Burnsville, MN
A friend of mine doesn't get online much, but he sent a review of TWD after ten or fifteen games. Here it is.
The Walking Dead - Game is pretty damn fun. So many people complaining based on a couple of bad videos are gonna be kicking themselves. The game has a couple of "easy" shots like the ramps that set up for cool combos. Good design by STERN to have it that way - making the set-up easy and the payout a little more challenging is addicting and kept me wanting to hit the start button. The lighting is great - the white LEDs are perfect. I don't think I'm going to worry about adding color LEDs - if I do they'll be extremely limited - the white just looks really good with the rest of the game and the theme. Surprisingly the game doesn't feel like it has too much stop and go even with all the shots to the pop bumpers. The ball goes to them frequently but doesn't stay up there too long and 99% of the time returns nicely to the left flipper where you can catch it or do a dead pass and bounce it over to the right flipper. It's actually pretty cool - if you're planning ahead you can decide what to do with balls exiting the bumpers for either setting up a left or right flipper shot - this was one of my concerns initially from seeing the layout - I prefer games where I can plan a shot with either flipper to get the ball to that other flipper - the pop bumpers let you do that. The game also have a neat feature where the inlane light if lit, multiplies your next shot by 2X. Talk about wanting to make that combo count - or time it with a super jackpot shot. The other modes are gonna be pretty cool too - there's plenty of inserts to differentiate between them and even though there are not a ton of shots it feels like there are plenty so that you're not just hammering away over and over again for the modes. Some people have commented that playing the game feels like you're just banging the ball around - I've found after each shot there's a tactical decision you can make on your next - the inserts are doing a great job with those limited shots in giving you direction on what you really should go for - hell, each of the main shots has four, yes four, inserts indicating which shots are now important. Still getting an understanding on how some of the rules work, but so far it's really fun. Can only imagine when everything is finalized. The other thing that I'm really enjoying is the multi-balls are easy to get, but don't necessarily give you the most points. Most of my big games where with going deep into a mode before starting multi-ball - I think this was important for them to get right, too many other STERN games where it seems like your best point strategy is just for going for the multi-balls, over and over and over again. This game is definitely going to reward the player that knows the rules on the machine and what to do.
The playfield is much better in person too - the flyer they posted makes the zombies by the flippers look like they have a blue hue - the real playfield is much cleaner with more greys that better fit the theme and don't contrast negatively with the red plastics and blood. Overall the colors in general just look better in person.
The dots are awesome. Watching them while my wife played was really fun. STERN got creative in the way they used zombies in the pinball world. Can't wait to see more of them. Adding heads to the fish tank especially had some cool dots. I thought the audio was good too - the background music is slightly different that the show, but a little faster to add some more tension. The sound FX are good, the voice call-outs aren't bad - yeah, everyone is bitching about how they didn't get the original guy to do the voice overs, but really, really, they're voices aren't really that great anyway - when you isolate them and listen to them on TV and then try to picture that on a pinball machine it's probably going to sound lame anyway. What I do hope is that they add a lot more call outs, as they are feeling like they got a little repetitive. As for the southern drawl for the audio callouts - well, the show does take place in the south, doesn't it?
A couple of things I didn't like - The start button is green - that should definitely have been red and will be swapped out! The inner orbit sometimes when hit really clean, bounces back down the inner orbit instead of going into the pops. A clean hit through the right orbit followed by a fast hit to the right ramp caused an airball once - could need a cover eventually. The extra ball is automatically redeemed on your next ball through the plunger lane - technically as long as you don't get the extra ball lit on your last ball you're going to get it without even having to shoot for it. Seems kinda dumb to make a shot for the extra ball if that's the way it's coded..
Overall, it's different from the pins I usually gravitate towards and is a nice complement in my line-up that already centers heavily on flow. Combine that with a theme my wife and I really enjoy and good lighting and music and I think we'll be playing it for a while.
With the LE's being so much more, I decided to stick with the Pro but plan adding some mods that are going to rival the LEs: Lighted fish tank with heads (may not be interactive but will look just as cool), upgrade to the prison roof top, as mentioned before - a RED start button, some more blood splatter decals on the clear plastics, zombie heads and bodies underneath the left ramp, maybe a couple of red spot lights near the back to add a deathly feel effect, katana stickers maybe on the flippers? Imagine simple line art of katanas printed on clear stuck to the flippers, each flick of the flipper you're chopping at the zombies attacking you on the playfield - minimal but cool? Zombie head shooter rod - or what about a shotgun shell shooter rod - firing the ball off?
Edmonton, AB
It's called pinball browser and I've taken Ac/dc from some total crap songs into pure music gold with the browser. 
Unknown City
Villejuif
