What a reach, JM was pure 90's sci fi cheese greatness. "I've got to get this data out of my head" not too mention Dolph, because a film doesn't do well at the box office or maybe has some terrible acting which for JM is part of its allure, doesn't mean a pinball machine can't be made based on that, Congo, never saw the film but the pin is amazing, The Shadow I played the pin long before I ever saw the film and its a damn fine machine, DM, JD, BForever all 90's cheese and all fun pins, but much different than what appears to be a game made for children, nothing wrong with that but lets stop trying to justify it, its a Pat Lawlor and that's what he does, I'm glad I wouldn't want every game to be 80s/90s cheese, well

those are both prototype games. Sorry but those games dont play even remotely similar to full production games.

I know since we had (I believe) those exact same games in Madison for a few weeks and now have a full produciton unit.

you need a better review of gameplay also. Sorry but you obviously have not explored the game enough. There are some open flow shots and also some fun yet challenging super tight shots (sim card, right and left targets, etc...). The power man is nothing like mick on stick in actual gameplay and is coded very well to both help and block at certain times. Well designed for risk v reward.

He loves everything...as long as Stern doesn't make it

I dont like that a perfectly leveled and pitched game will often drop the ball SDTM from the theater magnet. They NEED to pulse this as punishing a player for making a shot is BS IMHO.

I dont like that the mid level play strategy (where I am at right now) is not super intuitive without a spotter (all JJP games seem to be like this) and would like to have more direct callouts so I can play single.

I dont like that they missed the ball in making this really more about the disaster series (earthshaker, whirlwind, and now armageadon). I dont think the theme is good, but it is not bad either. Just poor branding as more of a meh and I think they could have tweaked it to be more about the city and less about the "phone" hangup most have.

Overall, I think it is positively the best designed lawlor game of all time! Pats masterpiece which honestly makes me even more excited for his next game as we all know TZ is what cam after and because of TAF.

I guess the only real thing I dont like is the price. I think the standard should have been 6500 and I think stripping the light up ramp form the standard was a BS marketiong move to push the LE. (it worked as we bought the LE, but I dont agree with it)

that is not true at all. I like some of the good Stern games (TWD in partciular is a great game)

Stern just makes so much cheap crap form cost cutting and their pack of code support is maddening. Every new release from them brings about new surprises in a bad way. Granted they have been better on the support side (replacing playfields with ghosting and now cabinents with splitting), but I woudl prefer to not have those issues to begin with.

Sorry Tex but the theme is the best part of that game

I definitely respect an honest opinion like whysnow just gave on his dislikes. He owns the game, and is willing to be honest about it. Goes to show no game is perfect, and yet a guy can still buy it and just enjoy it. I keep thinking about Switching from SW LE to DI LE, and this type of opinion from an owner tells just how fun the game must be even with it's imperfections.

The Hobbit is a bust. I wanted so badly for it to be good, but it's just not. Boring layout that they've tried so hard to dress up with code.

Yes I agree with that one but I don;lt know how many other people would. I knew hazoff would jump one that one

it really is a super fun game.

I will say it definately has the "it" factor or "just one more" factor but it took about 20 games on it before I got that. I think the reason it took/takes a bit longer to rope you in is because the game is very approachable but after you start to dig in you then start to realize more of the nuianced play styles and the challenge to do more and see more or progress in a different way starts to grow.

How come nobody around here will sell me theirs? Come on people, Hobbit sucks!

The biggest complaint I have heard about so far is the lack of energetic callouts that get the player immersed in the theme. That should be fairly easy to fix if the voice actors are inexpensive or in-house people.

Also, how are ball-times? I am hearing conflicting comments on long ball times.

I tried watching a video online of it and only got about 10 minutes into it. The callouts are X-Men bad, maybe even worse.

I'm just curious what your opinion is on the SW layout? Seems to be most people are disappointed in it, so I assume the game will suck based off your way of assessment. People speak like their opinions are factual around here. Never fails. Factually speaking, Hobbit is great because I said so.

When I checked audits last they are right in line with other new games. ~1min per ball. ~3min per game.

I can check specifically next time I am in.

I think that Star Wars looks fun, but I would have liked for them to have taken a bit more of a chance with the layout. Like Game of Thrones, I think it will be a fast and fun game, and I expect that the code will really make it differentiated from other fan layout games. The pro looks downright bare bones though, so it's the premium that really interests me.

I can agree with that. I'm hoping it's great, and I really think it will be great even with basic layout. My only point was that the layout is pretty basic, as is Hobbit. Code will have to be good, along with epic sounds and immersion, like Hobbit has. I can fully understand someone not liking a particular game, but SW is pretty bare with the exception of the hyper loop going around. Hobbit is pretty bare too, but it's still a great game to some people, and boring to others. It's all good, and variety is even better in this hobby.

Ball times are largely dependent on setup of the game and also possibly the software. I thought the show demo games that I played had fairly long ball times but the prod game that is currently on route (Whysnow's Madison Pinball game) is actually pretty brutal. It plays faster, the right outlane is opened up almost all the way and the magnets and slings just seem stronger and seem to whip it around more. Plus you have the cheap drains where the theater drops it down the middle. The scores are also way down on the production game. High score after a couple weeks is only 840K. When we had the demo games on route there were quite a few 1M and 2M plus games despite being on route a shorter time.

I just got back from playing a handful of games over the lunch hour and it is good fun! It really feels like a Lawlor game from the 90's but with updated technology. If you're a fan of WPC games and Lawlor specifically I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you're expecting a game that feels like a modern Stern with a risk/reward adrenaline inducing rule-set this may not be your game. The good news is that Stern will continue to make those types of games. If you want a game that's different from the norm and feels like a modern day blast from the past than Dialed In is a great option!

My Review:

I've played about 30 or so games over the past week, so I am going to offer a gameplay review:

The game flows nicely, and is stocked with classic Lawlorisms that will feel familiar. The only thing I'd say that is really updated are the multiballs - everything is stackable in that JJP way. So I gave up trying to score points in the quick multiballs (drone, monkey wrench, high voltage) and just use them as utility for lighting regular multiball locks and also starting and finishing modes. Also, in regular multiball, it's not your standard "get jackpot or super/double jackpot, relight, and do again" multiball. It's more of your standard modern "lots of jackpots are lit" multiball.

The modes are easy to understand and there's points in them. You can time them out old school style or try to complete. I'm not sure what the benefit of completing modes is beyond getting more points - is there a super duper wizard mode for completing them, or does more complete modes simply mean a more lucrative armagaddon (the Lost in the Zone style wiz mode?) not sure.

The shots are smooth, the feel is nice, the upper flipper shot isn't very hard once you figure it out (more Addams than Whirlwind).

I found this to be a fun game, but it's a bit grindy and the ball times - on factory - can be very long. My best games have to have been north of 40 minutes. There's also a shitton of extra balls - classic lawlor style - but if I were operating this game I'd probably turn some off or at least remove the replay score EB. My best games were at least 6 balls.

The Wizard mode is also a little underwhelming. I only got it twice but with point totals of 380,000 and 450,000 in my two wizard modes, that's not really a huge reward in a game where you can have bonuses bigger than that. It's another unlimited balls/timed wiz mode kind of thing and it will seem pretty familiar.

Theme/art - everybody will have an opinion on this. Fact is it does reflect today's pop culture and that's pretty brilliant. I found myself getting some anxiety when my phone isn't charged, and posing for selfies like an idiot. Yeah the whole thing makes you depressed but let's face it most of us are addicted to our phones in one way or another and the game is an amusing reflection of that.

Overall, this game is very reminiscent of Lawlor's Roadshow-current work. If you love that stuff, you'll love this. I think it's a good game but it's not going to unseat classics like TAF, TZ, or Funhouse for me. But that's like expecting the Stones to crank out another Sticky Fingers in 2017. It's going to be a too easy for good players on factory, I'm sure in tournaments you'll see open posts, no ball save, etc. to make this a little more challenging. The software is deep, well done, and feels pretty finished to me. I think they'll sell a bunch of these. It's easily the best JJP game but I'm not a fan of their earlier layouts, so getting a pro like Lawlor to make one that was pretty much a given. It's also the first JJP game where I feel the instructions are very intuitive and it's not that tough to figure out what's going on at any given time, due to a more streamlined display and better insert lighting cues.

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Nice review, CL. I really liked your analogy of the upper flipper, now I won't feel so bad when I brick that shot (multiple times) on my WW...

Yeah you'd think there has to be or there's be no point to having the 3 colors for city areas? So the Wizard mode is for collecting all the sim cards...blinking or not? Obviously my first thought was it would work the same as RBION where there were 2. We shall see.

EDIT: Or are the disasters separate form the sim cards?

"Collected SIM Cards will multiply the points from s ubsequent completed modes! (Multiplier = collected SIM Cards + 1) They also will define the size of the jackpots in Armageddon (by the same multiplier amount.) "

"Wizard Modes Armageddon – Qualified by playing all 11 disaster modes
??? – Qualified by completing all 11 disaster modes
??? – Qualified by collecting 8 SIM Cards (i.e. spelling D-I-A-L-E-D-I-N) "

From
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dialed-in-rulesheet#post-3839871

Hopefully you will be understanding when people are being constructively critical of TNA.

I have no idea what you are talking about or inferring...

TNA? I mean I know the standard meaning but here...?

Total Nonstop Action?

Ah total Nuke annihilation

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I could care less about most people's reviews. I can make up my own mind whether I like a game or not.

That being said there are some folks here that have very constructive reviews and comments.

JM is a special kind of cheese because the movie starts off pretty good, then drives off the cliff. Plus it's aged poorly with all the 90's tech references. Congo, DM and Shadow are kinda bleh movies but the pins don't suffer at all because the themes (jungle horror, future comedy and superhero) are a bit more timeless. Shadow is an awesome pin, probably the best of the bad movie bunch. JM is a great player, but wouldn't shed a tear if every single one got rethemed to the Matrix

DI is pretty cool but I don't think Pat will ever top Funhouse. That game is pure genius.

You need to separate the GAMES from the COMPANY. Even if you think Stern is churning out firewood now, that doesn't make early and current titles PLAY worse. Metallica and TWD are some of the best coded games in history, and they've both held up very well in the field. My MetLE has thousands of plays and all I've done is change the magnet core. You should rate a game based on gameplay, looks, sound, etc... then add on a big asterisk: "assuming you get a good example, beware these issues: etc etc " Not all machines Stern makes have playfield and cabinet issues, although the ratio has gotten worse lately. It's silly to rate Metallica poorly because Ghostbusters has playfield issues or whatever...

Like in WebEx...the OP should pass control and make you the presenter.

Great reviews, special thanks to Levi.

I understand that you are continually hung up ad nauseum with my rating of Metallica. What will it take for you to finally understand that I have rated it precisely based on "gameplay, looks, sound, etc... "? It is just personal preference and that game is by far the most over rated and dull game IMHO. Not only is is made of firewood, it is all about chopping wood into a forest of boredom. As much as you love the game, I loathe it and would honestly never own one. The only game I like less is likely ACDC.

It is not a big deal, just my opinion on the game. That is the cool part about there being such a wide variety of games to play.

My comment regarding their poor quality of construction and QC was in reply to the snarky comment that I dont like any Stern games.

Reality is that I really enjoy TWD, GB, Aero, a little kiss even. I am guessing I will really like SW as it looks like it will shoot similar to GOT pro which I think has a very fun style of play.

Great review Levi. I was playing that same machine yesterday and saw your scores hogging the screen haha.

Game felt like pure magic to me, can't wait to get mine and stop sucking so badly

Nice review and score

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Firstly I am the JJP dist for the UK.

I have a DI LE here and I really like it, it reminds me very much of early Pat Lawlor games like Whirlwind/Earthshaker etc, it plays really nicely, smooth and fun. There is nothing I don't like about it, meh we all rolled our eyes on its title but hey, doesn't really matter does it.

Its going on location in 2 weeks so lets see how it gets on in the UK!

Phil
Pinball Heaven
www.pinball.co.uk

I knew I liked him.

Nice write up.

40 minutes - whoa, that's an eternity compared to my usual short game times.

My understanding is that you get multipliers in the wizard mode for completing modes successfully versus timing them out.

Played this today. Best first impression I've had of a JJP pin in terms of game play. I'll leave it at that.....

This game is awesome.

Here's a score I just got at lunch, 3 ball with one EB (max EB is 1 on this game, much better since changed from unlimited).

Showdown wizard mode after completing 8 modes and cashing in 8 SIM cards, hit theater to start SHOWDOWN. Sick multiball wiz mode got well over 2 million. Amazing buildup worthy of the old school lawlor wiz modes - really cool intro. The wiz mode is kinda like LITZ but it's a LOOOOOONNG ball save. Tons of points.

The "jr." wiz mode, armaggadon, is nowhere near as awesome or lucrative (worth a few hundred thousand vs. a few million).

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Damn nice score. I have not made it to showdown yet.

Thanks! This was the first time, but also the first time I really focused on it by trying to get the Sim Card shot down. It's the hardest part - it's not an easy shot (though it just falls in some times), and if you leave a lit SIM card on the table you lose it on next ball. And, Big Bang won't award SIM shots either. Very difficult wizard mode to get but the reward is awesome.

Wow awesome game..... wonder if there is another mini wizard or wizard mode for beating all the modes.

How many wizard modes in the game? Just the 2? How long does it take to get to Armageddon and then Showdown? How's the game progression, stacking vs linear > breadth vs depth?

Thanks in advance, just curious as I haven't played (can't wait to find one to play), and can't make sense of the rules on the stream except hit lightning bolt dude then phone then play a mode and lock balls.

Exactly what I was thinking:

Armageddon - get to all the disasters (not complete)
Showdown - get all the sim cards
??? - get all sim cards and complete all disasters!

Really no idea. I've only seen:

Armaggadon (start all modes, don't need to finish)
Showdown - complete 8 modes and sim cards

In this monster game I didn't get Armaggadon, I think I was still a mode or two short when I lost my last ball. Since I needed to get back to work it was just as well!

Almost everything is stackable except during a regular multiball. You can use the accessory multiballs to light regular MB locks, charge the phone, start and play through modes. I keep hearing depth vs. breadth and I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but this has more of an old school W/B feel to it but expanded than it feels like a complicated Stern ruleset like GOT. Dialed in is deep but it's also very intuitive. I'm not a rule card or ipdb rule sheet kind of guy and I was very quick to pick up on the rules.

Most players wont see eaither of these modes, especially showdown.....