I think having multiple levels of strategy available in modern pins is awesome. I will never be a tourney player either, don't have the time, desire or skill, but TWD and Star Wars are still a blast for me. I have never found Star Wars to be overly complex. Green shots are multiplied, higher multipliers are better than lower, hit target bank to increase multipliers. Done.

I am usually flailing so hard during a multiball that I am at 40x without even trying and then I realize, try to line up a shot I want to hit for a big score then, more often than not, drain.

More skilled players who have the time and desire though can figure out the nuances and blow it up. Something there for everyone.

Complete at launch? (announced March 27, see patch notes for changes/tweaks since then):

http://f0727d06e1d39b514478-a613b39d02a32124478c749a23d19af0.r44.cf5.rackcdn.com/Iron_Maiden-1_03_0-README_LE.TXT

Telling point. If the pin was based on the movies....

So you won't be buying then?

I think it looks like a fun game, thanks for the footage SDTM. Like others, I think they overpriced it, or at least priced me out. I'm not one of the crazies yelling "should only be 4k!!!!!", but for me, the closest comparabile modern machine is TNA. Take 6k then add in the extra cost of the Beatles license and the money they have to give to Kapow I can see it costing more than TNA, but not $1600 more.

That being said, my guess is it cost Stern a lot more in upfront with the Seawitch redesign (yes, parts were redesigned, I don't see Seawitch with a spinning disk and magnet), the art, the lcd and the programming. Spooky got everything other than the art pretty much handed to them whole when they partnered with Danesi and run a whole lot smaller/leaner so their overall costs have to be lower per unit.

At the end of the day, all it really matters to Stern is if they sell all of their allotment to distributors and distributors are able to move the pins to customers, and it seems like that is happening regardless of Pinside angst.

I think the approach works fine. Given TNAs success, people asking for reboots of older machines, wanting the machine to be simpler for non-pinheads and using a nostalgic design given the 1964 vibe, all makes perfect sense. If they would've designed a new old school layout I am sure lots of people would be complaining "why didn't they just base it on a good design like Seawitch? Stupid Stern...".

Is it innovative? No, I agree with that. I also don't think it needs to be to be fun, at least not for me. Looking forward to playing one if one shows up locally.

I also think people are overestimating the cost savings by rebooting a pin that old. Requires getting the playfield into their design software, new code, new mechs, new whitewood, LCD work. Saved some time getting from concept to whitewood, and geometry was already solid so saved some iteration time there for sure. Then you add in all the fixed costs that happens with a company that size. They have to pay everyone from the cleaning staff to the CEO, pay rent, buy parts, whatever and still have enough left over to make it profitable for the shareholders.

Companies exist to make money. It was Stern's risk to price and market the product this way, if it doesn't sell it is on them, they lose money. If it does sell, they reap the rewards. Its priced too high for me, but i don't think that means Stern is just out for a cash grab and doesn't care about the product.

I think I would've puked after shot 5.

Nice episode! Agree with most of it, where I disagreed mainly comes down to personal preference. Strongly disagree about Deadpool though. If it was just the drops and disco ball, fine, but that left orbit to right flipper is a must have for me. Repeatedly ripping the spinner on that orbit always makes me smile.

I liked it the review. It was entertaining. Good reasoning behind each of the grades. I wasn't expecting a fully objective, scientifically based and peer reviewed segment on TS4 pinball, maybe that's why I still enjoyed it.

I think the big Flip n Out Pinball ad at the beginning of each show should be a large enough clue to the uninitiated that there might be some conscious or unconscious bias involved in the reviews, so don't see a need for some disclaimer.

I agree though that "value" used to be discussed more when reviewing/comparing machines. Not in a "how it makes you feel" type of valuation, but a "how much it eats out of your bank account" valuation. I remember the "This or That" segments repeatedly mentioning cost when making choices.

For me it's two Stern Pros or one TS4? Or a Stern Premium + 2800.00 or TS4 LE? TS4 would have to make me feel REALLY good while playing to be the "that" choice in those scenarios. To each their own.

Don't think he was referring to reviewing it, but more that some can't try before they buy. If they want to even have a chance to play a machine they have to be prepared to drop cash and buy one, so a value segment of a review would be helpful.

Although, at $12k, I think Toy Story is a pretty easy answer to figure out without help.

They say right in the video that they are trying to be objective (as objective as you can be on a list like this), so it makes sense it wouldn't fully follow their own reviews. In any case, it is a list made for fun and conversation, don't think a full audit is in order.

They say in the first two minutes of the video that the games are not necessarily their own personal favorites and are trying to look at it more objectively. Maybe they will chime in on the exact reason Indy was left out, but speaking as someone who watches SDTM, I wasn't surprised.

I assumed it wasn't in because IJPA isn't a top 10 layout, the code isn't top 10 either. I'd still like to own one because the theme and integration are off the charts. If it was a list of top 10 themes of all time and IJPA wasn't on it I would definitely be surprised.

You can love your pinball machine, but don't LOVE your pinball machine.

The ad looked like it could be sponsored by Trojan.

It is possible that in SDTM's opinion Foo shoots better than EJ, and that in your opinion EJ shoots better than Foo and both opinions can exist without the universe imploding.