OK Gents,
I went to PATZ yesterday and had a lot of play time on ACNC! I was lucky that they had the machine separated from all the others and I could hear the sounds very well. As stated by others here, that video above does it absolutely no justice! Alice Cooper is great! The call outs sound right and it is with out a doubt one of the most beautiful pins I have ever seen! The cabinet and playfield art are awesome! The theme for me is perfect. I don't know what it is about that video, but in hearing the sound in real life, Alice's voice is much more full bodied and resonant. The audio system on this game is killer, just like TNA, (which I also played, and it is awesome btw). So with all the fidelity, especially low end frequency, and the fact that the back round sounds and music are present, it sounds great! I have no complaints and I was skeptical after hearing that shit video as well.
So I hope this puts to rest the Alice call out dilemma!
As far as how it played? There is good news and bad..
The bad news is that the game was not operating correctly. Three problems:
1) Flippers were too weak. This caused the right ramp shot to the upper playfield to not make the climb and roll back down most of the time I managed to make the shot which is challenging. There are some tight shots here, but that is going to make it fun, not too hard. I don't want any pin for home use that isn't a challenge! I think this is something that will be corrected or wasn't intended. After all, this is one of only two prototypes I was told.
2) Slings were way too insensitive. A simple adjustment was needed here.
3) The "back from the dead" magnet below the flippers wasn't working correctly. It would grab the ball but only shoot it about an inch up and then it would fall back down to drain.
Given these shortcomings, it was really not possible to experience a proper game. Everyone I watched as well as myself, rarely made the upper playfield and as a result, I never witnessed the second ball lock (2nd castle window to the right of the 1st castle window). Also, I only saw one guy shoot the upper playfield and make the right habitrail shot back to the flipper in-lane via the cool habitrail swirly (which is cool).
With that said,
The game has great potential and I am super excited for mine! It will scare you at times and catch you off guard if you are snoozing.
The LCD animations are great, the spinner is rewarding, the loop shots are challenging (it's how you select your room/monster) and I can't wait to see the finished product!
*** One suggestion Spooky, you need to angle the LCD back more. The viewing angle for taller people like myself (6'2") causes the screen to become somewhat washed out. When I crouch down a few inches, it looks way more crisp and clear.
I'm not worried that this won't be a killer pin!