I mainly agree with you. GB pro, Xmen pro, and WWE Le are ones i think play better then what you listed. WWE LE hands down is way better then Pro, GB pro is a faster game that just feels better, and Xmen LE that stupid moving iceman ramp makes me like the Pro more.

Premium is better than Pro on Aerosmith, GOT, MET and TWD.
Tron and Star Trek are equal in gameplay IMO - the bling is nicer on the Premiums/LE though

I have to disagree. With AC/DC you want the premium because of the ball diversion through the bell. completely changes the way to work the bell.

for MET, that fucking hammer is a big piece of shit, and they can shove it up their ass. so i'd go pro all the way.

with GOT, I don't like the upper playfield as much as I wanted to. but the pro version is empty and cheap feeling/looking.

I agree with you on Met pro and TWD pro both better than premium and prefer STLE/premium mainly due to the fantastic light shows, AcDc also premium better than pro.

I haven't played GOT pro but I am sure thats better than the premium (upper PF is not good)

I really like both upper playfields - both are designed very well - better than most actually. But GOT needs some rule tweaks for it IMO.

Not a huge fan of the real estate the GOT upper PF, but agreed it's done very well

Lot of MEt premium is really cool...but that hammer is horrendous.

For me:
Pro > Premium
Aerosmith
MET
GB
ST

Premium/LE > Pro
AC/DC
X-men
Tron
Kiss
GOT

Pro=Premium/LE
TWD

No version > Pro/Premium/LE
WWE
BM66

What makes one better over the other or are you just looking at cost vs what is on the game?

For example - If cost was the same I don't see how anyone could argue MET Pro is a better playing game than MET Prem. More to this example. The only two real game play differences are the Snake and Hammer both of which on the Prem can be set up to work just like a pro if you so desire. But with the prem you aren't guessing what the lane inserts are trying to tell you (RGB vs just red) which can make a real impact to gameplay. Plus you get real integrated spinners on the Prem. You can diffidently argue the cost vs value between the two but that begs the question on what the definition of better is in this example.

Love the Metallica Premium.....didn't care for the Pro version....

For me (games that I have enough familiarity with...)

Pro > Premium

Premium/LE > Pro
TWD
AC/DC
Mustang
MET
GOT

Pro=Premium/LE
Star Trek
LOTR
Tron (depending on mods)
Ghostbusters

I completely agree with Russell's original post. Although, I'm quite upset [busting keys as I type] that he omitted Kiss

Kiss Pro > Kiss Premium/LE (but heavy bias here)

Premium all the way on Metallica- yes the hammer is lame, but the rest of the game makes up for it especially the color changing LED's. I don't think enough people have put time on the premium to fully appreciate it.

the rest of the list is good - i'd go with ST pro= to premium and TWD Pro> premium but im splitting hairs on these two games.

I've had serious thoughts about adding the Kiss topper to my Pro, but I haven't been able to justify the cost yet.

All pro except

AC/DC
Walking Dead (what can I say I like the walker bombs. Worth $1000?)
Tron (LE is cooler)

The only games that I'd go out of my way to get a Prem/Le model are ACDC and TWD. ACDC because of the improved bell and color changers and TWD because of the Walker bombs and spinners primarily. Met is the only other one I'd consider just because the Pro model is missing the spinners which make the orbit shots feel naked.

On every other Stern game though I'd go Pro without hesitation. There are actually a few games like GOT, GB, Transformers, and X-Men where the Pro is the better playing game.

RGB inserts are good!
Spinners (now with a bonus scoring rule) are great!
Colored GI is great
Upgraded Snake assembly (I really like the premium snake) is great!
Physical Ball lock (I dislike virtual locks) is great!

Rob

What about the hauntingly red GI effects during Horde(?). That is way cool..

Rob

I have to admit that I really like the Aerosmith mini-playfield. I played it A LOT on a Premium at the Ohio Pinball show and got a really great feel for it. It reminds me of the "Whitewater" field a bit where it doesn't spend a TON of time up there and is more of a conduit with multiple paths for the ball depending on where you want to send it (not to mention the extra doubling of the playfield and scoring opportunities).

What that said, however, I purchased the PRO for my collection. Why!? Because for me personally, the mini-playfield was the ONLY thing that offered any additional personal value onto the game for me. The difference in color, limited edition stuff, extra lights, drop target, etc. did not add any additional value for me. So weighing all of the options (and that I LOVE the elevator mold and the "kerchunk" feel you get when you shoot it on the PRO), the mini-playfield was not worth $2k more on top of the PRO.

With that said, let's face it, this is a very personal topic. One person might LOVE the fact that the AERO LE has purple trim and is "numbered" and signed and has a drop target and apron lights (things that, for me, don't mean as much). Therefore they would have more of a personal value attached to the additions ... and that would justify them spending the money on it.

Weigh and balance all of the pros and cons and go with your gut if you have the financial means to do so.

IMHO, you 'aint wrong no matter which way you go!

(unless the cabinet falls apart that is)