Stern
Batman (The Dark Knight) Pinside Rating
This game received 347 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.744 /10
Batman (The Dark Knight)
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game Design: 7.847
Artwork: 7.632
Sounds/Music: 7.216
Other Aspects: 7.854
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 8 of us have rated this game.
Found 193 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 193 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 5 of 8.
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Louisville, KY
7.920/10
11 years ago
BDK is a great game for both new and experienced players. I say this because, at face value, a player immediately notices the joker drop and the crane. So a new player will probably keep shooting at the Joker, starting a MB that way, or will eventually hit the crane scoop, starting the crane which they will shoot for and eventually start MB that way. Other than that, a new player could probably care less about the other features of the pf. A more experienced player who has bothered to learn BDK's rules will be in for a much different experience. The game has alot more going on than it initially shows. Without going in depth on too much, the biggest key to high scores on this game in the mine multiplier. Without skillfully using the mine multiplier, a good game may net 100-150mil. Using the mine multiplier to your advantage would make the same game doubled to tripled. Activating and choosing which shots get multiplied is a really neat idea, however, this brings me to my complaint.
To start the mine multiplier, you must shoot the two white targets about 5 times. Sounds easy enough, but the positioning of these targets are very dangerous and will either lead SDTM or into the slings and possibly down the outlanes. So while I love the idea, the only safe time to start hitting these is during MBs, but the problem there is that you might activate a lane you don't wish to multiply due to all the balls in play.
Moving from gameplay to pin features, the crane is amazing. Most people hate the Joker can, but I kind of like it since it signals to me when my super Jackpots are going to start up. I just think it's silly that first you see the Joker charector and then it spins to a picture of his face. It would have made more since to be a picture of Batman standing over the Joker or something victorious looking. As for the Batmobile see-saw, yeah, not much sense to that one.
The only big negative I give this game is for the speach. It simply makes no sense why they clip some speach from the movie, yet also have voice-overs. The voice-overs make it very confusing to know who is even talking as most sound the same and are awful. Since there are a number of speach clips from the film in the pin, why not ONLY use speach clips from film??? I'm sure there's some reason for it, just have no idea what.
To start the mine multiplier, you must shoot the two white targets about 5 times. Sounds easy enough, but the positioning of these targets are very dangerous and will either lead SDTM or into the slings and possibly down the outlanes. So while I love the idea, the only safe time to start hitting these is during MBs, but the problem there is that you might activate a lane you don't wish to multiply due to all the balls in play.
Moving from gameplay to pin features, the crane is amazing. Most people hate the Joker can, but I kind of like it since it signals to me when my super Jackpots are going to start up. I just think it's silly that first you see the Joker charector and then it spins to a picture of his face. It would have made more since to be a picture of Batman standing over the Joker or something victorious looking. As for the Batmobile see-saw, yeah, not much sense to that one.
The only big negative I give this game is for the speach. It simply makes no sense why they clip some speach from the movie, yet also have voice-overs. The voice-overs make it very confusing to know who is even talking as most sound the same and are awful. Since there are a number of speach clips from the film in the pin, why not ONLY use speach clips from film??? I'm sure there's some reason for it, just have no idea what.
4.990/10
11 years ago
This game is not for me. No offense but the new Stern cabinets feel cheap and plastic to me. But with that said I dont mind the play of some of the games. Just the play fields look like they are from Toys R Us. Games lack character. Just my opinion.
8.752/10
11 years ago
I got the chance to play this game in a private collection today with a Sub and it is awesome...The game has the coolest toys and playfield. It feels like a much better Junkyard but with awesome sound and multiballs! If you haven't played a well maintained example you should because it would blow your mind. There should be more love for this game....
Hornchurch
Newmarket, ON
8.211/10
11 years ago
I'm with everyone else on this one. The crane is awesome! Especially at level 2, when it's dancing all over the board. This is when you really need that multi-ball A lot less complicated than most of your modern machines. Except for the side drains, it was way too easy to make me feel challenged.
8.392/10
11 years ago
The crane is one of my favorite gimmicks ever in pinball, though the Joker toy is kind of pointless. The voices can be a bit cheesy at times but they still amuse me enough. I love it every time Scarecrow says "JAAACKPOT!", as repetitive as it can be. Nice overall package with excellent use from both movies.
7.883/10
11 years ago
What a stormer of a pin. Really, really exciting table with tons to do and loads of challenge.
This has to be one of my top 5 fave pins of all time.
The voice-a-likes they have for the sound are crap though. The only real downside to an excellent game.
This has to be one of my top 5 fave pins of all time.
The voice-a-likes they have for the sound are crap though. The only real downside to an excellent game.
North Rocks
7.310/10
11 years ago
After the code update, this game is now pretty good. Batpod multiball still feels out of place and looks like it was just thrown in there. I like the rules, but the scoring is very unbalanced with the 3x and 2x multipliers. Could have been so much more, but I do like it the way it is.
7.129/10
11 years ago
this is a good game overall. One of my favorites from the newer sterns. It's still no LOTR's but it's good.
6.553/10
11 years ago
Played this a lot, the title draws you in but if you are a true player it just get's stale.. fast. Long ball times, and the crane gets old (I had a lot of center drains off of the crane shots, but you have to hit them in the locations that cause the drains). After about 20 plays, I didn't find myself caring to play more.
7.423/10
11 years ago
Batman:DK is a pretty decent game, but I really am not happy with the sound package and how they handled the theme. The music is pretty lousy (particularly the main theme which is repetitive and sub-average. It is almost like they tried to SOUND like the real theme, but didn't want to get sued...so you get this bastardized version of the theme).
The voices stink, too. You get "fake Batman impersonator", and "fake Alfred impersonator", and then top it off with "fake Joker impersonator." Yee....haw. There are SOME quotes directly from the movie, but they are generally softer than the rest of the quotes.
They seriously couldn't get more voice clips from the movie? If that was the case, at least hire Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill from the animated series and have THEM record a couple voice lines. Instead it is just sucky knock-offs that take me right out of the game.
So, the theme is a mixed bag. There are very few DMD animations from the movie, so you get a mish-mash of "hand-drawn dots" and movie animations. I don't quite get it...you either have the license to make a Batman pin, or you don't.
The saving grace is that the gameplay is pretty decent. Shots feel nice and solid, and the crane is a nifty toy. The ruleset is reasonably enjoyable, with a mid-range goal to shoot for and a wizard mode that I will probably never see.
The cabinet is really nice looking, too.
The voices stink, too. You get "fake Batman impersonator", and "fake Alfred impersonator", and then top it off with "fake Joker impersonator." Yee....haw. There are SOME quotes directly from the movie, but they are generally softer than the rest of the quotes.
They seriously couldn't get more voice clips from the movie? If that was the case, at least hire Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill from the animated series and have THEM record a couple voice lines. Instead it is just sucky knock-offs that take me right out of the game.
So, the theme is a mixed bag. There are very few DMD animations from the movie, so you get a mish-mash of "hand-drawn dots" and movie animations. I don't quite get it...you either have the license to make a Batman pin, or you don't.
The saving grace is that the gameplay is pretty decent. Shots feel nice and solid, and the crane is a nifty toy. The ruleset is reasonably enjoyable, with a mid-range goal to shoot for and a wizard mode that I will probably never see.
The cabinet is really nice looking, too.
7.888/10
11 years ago
Pretty solid game, but certainly not better than IM. The crane is cool, but has been done too many times. Too many repeated shots. played it on location and dumped a lot of quarters, but not up to SM, IM or other superhero themes. Would be fun to own and mod.
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