What is an example of a game that doesn't have modes? I honestly haven't played enough pins to know one that isn't mode based somehow. I know out of the 7 DMDs in my house I've got the obvious mode machines like RFM, JP, LAH, Stargate, and MSF... and that leaves NGG and Spiderman. NGG is a 'complete the holes while also doing multiball' machine to me still has mini modes like Cart Attack or Dance Party. Spiderman is a 'defeat the bad guys while also doing these hero mission/modes' machine but, while much less linear than say JP where you hit a hole to start a mode, still has modes.

I do enjoy playing Spiderman and being able to do multiple things at once and stack, but I agree with Pete that I'm not that great of a player that I'm going to beat all the modes and get to wizard on a regular basis, and I enjoy the nostalgia of the modes of the movie based games. And if/when I have new people over that aren't familiar with pinball, the mode-based pins are the first ones I start them on. RFM is usually #1 on teaching people how to play, because you literally just do what that mode tells you without worrying about multipliers, stacking, etc.