The gap is closer to $2k for prem vs pro. Acdc is worth the difference.

I don't buy any of this shit. But if I did...

AC/DC - yes! Love the drops and most of the other crap. Strangely enough I find the lower playfield useless and never pick those modes

Metallica - No! Waste of money for the hammer that blocks the playfield and the other stuff I don't care about. Pro is great.

Star Trek - no! The bling is cool but I find the original game is fine.

Tron - yes! The pro is bland.

X-Men - why would I waste money on either?

Walking Dead - I'm going with yes! Love the bombs and the lifting ramp.

Kiss - huge resounding NO! The extra stuff is useless and the Pro delivers.

I agree with crazylevi but in the case of st I would go with the LE.

I agree, too. It just depends on the title. Sometimes the extras are worth it and sometimes they're not. If possible play both and decide for yourself. If not possible, read Pinside and watch some game play videos.

p.s. Since Sterns are no longer released with finished code, it's best to wait about a year after release to see how the pin turns out. Many titles have been bashed upon release and then adored about a year later. And then there's duds like Wrestlemania that can't be salvaged.

GOT was released with totally finished code!!!

Only one worth it on your list is AC/DC IMO. KISS is another one that is worth the upgrade. Light show, red metal apron, drop in front of Star Child, and back board magnet are great. Oh and XM is an awesome pin haters gonna hate.

Also, pros these days don't have service rails...wtf???

Agree with all this but Metallica. Hammer blocks nothing, and is an awesome toy & physical ball lock. "Real" Spinners rule. Color changing GI FX are incredible. Color changing inserts do a better job of letting you know what your shots are than the red inserts of the Pro. Snake Jaw is an awesome "toy" that functions as a drop target & a ball catcher. Rising Grave Marker is cool. The game is significantly more alive and interesting.

I wish I could get more time on a MET Prem/LE. Most of us around here bought Pros.

AC/DC is the only one I'd buy for the cosmetic upgrade, I can't stand the Angus face. I think the lower playfield is pretty mediocre, but it looks way better.

Star Trek and Metallica Pro are already fully featured games, I wouldn't pay $1000s for the upgrades (although STLE looks sweet). I like playing Metallica Pro more than the LE, the hammer blocks the captive ball entirely and I actually like the pro art package best. There's some cool mechanical stuff added other than that, but nothing that outweighs the con of the hammer to me personally.

I don't care about X-Men either way, and can't think of another game I've played both the Pro and LE of enough to judge.

Dammit when are you going to understand that it doesn't block Rarehero's view at all?!?!

All this stuff....I just got a premium and love it. So glad I splurged.

From my experience, I think most Pros are as good and, at times, better than the LE.

Tron, for example. Alot of folks think the LE is better. Personally I prefer the Pro. The LE has drops for TRON and that means I cann't bank off the targets to hit GEM. That would kill the game for me. Hitting the GEM shot is hard and I use the stand ups all the time.

The mini playfield in AC/DC? No biggie and not missed at all.

Star Trek? The Premium/LE look amazing and if you have the cash go for it, but the Pro is just fine and doesn't seem to be missing much other than bling. I have the Pro with the alt transite plus Refinery Backbox and speaker -- lighting is tied to the game and it looks amazing. I got it HUO and saved over $2K vs a Premium. I cann't justify the extra cash just for looks.

The only exceptions for me are X-men and Avengers LE. In the case of X-men I really like the spinning disk and pop up Night Crawlers. At the end of the day, though, I'm not sure it's worth the headache of the moving Iceman ramp. For Avengers, I think the Hawkeye ramp improves the game play tremendously and the LE is the only one I would want. The price difference, in the case of Avengers is minor, and you get alot of bang for the extra buck.

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I mean if you Lyman Sheats it you can see the captive ball.

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I just bought an ac/dc 3 days ago and I bought a premium so that says it all.
With ac/dc I defenitly think it is worth it, no ugly face, drop targets, better sound, swinging bell but for me the biggest difference over the pro are the color changing leds I just love how they look and give the game a much more modern feel.

Star Trek go Premium and get the blackout mod.

I have a very hard time justifying the price difference. There are games where I would definitely prefer the premium; TWD, Avenger's, Tron..... Therefore I'll unlikely be buying any of those titles at all.

Well, he might be the first person who specifically said "blocks the captive ball" ...that, is factually true. Blocking the playfield is false and is just such an odd narrative that continues to pop up. That being said, the coffin/hammer magnet is visible & lined up precisely with the captive ball - and you can see that, so that's what you shoot for. I've never aimed for the captive ball and missed.

Which game? Every game is different. Code is generally the same, aside from the Prem/LE specific features. Tron LE has an extra Multiball that the Pro doesn't have. Avatar & Rolling Stones LE have a powerball that starts 2x scoring that the Pro doesn't have (most don't care cuz its random).

Uh....there's way more than "just a hammer" on Metallica.

I'll give you the captive ball one...that sounded new to me....but the other thing; it might be a possibility that if you keep hearing it it may just be true; for some people. Don't assume everyone is your same height and plays with the same stance as you. I get it but if you throw out 80% of reoccurring nonsense views you still have to have a couple left don't you?
Personally, I just think it looks like shit BUT I've actually never seen one in person or played it, so I cannot comment on the actual site lines.

I know it's not true because I have eyes, have played the game for years... and it's not true. I've looked at it from every stance. It's a specific size that doesn't change from game to game (unless you installed Aurich's smaller hammer) that literally cannot block a playfield. It hovers over the captive ball so you can't see that (but like I said, you can see the magnet that's right in front of it, so you if you need a visual to aim at the captive ball, it's a perfect visual cue). Behind the hammer are some plastics...that those being "blocked" doesn't hamper any gameplay. You can clearly see Sparky, who's right up the middle and impossible to not see...you can see the snake and pop bumpers to the other side of it. The phrase "block the playfield" is factually false.

For Tron just get one, no matter LE or Pro; routed or HUO, Broken or working...just get one. For MET, either but if you go Prem get the Roadcase edition. For AC/DC get the Luci. Skip X-Men and Avengers and get an IMVE.

I find it distracting. It's very large and it distorts the depth perception that I'm used to on the pro where nothing is there. Just like stuffing a teddy bear in the back of your STTNG may not technically block the playfield, but might distract you.

I played hundreds of games on a pro before running into an LE. I didn't like the hammer and still don't. Won't argue with semantics but it sure FELT like some bare playfield I used to see was now "blocked" by the hammer. In any case, I don't like it.

Finished code or not I don't think the LE can help GOT. I played the the pro and it was both awful to look at and to play. A big disappointment for me anyway.

The problem with Metallica Pro is that the callouts all assume the hammer-lock mechanism is there. Like, "Where did it go?" and "It just smashed the ball!". I need to edit those someday.

I had a Metallica pro but felt like I was really missing the hammer. So I sold it and bought a low play LE. Then I got addicted to modding it lol. I love the hammer as well as all the extras that the prem/le includes. Plus my new hammer blocks nothing important and looks badass!!!

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I'd say that whatever you choose, you should leave $ in your budget for a Color DMD, FF speakers and a shaker.

Does it still show the animation of the ball being smashed?

Even in the LE there are some "old" callouts that shouldn't be there. James says "Smash 4 balls!" (You only have to smash 3). They say "Casket Multiball" but the DMD says "Coffin Multiball"...they can just change the text to "Casket" though - problem solved.

No.

I played both, and have ordered a MetPrem. To me, the mechanical differences were real, and satisfying. The cross riding feels like an achievement, the casket swallowing them releasing the balls is awesome, etc. This is by far my favorite game, and I had to have it fully loaded. I do like the KISS Pro, and will likely get one- and I thought Star Trek pro would be sufficient, but my friend's LE tells me otherwise whenever I play it.

Check my post #9

- Hammer
- disappearing ball lock into the coffin (caused by the hammer). Actual ball lock vs a virtual one.
- Moving Cross
- spinners
- Snake Jaw (often downplayed but makes a pretty big difference in gameplay)
- Color changing inserts
- Active GI that adjust based off what is happening in the game
- Service rails
- Standard lock bar and receiver
- Speaker panel logos (didn't realize this was standard till I looked it up on the website)
- Powder Coated rails and legs (LE only)
- Mirrored translight (LE only)

Just a minor thing...but those met logos on the speakers don't come on the new run with the round speakers

I think MET Prem/LE buyers get their money's worth. It just wasn't money I was ready to spend at the time.

Can you briefly explain this? When I load a ball in the Snake during multiball, I think it stays there for 20 seconds. What's different on the Prem/LE?

The jaw closes so another ball can't get stuck in there accidentally.

During main gameplay, the jaw goes up and you have to open it before getting the ball in the mouth...so it's like a cool controlled drop target.

Wow, I thought the Snake was hard enough on the Pro!

So, Stern puts a little more into a premium than a pro and charges 2K more for it, but it's still less than what the best B/W games have. Most newer Sterns are fast and furious (and often fun), but as far as fun to shoot at features are concerned, they're lacking.

Many of them could stand a MIST Mutliball feature like BSD going across the sparse playfields, except replace the ball with tumbleweed.

Have you played Kiss Premium, or am I missing your sarcasm?

Kiss's "Mist" feature is baffling. It's the most useless application of a cool mech. The ball floats on the backboard and drops into the Starman area. Big friggin whoop. BSD mist is an interactive challenge for the player. Use the BOM wisely !

Pro is always the way to go
Acdc pro is faster
Star Trek pro is faster
Metallica pro is faster
Kiss pro is faster
Twd pro is faster yes it is I have played both

You are wrong guys

Not for me. I like my games full featured.

1.jpgFor the Mustang I can say the Prem/LE isn't worth the extra cash. Even the Pro has the most beautiful artwork on the cabinet and is looking really bad ass. The car on the turntable and the add. ramp seems not count for the extra cash, spend it for some cool mods on the Pro and another good WPC game

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