I am with you Beez. Played it at Expo and thought it was really fun. Fun theme, good flow and fun call outs. We didn't play enough to grok the rule set, so maybe that is what people are hating on.

i really enjoy mine !

Play it a couple hundred more times and you'll see. Multiball progression or lack thereof seems to be most peoples' major complaint gameplay wise. It's one of the major reasons why I sold mine. If the code update in December addresses that I would seriously consider picking one up again.

Some people are never happy, it's great fun. Everyone that plays, likes it.

I have not spent enough time with it but it does seem like a fun game. Maybe a code update will bring this title back in favor

Apparently not.

I think Stern overhyped this pin with disinformation as to what people were really getting it. Soured a lot of LE owners out of the box.

I think the game is annoying, cannot stand the violent lock kickout so close to the flippers. Too uncontrollable and can kill a good game with one kickout. Maybe a weaker coil or something but I find it irritating that I am avoiding a major element of the game to avoid this kickout.

The upper right playfield is also a waste IMO, scoring is meh and stops ball flow when getting trapped behind the gate. The stand up figure target is also very inconsistent in registering and creates uncontrollable air balls.

I don't hate the game but sod think it has some shortcomings in design and software.
Oh yeah, the QRcodes are pretty cool though. wtf was the point of that selling point?

Just an unfinished game.

Played it, read the comments but went with my own impressions and bought one. Love it! Read the TF vs Xmen thread and you will see what current owners think. Most of us all like this game a lot !

TF LE is a great game and on my wishlist

Very fun, but very one sided strategy as well. The modes are practically worthless as far as I could tell, I put up a #3 or 2 score at the pinball hall of fame in vegas a month ago by just going for two things: playfield multipliers, and starting bumblebee and megatron at the same time.

I think Stern really learned their lesson with the whole TF trailer debacle. What i really don't understand is why they put that transforming toy in the video in the first place. Did they really expect that people wouldn't expect that to be in there? If you put that toy in a concept movie afterwards about stuff that didn't make the cut, sure most would be dissapointed, but nobody would blame Stern anything because no assumptions were created.

I really hope for GG that he has a very cool toy for Avengers, because he talked about a cool hulk toy bashing the playfield with a shaker adding the effects in a radioshow. So people got their hopes up again. If you talk about something in detail, you better be pretty sure your actual toy is going to at least live up to such promises.

Now i personally was dissapointed that the featured toy in the video was not included, but i can still judge the game accordingly. TF is a great game imo, and will hopefully be a classic if the update does add some needed stuff to it. So let's hope that they are up to the task at hand here.

too difficult for the average player to complete the modes, Great fun game, mine is going to stay in my collection for a long time....Few who have written bad reviews have never played one.

No hate here, plenty of us in Minnesota bought one and love it and still own it.
Another big code update in the next 30 days or so. I think the game is fantastic !
Personally, it's one of Lonnie's best coded games.
Theme, voices, sounds, layout, speed and fun factor all a winner.

Most of the hate comes from people who pre-ordered with certain expectations that Stern published and did not keep. I feel they have every right to be upset and I would be pissed if I was in their position as well. But as perryd said lots of people who wrote bad reviews never owned one and just wanted to pile on. Now that TF has been out for sometime most of the people know what TF has to offer and it's ending up in peoples hands who appreciate the game for what it is. Is it perfect, no, but not every game is perfect and you can nearly find flaws with all of them. The upper right PF is the biggest complaint but for now can be made better by removing the gate and maybe they will tweak it in the next update. IMO (notice I said MY) I enjoy it better then some of their other recent releases like Tron, X-MEN, and AC/DC.

TFLE is awesome! It does lack in code for end game content. Fix the roadblocks and add a few twists to the end game it's an A+

Do a search. There's like 20 threads about this.

Short version: Poor design, broken promises, fake Optimus voice, unfun code issues.

Your opinion in the minority.

oh bollocks

Those aren't opinions, those are facts.

Poor design: Shooter lane launches ball into the air. Allspark lane gives bounces out a lot due to long rollback lane. Megatron trough often needs tweaking to work right. Optimus needs tweaking to work right. Center loop shot when ramp down clunks instead of looping smoothly (like MB). Design of Ironhide playfield is goofy due to the gate/Ironhide dragging on backboard

Promises were not delivered. Extra spinner, rotating All-Spark, Megatron's glowing red eyes, QR Codes, etc. This is a fact.

Optimus does in fact have a fake voice. It is not Peter cullen.

Unfun code...OK, that's my opinion but is shared by many due to the Optimus roadblock. This is allegedly being fixed so at that time I will take it back.

You can still like the game despite those facts...that's cool w/ me.

Don't you know? As goes Minnesota, so goes the entire pinball community.

Yep. Once a game gets a bad rap early, it's can be hard for it to shake that reputation, whether it's warranted or not. We saw the same thing happen with Avatar, TRS, etc ... I'm not necessarily defending these games. I'm just saying that people tend to approach them with preconceived biases and don't always give them a fair shot.

I'm a TF-LE owner and do enjoy the game, but for serious players it's just plain unfit. Stupid issues like inconsistent ball locks in the Megatron trough… for instance if the 4th ball goes in via the skill shot lane, but doesn't fall into line on the switch right away it can count as a lock. When starting Megatron multiball balls that fail to make the pops can fall in thru the skill shot lane too and cause legitimate shots to Megatron not to count. Balls bounce off Optimus & land in the Ironhide playfield & get stuck, then when they DO get released they count as a right ramp shot.

Simply the fact that auto-plunged balls don't consistently make it to the pops is a major downer & causes unnecessary grief. A game shouldn't need so much babying/tweaking to just LAUNCH a damn ball.

I have no skin in this game but Rarehero is right on in this post. This summarizes the consensus of many pinheads who own(ed) the game I've spoken to as well. It's not a horrible game but they over promised. I'm hoping the XMas code update makes up for much of this for its owners and us players.

Yeah, look - at the end of the day...it's OK. I can say cool things about it. It's got great music and sound FX. I like the license. The Starscream voice is good. The Cullen quotes from the movies are good. The two-rule pick-a-side concept is cool. The ramps and plastics look awesome.

If we're going to "woulda-coulda-shoulda" review it...we all know it could have been soooo much sweeter with way cooler mechanical toys and physical features using the license better.

If we're going to "it is what it is" review it...it's OK. Looking at the game as a whole experience, I hit the point where I just didn't feel compelled to hit start anymore. For me, there are just better games with similar layouts and I'd rather give the spot in my gameroom to one of those other games. I'd certainly play it at someone else's house...things aren't always so black and white.

Hey lets not forget the home TF model has the promised spinning all spark.

For me I think it's sticking around. I go through waves of playing it quite a bit then it falls out of favor again. However, as a collector & long time Transformers fan it's a keeper, if for no other reason than the license & the artwork.

Granted, I'm the guy who still has unopened G1 Tranformers in boxes on my office bookshelf.

Hmm, sounds familiar.

You must have really big shelves!

Never under stood the hate for TF. I played a pro last fall after it came out and thought it was fun.
This summer when everyone was buying X Men and TF was in a price slump , I picked up a TF Decepticon with a FF speaker upgrade and a LED back box kit installed in it from a distributer with only 16 plays on it for $4900. It was even shipped in the box as if it was a NIB from Stern so it still had that NIB feel to it when I unboxed it.

I thought twice on it because everyone was buying X Men and dumping there TF at a loss, but I thought to my self, why should I not buy it just because others dont care for it. I played a TF pro and enjoyed it, its a beautiful game and would look great in my game room and it was a TF Decepticon, a LE, some thing that would probably go up in value in time, so I bought it.

Looking back, Its one of my best pinballs I have ever bought. Lots of fun.

Ben is back

So based on your assement of TF you should hate X-Men.

Unfun Code: Check
Fake Voices: Check Check
Poor Design: Check Check Check

I'm just messing with you.

It's about time.

nah just popped in for a bit not back at all. Just closing up loose ends is all.

You saw a TF thread and couldn't resist. lol

Like a crack head searching the carpet for the rock he dropped the night before

Yeah, this is what really bothers me about the game. I didn't play it very much, but I would never want to own a game where you basically launch the ball off of something into the air/glass/playfield... just a bad idea. I mean, you're asking to chip plastics and ding up your PF.

You must have been playing a bit fo a lemon version of this game... the kickout from mine is consistantly catchable and never results in the ball draining... ever...

I'm sure the hate, as others have said, is from the promise of a transforming toy... Personally I don't give a crap about this... there are more moving toys on this thing than any pin I know, and OP does do a kind of mini-transformation if you push hid breast plate down before playing

Yes, the game does need a decent code update, but to be honest, even if it doesn't get one, I'd still keep it as it is... would certainly like them to do an update, but really hope they don't put progress memory on the main MBs... this will take away the reward for doing these in one visit and make them as lame as the sub modes in terms of the reward you get for completing them the fisrt time... Currently you get nothing (apart from some weak score boost) for completing the sub-modes in one visit... if they add progress memory to the main MB, then NOTHING will have a reward for being completed in one visit...

What they SHOULD do instead of MB progress memory is award the player with a single shot after completing a sub-mode in one visit where they pick off a shot (using the yellow triangles) that is then removed from the main MB... A bit like the shot multipliers... the chosen yellow triangle will stay lit for the rest of the game until the player moves to the 'other side' when they re-set... of course while in a mode the yellow triangles will show that modes progress... That way the main MBs will be easier to defeat (by completing sub-modes in one visit) AND you'll get a cool benefit of completing sub-modes in one visit!! For me this would transform this game!! Get it... TRANSFORM this game hahaha...

Aren't there fixes for these things? Like the shooter lane, non registering hits, airballs?

I don't know if it is a lemon or not, I just know that I have lost several balls due to how strong that kickout is and it kills it for me. Maybe it needs a weaker coil, I don't know.

Should be fine. It's not like its coming out of a cannon. Sorry, I couldn't resit. Seriously though, should cause less risk than AC/DC, T2, STTNG, etc.

This is just a love it or hate it pin. I love it. Others love to hate it. That what makes things fun and brings diversity. In fact though, outside of about half a dozen members I don't see that much hate anymore and those members have their valid reasons (as they impacted them) to not like it. Maybe TF will be the next MM... Yes, I know million to one odds but don't forget that MM was hated by most when it came out and vendors dumped their stock. So wish I was in the hobby then...

I had fun playing it but got bored of it. As for the LE version I didn't like the mini playfield personally.

Did that happen w/ MM!? From what I've heard, MM was always a strong earner and well liked...from what I understand, it was CV, NGG, and TOTAN that were dumped by distribs for $1800 NIB.

Yup. Most thought their were to many toys. Not sure how well it earned but I've heard a couple of distributors say this that were around then. I thought that was odd as when it hit the arcades I remembered dumping a ton in one for months. I was in high school then so couldn't buy one but wanted one bad. Just what I've heard though that it wasn't welcomed by most pinheads then.

Well, there ya go...why do you care what others think? Your gameroom, your games.

When the prices on these fell so much - I picked one up - really is a good deal at this price point

Scott

Yes...it's a game you are talking aboot. A lot of people like some games and a lot of people don't; that's literally ANYTHING. Card games, board games, sex games; whatever. If you get too upset aboot people not liking the game, it's the same thing as defending it to the end.

EDIT: As we always say; better everyone hates the game you like....get it for cheap.

Exactly...but hey, how come I can't find a cheap Rolling Stones!? I think that game got more hate than anything recently!!!

After hearing all the negative comments about the game I found one a while back. Put about 4 straight hours in on it. I enjoyed it. Last night I found out the same place got an AC/DC to replace the TRON next to transformers. Put about 3.5 hours in on it last night. Never played transformers once and I would take AC/DC over it any day. Wish they kept TRON and replaced transformers with it instead.

Ypu'll love it. I love the couple I played....I also have some Gen 1 Tranformers still NIB so maybe I am bias

I hope you'll get the 'loft ball fix' pack with it... if not, you should tell Stern... just give them your serial number and they should post you one!