That's pretty much BK2000 in a nutshell... and why decades later it's generally poo'd on even tho it has great backglass, music, and callouts. In its time, it was a rush... but as games became wider and deeper... the shallowness of BK2000's play is exposed.

It's really down to the software to make you want to shoot from the left..

To me the big disappointment was the upper PF. Hopefully as they utilize the loop it will become more interesting.. but very little nudge/bounce action along the front from losing the war rollovers.. the other targets from the big assembly didn't seem interesting to the players.. and it looks like the flipper and ball speed is just too fast for that size of space. Will have to see how that plays in person.. but the stream really was deflating for me.

The animations were excellent... the music sounds great.. the flail lane looks incredible.. but will have to see how interesting it is to do things in real time.

Does this game have a callout that says "Welcome aboard Tex"? or was I imagining that. A GB callout?

I think that was deadflip twitch subscriber audio...

That's from the twitch stream. Pretty sure it's when someone subscribes to Deadflip's channel. Completely unrelated to the game.

Stolen and forwarded to a friend lol

That Bernie character on the display is so cool! I like those two skeletons on his shoulder pumping the bellows as he shoots his flamethrower.

I had to work late and missed out. Any way to check out the stream or am I just bummin tnt?

It's on YouTube, just search for the title

It's on deadflip youtube

I believe that is the implication, not sure if it i HDMI, but he implied it had some type of readily available consumer cable type.

Wth? Care for Heavy Metal. Geez go look at albums and vinyl of the era. I have some albums that are $500 plus for a single slab of vinyl and content/lyrics. Likes of Celtric Frost, Exodus, Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Fate's Warning, The Rods. You missing it. I am over 50. Many friends older still love it. I can't get enough.

Agreed. How is Hell Hand not one of the best animations in pinball ever? I get the PS2 comparisons but it's still an amazing animation package.

I think people have a pretty glamorized memory of what PS/2 games looked like. This is definitely PS3.

Seriously though it Looks great!

I hate modern mobile game art it all looks generic and boring.

How bad ass is Steve Ritchie?

Overall or lately?

I assume you're thinking Premium? If so, those haven't been the prices for a long time now.

Great point. My PS2 is actually hooked up with Jet X20 running at the moment; a beautiful PS2 game. The quality and the resolution isn't even close to these Stern animations.

The upper playfield catapult looked ok, but they said it wasn't registering some switches up there, so maybe something actually happens when you get loops? If it weren't all that extra lighting, I'd say the Pro seems like an easy choice on this one...

I think the pro is the way to go here. I liked the music, but also felt that the loop was repetitive. Cool thing is they can fix that. It’s not like guardians where they only purchased a handful of songs. Clelin shouldn’t need to touch this one.

Game looks fast and brutal. I liked the light show and the BK sculpt mech. I thought the animations were good. I really have no idea on the code of this one, and Tim did a good job of saying he would let us figure it out (aka let’s not say how empty it is right now). I look forward to shooting it this weekend.

That upper playfield reveal killed the premium for me - but might kick that down a notch and stay with the pro.

Still looks like a rush to play!

STAND UP AND FIGHT!

I dunno, there's a weird disconnect in the graphics design. Some of it looks and moves like stop motion/claymation/Skullmonkeys:The Pin but then you have the knights that walk and lock, and swing in a very fluid, motion-captured way. It's kind of a mishmash, and it would have been better if it was all one or the other since the styles don't really mix.

What's the over/under on how long before that "real feather" plume is wasted?

For the people who are maybe feeling letdown a little dont forget that you can still buy a lot of great new games. Munsters is amazimg and several other games that are available as well but Jurrasic World is rumored to be coming and Elvira 3 is definitely coming, so theres still good reason to be excited about pinball.

I don't think BK sucks but i thought it would be better thats for sure. I cant wait to play one. Sometimes they are much more fun once you actually get to play the game.

Who-Dey you should be running a support group for collectors....Pinaholics Anonymous.

"Hi, my names Mark, and im a Pinaholic. I just cant stop myself buying pins."

Honestly, the advice to wait on new releases and pick them up down the road is probably the best course of Stern action. Munsters won't be ready for prime time for months if not years, and Deadpool is just NOW finally getting really, really good - 8 months later. If you're only buying one pin this year, pick a proven title with a mature code base and you'll be a lot happier.

I'm wondering how the code will react with the upper playfield. I thought it was going to be a flat downgrade but it seems like the pro is the main sku. Feels like there will be a split regarding any future updates.

I used to hope for modern software features and graphics but have adjusted myself to pinball. This looks like a great effort from Stern. I couldn’t tolerate it in my house. The music, one flipper play and dated style just wouldn’t work for me long term. I wish it was a little modernized with a similar art style to Game of Thrones. The show not the pin. I will happily drop coins every time I see this pin on location.

Can you share some examples? Just pull up the Twitch stream and clip it.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/408680148

Here'a another monster, the sand worm. It's a simple loop, it rises out of the ground and menaces at you, then burrows down and tunnels towards you, then back. Sometimes it spits green acid slime all over the LCD. When you score you get a cool little slow-motion pan of it close up with your score over it.

Simple, gives the creature some basic personality and movement patterns, and you can get it all in glances, you're supposed to be watching the ball. I think the strategy for the game's presentation is effective.

https://clips.twitch.tv/DeafSuaveBottleBudBlast

Well, Anthrax does suck so...

Gotta disagree on Munsters Vic. I am having more fun with Munsters right now than ive maybe ever had playing pinball. It has a easy rule set but its fun as hell and highly addictive. I literally cannot stop playing it. I think Munsters is a masterpiece, not even joking.

Game looks metal for sure - bad ass overall. My only constructive criticism at this stage of the game is possibly have a different base soundtrack for each ball.

That will be the price 6 months from now just like every other new Stern Premium on second hand market 6 months after release

I would like to know if you could end the modes and kill the boss or if it just times out, if there is a finish line?

And a LOT more callouts. A lot.

I'll do you one better - GIFs, no link necessary

The Knight motion, especially the walking in the ball lock - is fluid and looks motion captured:
BK-ball-lock.gif

The character vignettes, however have a stop motion hand-animated/Skullmonkeys look to them that clashes with the knight parts visually:
bk-standby.gif

This one, ESPECIALLY reminds me of stop motion animation games:
bk-flamethrower.gif

Neither style is BAD, they just don't go together well. Should have gone with one or the other, not both.

PinMonk i'm with you !

I was only able to watch a few minutes of the stream.

What does the ball lock on the upper playfield do when lock is not lit?

Does it come right back out of the top? Does it flow out fast or is it stopped first and then released?

The loop switch wasn't working and late in the stream Steve also did say they plan on making the upper playfield more interactive. I hope that's true, but if I was buying I would be leaning heavily towards pro on this one.

Rob

I think those graphics look cool as hell for pinball.

Yup there's no anger or emotion to the call outs compared to other games ..

"get out" & "you dig your own grave".....lol smh ? If it said "you've dug your own grave ! " it would make a bit more sense & at least shout -"GET OUT "

BK sounds depressed . & "your poor fighting skills bla bla .. BK sounds like a bad 70's robot . But i'm diggin the game otherwise

I think the fix for this type of strategy is to force the player to make shots with both flippers to continue scoring well. Otherwise it becomes like what Keith was doing, hold ball on left flipper and shoot super jackpots with the right flipper. The upper catapult super jackpot can't always be lit - maybe make the right drop targets qualify it.

Rob

Or... the undead move different than the living?

I think he sounds fine. It's the other 'helpful' callouts that don't care for.

Rob

They are usually a bit slower, more awkward. But we don't make fun of them...

Rob

I was impressed for sure. Even without finished features and code I thought the theme hit right on the money. Sure I must admit the upper playfield on the previous models had waaaaay more interactivity/cool factor, but regardless this is an amazing thing to see. Stern answered and delivered. Finally a theme based on something other than music and movies! A theme based on scary and retro monsters/battles!!! High fives to Gary/Team!!

I thought the KNIGHT inserts are qualified as you complete a Boss mode... you have to defeat each mini boss to get a letter?

I'm pretty impressed!

- Lightshow on the PF is Stern's best by a country mile. Love the lightning ramp on the LE!
- Animations are Stern's best as well. The creatures are awesome, but yeah, some of the 2d/3d mixes are not up to JJP standards.
- Music sounds good to me. I think with the cool callouts, it will sit in the background nicely. Adds some intensity as well.
- Gameplay on the pro looks fast, deadly and fun. However, I see the flail and shield shot possibly getting old. That's really all you have for unique shots.
- Upper playfield honestly looks like a clunkfest. Even when they were making shots, it didn't look very fun.

Definitely a solid location player for me, but the gameplay isn't enough for a purchase.

Oh, and for those debating what Death Metal is, let Mr. Marcaille teach you:

Again, neither style is BAD, they just don't fit together well. They're substantially different styles.