Edit: I originally posted a rant about some the frustration I had while I was getting used to this game while it was breaking in.

I have edited the post and topic title to reflect my current thoughts on this game.

Thanks for all the quick responses guys.

I honestly feel a bit embarrassed but I had to blow off some steam.

Indeed I did buy this game based on its reputation alone so I didn't know exactly how different the game was going to feel than what I was used to. I'm not giving up on the game yet though. I'm sure as I get more used to it I will adjust and start to play/react better. I guess I was not expecting to be going through the same level of terribleness as I did when I got my first pin all those years ago so I have been finding constant awful games a bit frustrating.

I just played my best game yet not 10 minutes ago actually and while still not feeling quite right it was very satisfying actually playing for a little while and getting to enjoy some of the game's features instead of ball drain, ball drain, ball drain within the first 2 minutes.

For the record the flippers seem to be lined up fine but I have not put any wax on since getting the machine so I will try that and hopefully the ball flows a bit smoother and doesn't just lose momentum mid travel.

Thanks for the understanding guys. Hopefully things just start to feel right after a few more weeks of playing and I have a really fun compliment to my LotR game.

Even since I posted this topic my whole outlook has kind of changed. I was expecting to come into this game and do well based on my experience level with another machine and that led me to getting frustrated when I was doing awful. Taking all of the responses into account though I am now looking at this as a new challenge to master and already am enjoying it much more with that mindset. I think with a bit of time I could and probably will love this game every bit as much as my LotR.

Thank you guys for all of the responses. This is definitely a great community to be a part of. I'm used to forums full of people who would do nothing but insult me for a topic like this so all of your responses and tips have been really awesome.

Update:

I love this game!

The difficulty took some getting used to but the ball started moving more naturally after about 100 or so plays, just as pinballkyle suggested and that helped turn it from frustrating difficulty to very enjoyable difficulty.

As was suggested by others I'm glad that I have two games that seem so far apart on the spectrum. If I want a game that is going to last a while and the challenge comes from chaining shots well and trying to build to a large score and complete lots of modes I will play LotR and if I want a generally faster series of games I will play MMR. Also I like that one is a more serious theme and the other is really light hearted and humorous.

Thanks for all your feedback on this topic guys. It helped me get through my initial frustration.

Current high score is just over 96,000,000. There are still so many modes that I have barely scratched the surface of, I love it!