Played the Pro at Stern today (my kids played the LE with John Borg). Thanks to everyone at Stern for letting us visit again (I think we're probably getting frequent flier/visit points with them at this point).
Our visit was made extra special because we met up with Dan from Project Pinball at the factory as he makes his way across the country dedicating more pins in more hospitals.
After having the rest of the evening to reflect on playing KISS, I'm left with one quick impression: KISS is a blast to play.
Granted I am not a very good player. I don't care about code/rules. I can't look up at the DMD (unless I'm watching my kids play). I just like to flail around trying to hit all the shots on a pin (and not suck too badly).
My first thought, during my first game, was how much fun I was having trying to hit all the shots. There are some pins where I flail around and don't really 'want' to try and make each shot and progress around the play field. Not the case here.
The ramps are just so solid and smooth feeling. Hard to explain, but hitting the ramps was just so enjoyable. It's almost like even the entrance to the ramps makes a smooth shot that flows through the turn into the metal, wireframe return in a way that just glides. Like I said, a really subjective feeling I had that, even tonight, I have trouble describing.
I was able to hit the Starchild shot at least 3 times which kind of surprised me. Definitely a tight shot but not impossible. It was very encouraging to me that I could hit it. Either it's not as tight as some initial videos have shown, or I just had a good day.
The sound was great, definitely a noticeable change from ACDC and Metallica.
The DMD animations were better than I expected given some of the negative comments I've seen. Granted I only watched them while my wife played a game. Nothing that made me go, "Ugh" though.
Absolutely loved the color changing LEDs. Again, only focused on watching them during my wife's game (and during 'attract' mode), but they're really cool to see in person. Hope these are the new standard.
The artwork on the play field is great, though it's missing the busty babes on plastics like the 1978 original. My wife is the one who noticed that. I was so proud of her. (She even liked Whoa Nellie! She's a keeper!)
The back glass/mirrored translite on the LE looked great, as did the armor.
All in all, it's a fun pin that I definitely enjoyed playing. I didn't experience any SDTM drains, and only the outlanes seemed to get me (an easy fix/adjustment if I had one).
By the way, I didn't notice any black, rubber marks on the play field.
Now the big take-away. Would I get one? Definitely. But it's not an immediate 'next' for me because I don't want my lineup to get weighted toward music/band pins again. Eventually, though.
Still a blast to play though and a huge thanks to our friends at Stern for letting us play it...and to Borg for showing us around their new digs. What a great (big) new facility!
Buffalo, NY
