so just wondering -- what do you think the board would look like if everyone created a new thread every time they wanted to express an opinion on a game?

I really want to play this as I like Lawyer's way of laying out a game, but would not buy one regardless of how well it might play as the theme blows, IMO.

Good point, PP--that would really clog things up.

I'm reading your post looking for the review...did you play it?

This "review" seems like it belongs post reveal from like a year ago or whenever that was.

Thanks Russell. I too feel like game reviews aboot how the game plays completely overrated.

Honestly I don't see a problem with your review. After all, it's completely subjective and only your opinion. This is really the first negative leaning review I've seen on DI. Seems based mostly on the cosmetics, but that's fine. Fun factor and gameplay ultimately matters most, and it sounds like you enjoy that aspect. I can only compare my opinion on the cosmetics of it since I have yet to play it, and I mostly see it differently than you, but that's ok. Always good to hear another opinion though.

Played DILE and AerosmithLE yesterday.

DI is the best boring pinball I have played in a while. The game is great if not fantastic, but nothing draws me in, the callouts are boring, the emotes or what they are called annoying, the photos are not how you make me come back for more. But I agree, this is money much better spent than on Stern's latest (Aerosmith) - although brand new as well it felt worn out and already aged in comparison.

I played AFM right after - another original theme. AFM dragged me in right away with its callouts and was pure excitement in comparison.

Theme is important as your review highlights and I had this EXACT thought when I saw the art package and initial gameplay footage. The integration of those pieces seems clever in footage I've watched and I think the color scheme works well, but it all leaves me wondering who the target audience is. Theme aside, I adore Pat Lawlor games & am really looking forward to playing DI

I don't think the theme will age poorly. That rarely seems to be the case with pinball. Pinball has always provided snapshots of pop culture and society, and they generally fall into scraps of nostalgia rather than irrelevance. And to say that seflies and emojis aren't on point when capturing a slice of today's culture is just wrong.

I'm trying to think of a theme that "aged poorly" and I don't really know what I'm looking for; maybe someone can list some?
My guess is that good games don't age. So whether it ends up as a good came is the question.

I agree, can't get past the theme.

The Hobbit?

Even bad games tend to age just fine on the theme side of things. Gameplay can feel dated or boring on something that just doesn't hold up well, but the theme should be a suitable reflection of its era. Themes have always been important at launch, sure, but over time it all comes down to whether or not the game is fun to play.

Today's collector is so hung up on theme. It's really crazy. It has to be a little disheartening for designers to be forced into coming at things with a theme-first attitude.

The Hobbit? Ouch. Only on it for maybe 20 mins but I liked it. Hoping to get some more time at Pintastic.
-Mike

Take a game like that. Has it aged poorly or is it just not a very good machine?
This might be off topic since DI is unlicensed, but nothing has "aged worse" than the movie Congo ...many 90s bad movies/good pins aren't even "aged out."
People still buy and like Flintstones for some reason.
EDIT: I left out themes that are specifically time period based like W?D & Creech

For whatever its worth, I only read the review because it was a new thread. If it were on the old one I would not have seen/read it. Now after reading this review I am interested in learning more about the game, thanks for sharing.

The Hobbit is and always will be a timeless theme. The pin is based off of one of the best books of all time by J.R.R Tolkien who is regarded as one of the best authors of all time. The Hobbit pinball machine is currently ranked #26 on Pinside which considering the number of good releases in the past 5 years and flack the game received early on is pretty darn good. Also, thanks to JJP's programming team the game will only continue to get better with each code release

The stellar code support from JJP is a big reason why many, including myself, have or are considering purchasing a Dialed In. With NIB pins now costing $5k-$10k+ code offering deep and unique rules is more important then ever.

I can't get past that you can't get past the theme.

Agreed. Not worth arguing over whether Hobbit is a great game or not. Some people will just never enjoy it, and that's fine. I absolutely love ours, and that's all that matters. It's a timeless classic theme whether on a pinball, movies, or books. Same as woz.

The game is well designed and fun. Put some hours into it with some friends and you'll see how it really brings you in. Shoots amazingly, feels quality, and has plenty of wow moments even if you're not blowing the game up. I don't own one, but I've played enough to know.

Agree. I played a prototype a month back that looked like it had a thousands of plays on it and it still played great, super smooth.

Multiball is pretty intense when you have attacks coming in and you're trying to deal with that while keeping balls alive while still staying mindful of getting your upper flipper shots in. It's a lot like Twilight Zone's multiball with some extra twists thrown in. Gets the blood pumping a bit.

The movies themselves didn't help and releasing it so long after also hurt but it probably suffers from not being a great pin?

I'm game for original themes, and you have to applaud JJP for going for it, but this one just isn't that exciting to me.

Whether the movie or show was crappy or not at least we all know and probably saw Congo, the Flintstones, Demolition Man, etc. and can somewhat relate to it

I don't see how a generic cell phone theme holds up over time? Maybe it will, time will tell.

I agree. Plus, it does have some humor and at times I thought the mini review was eventually going to go positive. "Dudes-on-a-stick" LOL.

We will serve no whine before it's time.

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I can see that & understand. It's funny because I was kind of over this look when RS came out of the box. At the time I was thinking "of Funhouse had a head now there's 2 heads... " But it's been long enough I'm kind of into that schtik right now.

Short version is those movies are horrible and we are familiar with them. PL games are relatable to us and usually in a good way so I don't see why that isn't enough. But again, I haven't crowned this things ass either

Jesus man give it a rest...I;ve already orderd a DI I don;t need a fucking hard sell or a history lesson on geek life.

We all have different tastes, and I find one opinion mentioned here i have trouble putting my finger on....
We know it by the mystical, "One more game factor".

South Park, had me on theme....its a great show, but the call outs and shots were so repetitive, the "it" factor was done in a month.
TWD, because I just uploaded new sound, once again has "it", for code, shots, theme, and affect....for me.....
Metallica has it, but for me, the theme made me not keep. But it has "It" 100% in every other way.

So what about Dialed In?

I think everyone agrees, it shoots smooth like butter.
I think the theme, doesnt make it an automatic, "it" but could grow on one over time.
(Imagine reviewing Earthshaker as if it was a new release!)
It has a stunning light show and Audio....Id say its got that.
Multiball....I feel, after over 100 games played, one of the best multi balls... It has "It".
Overall.....Its a Solid 8 out of 10.
A 7, if you dont like something, and a 9, if it hits all your buttons.

It cant be a 6...we all know those game titles, and way to early to rank it much higher.

After that, my opinion is just mine, just like the Ops, and whether you love it or hate it, agree or disagree
with ones review, I am damn grateful to see the game made, and available to play.....especially considering how hard
its been for others to complete a full game business model.

For me, a Round of appluase for everyone associated with JJP.....anything else is details...valid, nonetheless.

Is it perhaps pinside that is aging poorly?

I think RS is a genius layout by Lawlor and a fun redneck original theme.

I get that Pat tried to do something new and relevant to today's world. It's a bit different though at $3k versus $9k when it comes to owning a pin and the gotta really love it factor.

I'm def aging poorly btw

Sure but whether it's a good enough theme to own shouldn't change whether you think it's a fun game, or if it will age poorly....whixh still no one has offered a poorly aged machine/theme.

No one can deny we are all just aging so poorly

Don't you mean that's what everybody else is offering now?

Theme is often important to me as well. However, as I play or try out different games, I'm trying to keep an open mind and not automatically dismiss it based on theme alone.
I played DI and had a ton of fun playing it without really giving a second thought to the title or theme.
I've also recently played an Aerosmith LE and although I don't love the band, I still really enjoyed the gameplay.
This is all very subjective and it's great that we continue to get a varied choice of titles from JJP and Stern.

The truth is Dialed In is about as good a theme as you can expect to get in a new pinball game anymore.

Nah, there's plenty of great concepts that could be tried, they just haven't done them. I think Dialed In is missing a menacing aspect, there's hints of that with the DIE triangles but I wish that was more a part of the theme. I also wish it were funnier (I can't count the number of times I've played RS but it still makes me laugh).

Yeah that's the JJP issue right there...the whole "Family/non threatening" they're really holding on to.
I mean it's another disaster pin...no one got their dick pulled through their throat in Whirlwind but it was still good.
EDIT: But I'm always in for more blood and guts

Good points as I do like a little edge, though I don't think JJP loses anything with the non threatening route. In fact it's probably a benefit in the home market. Conflict makes great stories & disasters can make excellent antagonists (ala the Twister in Twister). Can work just fine without blood/guts. Most pins are not Walking Dead. As much as I love TWD, I couldn't put it in my house

The thing is, that's all EXACTLY what young people like. I used to teach at a high school. I can assure you, the only way they could've made it more relevant is if they toss in a couple of "fidget spinners;" but unlike that fad, cell phones, selfies, and emojis aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

When it was released I dismissed it due to theme. Now that I've played the game 15-20 times I found myself maybe wishing I would have ordered one instead of what I did order. The game plays and feels solid and is high quality with a lot of toys and shots! The game plays really well. I recently had the chance to play AFMr(which I have on order) and Dialed In side by side. Dialed in actually drew me in a bit more which surprised me as AFMr is an incredible game. I was waiting on Star Wars and now can't get past that artwork so this one might be the next.

A lot of us were skeptical when the theme was revealed and most were disappointed. That's one of the downsides of not having a licensed theme. But - on the flip side - what happens to a pin if the theme/movie was a flop? (See Popeye / Congo above). If the theme/movie is a flop, the pin typically flops too.

DI doesn't have the benefit or baggage of a license. (Unless you consider "Lawlor" the license)

Before I played the game, I thought the theme would doom the pin. I'm now of the opinion while a lot could have been done to improve it, the theme won't "flop" over time and will age just fine for most who actually buy the game.

I played it the other day at Silverball Museum. It was lackluster for me at best, seemed way to done up and the them is not my idea of pinball. But it is still better than the BM 66 junk any day.

Damn! I missed you - I was there Thursday!

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

I think you should post one more time about not liking the theme

I appreciate the review of DI. Jay is a real benefit of this forum.

If only one review per game was allowed on pinside that would be bad.

Most pinsiders don't write reviews so I don't think we have to worry about everyone writing reviews.

If his review had been nothing but positive on how amazing it is and how the theme isn't a big deal and of course build quality and all that then this thread would be on fire with JJP/DI fanboys praising him, you can see that the comments shooting down the review in a mostly condescending way have many thumbs up, wonder who they are?

where did you play?

Johnny Mnemonic... bad movie, old tech like modems and touch-tone multiball, bad impersonation of actors in the bad movie trying to act cool... Game shoots great and has nice music and rules, but the theme.. bleh.