Title pretty much says it all. I know that everyone hates the which should I buy threads but this one has me a little stumped. Guardians is a dream theme for me, but I had a chance to play it locally and didn't love it. That being said, I think it was more the code than the shots, and I hope that will be fixed over time. I also know that I can wait for them to get it right before I buy it so no big rush. I currently have four Sterns in my collection and I thought that GOTG might be just more of the same and it seems like Sterns quality has been steadily slipping.

I really like the look of TNA, love the music, and love the light show. It's not something that will be available locally to play prior to purchase, so I'm probably going to have to jump in blind on this one. I really love the Spooky/Scott D. story and would love to support them, but the whole no ramps thing gives me pause and I'm not sure how much staying power it has. Definitively looks like fun and has the easy to learn hard to master aura to it. It just comes down to what do you consider a must have in a new pinball machine. I have four other games, so a change of pace game might be perfect, and I'll always have the mode based games to fall back on.

Houdini is another theme that I love, and I really like the look of this machine. Again, haven't had a chance to play one but a lot of the same arguments as TNA apply here. The trunk shot is one of the most impressive things I've seen in pinball in a while and Rosh in the Houdini thread has been so amazing I really want to support American Pinball as well. I have read that the shots are tight, so I worry about that a little.

So just to summarize:

GOTG: Pro's: Art, Theme, Price Con's: Gameplay?, Current Code, Quality Concerns
TNA: Pro's: Art, Music, Light Show, Company, Different Gameplay Con's: Lastability
HOUDINI Pro's: Art, Theme, Value for the money, Wow Factor, Company Con's: Most Expensive (still a great value) New Company, Tight Shots

Let me know what you think and thank you for your time.

I thought I was fairly clear about what I liked/disliked about each machine. I don't think that TNA or Houdini will be available to play in my area for the foreseeable future, so it's a gamble either way. By your logic I should only buy GOTG or wait indefinitely. I was hoping to get opinions because I'm sort of split and they are all very different machines. Thanks for chiming in though.

It looks like VUK is 4 hours from my place, so definitely an overnight trip for me but something I’ll consider. Thanks to all that have voted/voiced an opinion so far.

It’s crazy how close the voting is with 56 votes in. The fact that GOTG is only at 13% really says something about how Stern released that game. Either that or people are convinced that TNA and Houdini are something special. Probably a combination of the two.

And thus my dilemma. Music and lights vs theme and value for the money. All good choices, even GOTG possibly someday.