy, but they FEEL great! As my girlfriend said, "It's like you're playing pinball with the guys from Metallica!" They're especially fun when you're nailing combos, (successive "Nice shot!"-type lines) and the occasional "Holy S*IT!" on a successful skill shot is just too cool. To each their own, but I think the callouts are a hoot.

- The programming feels just a touch incomplete. There are moments where I feel a sound effect is needed, or the animation needs to speed up...not everything felt completely tightened down yet (multiball intros, especially). But man, when it is...this game is going to be incredible.

- I seriously don't think the "Mystery" scoop rewards anything but 500,000.

- Tons of stuff to shoot at, great kinetics, awesome machine!

And, oh yeah, 3rd place

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Rythom I just got a semi reading that lol...

Mine will be at my door as early Monday or late Wednesday, super excited. Your pre game thoughts were the same as mine are. Awesome review.

The strange thing about the swearing is that it did beep out SH#@,but not F*^%. So I wonder why that is. I heard it beep Sh*# twice, but all other words were clear as day. Lol. I got you covered though, I just started swearing along with it real loud so everyone just thought I was crazy.

I think the last game with swearing was The Sopranos

Yeah, I definitely heard Metallica drop a real strong "MOTHER F*CKER!" in front of a 6 year old and his dad last night Good call, Parker!

Guess I know what I'm doing on my lunch hour today!

Sopranos has a lot of swearing, but even in adult mode, it sometimes bleeps out sh*t.

Great review. I can't wait to play it.

Interesting point about the call outs. Like playing with the band.

It's just like that! They'll tell you to do things like, "Shoot the left ramp!" and "Shoot the scoop!" then give you a big pat on the back when you hit combos, "That was some good shooting!". It's like having the guys there over your shoulder cheering you on while you play their game.

I made a special trip to play it after work. I put in my $2.00 and got 4 games total after earning a free game on a 35 million point score. Free game was set at 30 million. I like when it is "reachable". I won't make mention of my other 3 scores.

Anyhow, it seemed like a lot of fun. I got the electric chair multi-ball and the cross multi-ball, but flopped on the snake multi-ball. I guess I just didn't really know what I needed to do to get it. The inline drops were cool and add some extra frustration when they all stand back up after a drain.

I have to say that I had my reservations about the theme, but the game was fun. Oh man, the sound was really bad though. A speaker upgrade would definitely be necessary.

My only knock on the game really was something that will probably be the case with Sterns forever more. And that was the overall "cheap" feeling to it. Yes, the metal ramps helped a little in that regard, but they looked really thin. And I really can't get used to the plastic apron. Yes, I realize that my complaints are circa 2010 now, but it is still bothersome.

But as far as features and variety of shots, the game seems to be all there.

I hope the callouts can be configured for "minimal". Insults are cool, and "nice shot" is cool, but "Shoot the Pyramid!" is the main reason I sold Stargate. Though I do miss hearing "PICKLES NOT EGGS!"