Pinside rating

This game has received 38 approved Pinsider ratings. 12 more approved ratings are needed to get a rating and for it to be eligible for the Pinside Pinball Top 100 ranking.

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6.86

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Found 21 ratings (with comment) on this game

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8.104/10

9 months ago

CCS

Mad_Dog_Coin_Op

Mad Dog Coin Op

Redondo Beach, CA

5y 118K 2,742 14 14 1

Gottlieb gets no love. I am here to tell you that the Gottlieb System 3 games are rock solid and fun. The best two are Stargate and Barb Wire. Sure, the games are easy and not very deep. In my opinion, deep code can either make a game great or suck all the fun out of it. There is no fear of that happing with Barb Wire. It has a simple rule set with a bunch going on. Even a bad player can experience multiball. Barb Wire is fast paced, and the theme translates well into pinball. The movie is even coming around as being a cult favorite. It is pretty rare with only 1000 made. Play it if you have a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The only real negative I have is more of a missed opportunity. I wish Pam Anderson did the call outs.

Mad_Dog_Coin_Op currently owns this game.

8.933/10

1 year ago

DWL

DavidLee

Pinball Outpost

6y 48,800 91 38 1

I'm not a Pamela Anderson fan. I have never seen the Barb Wire movie, and wouldn't know it existed if it were not for this pinball machine. So, the theme itself doesn't do anything for me.

Overall it is a great playing game, and there's enough challenge and variety to keep you coming back for another game. The timing of the Big Fatso shot opening and closing is fun and the toy is interesting. The ramp shots are fun with good flow and the a good balance in how easy it is to hit them. The modes are varied, interesting, and fun to play. The playfield is a bit dark. I added LEDs throughout on mine, and that helps a lot.

What I don't like is that it's not really kid friendly between the the backglass and the sounds. You hear Pamela Anderson moaning every time you get a letter in "BARB WIRE", which happens a lot. People can decide their own limits, but some find the backglass a bit risque.

I'll keep this game for a couple of years, but will likely swap it for a different game.

6.867/10

2 years ago

TSE

thetylander

Pinside member

9y 46,800 56 10 48

I can’t judge this game on Pamela Anderson or Barb Wire. Don’t care for her and never saw Barb Wire. I remember it was a thing, but I never watched Baywatch or anything else she was involved in… not my cup of tea.
The theme is half the game and ones based on a movie/TV license deal have more (or less) going for them depending on the quality of the licensed product.
BUT… even a bad licensed IP can produce a good pinball, just as easily as a good IP can be a terrible game. Sadly, the license can make up for a terrible machine and there are quite a few mediocre pinball machines that are in the top 200 on pinside and elsewhere simply because it has a great product to sell you.

This isn’t either of them.
The game is disappointing. It appears it was made with the idea that the blonde celebrity on the backglass was enough investment in the game creation process.
It probably was in its time.
Looking at it in current day 2021, that’s a blonde woman dressed in a sexy outfit, who is in her mid fifties.
Ick!!!
Imagine if you got one with a overheated wrinkled saggy translight!!! It would be accurate at least!
I played this game recently simply because I never had. I gave it a good long test, hours, and in the end really wished I had tried something else.
I obviously didn’t understand the theme or references. One could say I should have done research beforehand, but I wanted to see what it was like for a normal human coming across one, not a fanboy who studied the subject material (Heh Heh Heh) in preparation. Most people would say meh. It plays, it’s got lights, it’s fun to some extent, but this is not great.
I am sure there are fans out there who will swear it the greatest game ever and someone should love it. You know, besides Tommy Lee of course. Unless you have an unconditional love of Pamela Anderson, best to not bother.

6 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.136/10

2 years ago

JDK

Kalegari

Pinside apprentice

Curitiba

2y 17,000 4 29

Terrible movie, very good game. Underrated in my opinion. Deserves higher position.

Kalegari has owned this game in the past.

5.388/10

2 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 158K 1,449 51 1004

Pamela Anderson got her pinball game.

yay..

The Pros:
A decent Dr. Who like layout with some interesting shots. The right ramp in particular that can be shot from both left hand side flippers is pretty sweet. The right ramp to the upper left hand flipper feed feels great! A solid wizard mode (Haywire) that makes you work for the big points after the timer/ first collect is done. If the mechs and the flippers are well set up, this game shoots well. Get to the wizard mode and tear it up! Most modes are mini-multiballs, so gameplay is engaging. A solid effort to make a good playing game. Easy to understand rules and a rando 100m shot is always exciting to collect. Tournament mode is a welcome addition as compared to the shoot the mystery hole for the win. Slings award 10 mil (Sound familiar?) No? Zilch is much better! Combos are fun. As it should be.

The Cons:
The theme. Super Sucker saucers under the playfield stop flow and make you wait for the ball to get back to you. System 3 trapper-flappers make holding the ball a dream for the people who love to hold the ball as long as they want to. Even with a good layout, the rules are all about haywire. That's the thing with this game. A fun game to play as long as you don't care about your score. Artwork and animations are sub-par. Makes you wonder why this was the last gottlieb/premier game ever made. What a way to go out. Reveal match number... really?!?

The Takeaway:
A game that shoots well and has lots of fun on the table. May be the best sys3 game other than Stargate. Can be had for cheap. Worth every penny.

Pam Anderson, meet mad max.

Sure.

7.898/10

2 years ago

RHK

R67en

Pinside member

Iowa City, IA

5y 31,400 31 17 17

Bought this game solely because it was cheap and have been pleasantly surprised. The theme is stupid, but the game's a lot of fun. Lot of things to shoot at on the playfield, and good modes to play. Very happy for with the game. Ignoring the theme, the game is way underrated.

R67en currently owns this game.

7.628/10

4 years ago

JLW

ShrunkenHeadsman

Inactive member

5y 18,500 1 1 6

If you're into the System 3 games, this one isn't so bad. I mean, they're all gimmicky as hell. It's better than a lot of the other System 3 games. At least Barb Wire has a hot theme, some killer sound and plays pretty fast and furious. The multiball modes are fun and plentiful, and theme and artwork are well executed. I didn't really know where to give this one low marks, except for maybe the rules took me about ten games to understand. I recently played this in an arcade that had nine other machines, and I probably went back and played Barb Wire the most. I'm also in the minority of those who don't think the movie is bad, either. Pam Anderson is cool in it, and at least you know what to expect!

7.940/10

4 years ago

BRB

MysticPinball

Pinside member

Badjeros, ON

9y 48,900 37 35

Spend some time with this title and you will find that there's a good amount of depth and fun to it. I've played about 200 games on it in 4 days and I am loving it. The Haywire mode is intense. Overall the game is challenging and I am a fan of Jon Norris designs. Personally I like the art and theme. Sexy, definately not cartoonish or goofy. Extensive use of oranges and red on black always looks good. Being Gottliebs last game and low production adds to the appeal. Affordable in the DMD realm. Feels and appears to be very well built.

MysticPinball edited previous rating on January 04, 2019.

7.413/10

4 years ago

MLF

quasiflannel

Pinside member

Harpers Ferry, WV

5y 37,400 25 7 12

funner then its rating suggests . a little repetitive but bonus rounds and multiballs are cool and rules a fairley deep once you get them all and makes for fun play. HAYWIRE round is really cool.

quasiflannel has owned this game in the past.

10.000/10

5 years ago

???

silen7ce

Pinside member

Easton, MA

6y 46,600 298 11

Have had this game for about a month and at this point have given it enough play time to review. I have to say that this game is severely underrated. Gottlieb gets a bad wrap for many of their system 3 games but this machine is a ton of fun. Scoring can be a bit lopsided but if players know the rules its balanced enough to be competitive. Lots of fun shots. The third flipper really adds to the layout. The modes are fun. The music is cheesy but works for the theme. Callouts are good. With LEDs, the playfield, toys and ramps really pop. Reliability wise, the system 3s are fantastic. If you can pick one up, I'd highly recommend it!

Update: I have now owned this title for longer than any other game in my collection and it is bolted down. You simply can't get this gameplay out of any other game in its price range. Highly recommend.

silen7ce edited previous rating on September 30, 2021.

7.584/10

5 years ago

GIL

Imagineerie

Pinside member

9y 44,550 7 190

This is a better game than I expected. I haven't gotten enough plays on it to really determine how good it actually is, but but first impressions were favorable.

7.852/10

7 years ago

JAR

John37

Inactive member

7y 32,150 9 11

Really enjoy this game. Fun ramps, interesting, if not overly simple, skill shot with Big Fatso mech toy (who is also a good antagonist with entertaining call outs). Enjoyed the movie as well as a B-movie, dystopian sci-fi and Gottlieb did a good job of correlating the movie to the pinball themes. Colors and playfield look very nice, particularly with LEDs, which help light up the very dark back of the pf.

John37 edited previous rating on April 08, 2016.

8.760/10

7 years ago

ALX

allicks

Pinside member

Calgary, AB

8y 47,850 48 29 31

Artwork is top notch. Pam is always easy on the eyes from that Era. Movie wasn't good but Gottlieb did a great job on converting to a game. Game play is great and it's beautiful to look at to boot.

allicks has owned this game in the past.

9.000/10

8 years ago

DAN

BeaverBrewing

Pinside member

Beaver Falls, PA

10y 80,150 289 7 282

Personally, I think this is the best System 3 game out there. Art package is dead on. Great rendering of Pam and the side art is probably some of the best you will find for the era.

I also think this has the best flow of system 3's. No stop and go that SF2 or Tee'd off has. Layout and gameplay pair nicely. Rules are deeper than some system 3's and take a few plays to get used to. While the scoring can be unbalanced, nowhere near the chaos of a Gladiators.

DMD is pretty damn good for system 3's as well. Rescue 911 and SF2 are damn near terrible.

Sound is great. Pam has some nice callouts...but the music could use a bit more variation.

Ramps are smooth...playfield art is good...backglass is unreal...given some better rules I think this game would get alot more love.

The skill shot is an actual "shot". Not a simple plunge and roll over something that is blinking. I like the "LENS"...again, there are several shots on this board and many things to do...not boring at all.

If you see one on location (good luck), drop a few quarters in....Only 1,000 produced and I am sure much less are in circulation.

BeaverBrewing currently owns this game.

6.250/10

8 years ago

SAP

seshpilot

Pinside member

11y 112K 2,452 169 2

I really wanted to hate this game. It's so ugly, so cheap looking, and based off a terrible franchise. Yet, this pin is in fact quite fun. The skill shot is really good, there's some super cool toys, and the shots feel good overall! Yes the artwork is terrible (still a step above some of the newer Stern Photoshop copy and paste pins) and yes the callouts get quite old, but the gameplay is really good. Decent pin if found for the right price. Between this and Baywatch, Pam seems to make for good pinball.

8.296/10

9 years ago

KID

blowback1976

Pinside+ Addict

10y 99,050 1,324 5 40

I love this game. It's very simple to get into, and it has a nice pace too. Art package is pretty good, and Pam isn't too hard on the eyes. Shots are usually easy to make, and 4 ball multiball is a blast. My only major complaint with this game is that there is no video modes for the DMD.

Terrible movie, but the pin is a blast.

blowback1976 has this game on the wishlist.

6.540/10

9 years ago

JLM

jlm33

Pinside member

Villejuif

11y 152K 5,890 7 169

OK, Pamela is sexy... Backglass is cool. PF artwork is bad. Rules are even worse, with unbalanced scoring. The right ramp seems clunky. The skill shot is boring after a while.

Overall, fun to try for a few games, but ages very fast.

jlm33 edited previous rating on September 28, 2014.

7.624/10

10 years ago

FLY

foureyedcharlie

Pinside member

Lincoln, NE

11y 72,550 959 9 13

Underrated pin for sure. I Don't hate sys 3, Ruleset is not super deep, but it has some really great long shots that are hard to make everytime. Theme is not strong, but cool in the right setting, I love the flow of this table.

foureyedcharlie edited previous rating on March 18, 2015.
foureyedcharlie has owned this game in the past.

6.860/10

11 years ago

DEL

SealClubber

Pinside Moderator

14y 126K 11,033 244

One of the better looking Gottliebs out there. Gameplay is average. Still has that clunky Gottlieb feel where the ball bounces around in the ramps instead of flowing up them. Sounds and dots are just as cheesy as the movie.

8.888/10

12 years ago

???

accetta

Inactive member

Pittsburgh, PE

13y 8,750 2 16 13

interesting and fun pin to play .. not too many produced ,alot of fun and any pin with pam is great for man cave !!!

accetta has owned this game in the past.

6.625/10

14 years ago

RAY

bugray

Inactive member

Basingstoke

14y 54,650 697 97

Not that great, but not unplayable, excellent backglass.

1

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