Big thanks to zaphX for hosting me and letting me play Wonka. I have had a deposit on CE since release and wanted to play the machine, and we hacked at it for nearly 3 hours.
It shoots like a dream. Ramps are butter. Hitting the upper loop with upper right flipper is very satisfying. I'm an average player and put up some decent games (but nothing great).
The lights are fantastic, particularly the light shows in certain modes.
The little magnets definitely influenced the ball. The left outlane is brutal.
Regarding the callouts and music, it all felt very put together when you stand over the machine and play. I did not get a slot machine vibe at all. Music was not annoying. The volume was turned down lower, but I barely heard the "oompa loompq" sounds in the pops. You really have to be listening, volume of those could properly be boosted some.
Also, I barely noticed the lack of sync with the video clips. You're not watching the screen often. Maybe you would be as you got better?
Amount of UI information on the monitor is very detailed.
The game rocks and was a blast to play. I did feel a little bit like I was progressing through the chocolate factory/immersed, if not linearly like the movie.
Bottom line, if the CE playfield has sweet alternate art on playfield, keeping the CE. If it's just glitter and a different color, switching to LE.
