Dr. Dude screams early 90s, and its a fun theme, but of course dated. It also is of the alpha numeric era and of course Pre-DMD, which means its a bit before the 90s golden era of pinball.
This machine is not a bad one, but I don't think its a great one. While dated, it looks good, has nice energy and design that also is coherent and cohesive. I don't think the artwork is amazing, but it fits the fun silly theme. Backglass tells a silly story, and the cabinet and playfield look nice enough.
The pin has a nice sense of humor and the callouts are fun and while limited(as where all during this era), and I personally enjoy the callouts.
Its a silly theme, but the pin commits itself to the theme.
As for the layout, there really is nothing too exceptional about it. But, I do like how the code makes you utilize most of the playfield. Most... Not all...
As you really don't want to hit the right orbit. That sends you to the pops and when leaving the pops it most likely(not always) will go down the center lane and that could sometimes lead to SDTM drains. The skill shot is useless and not worth going for as it feeds into the pops.
The best thing to do is small plunge and try to get control and go from there.
My strategy is to get MB. Which you need to complete magnetic personality, heart of rock and roll and gift of gab.
It is possible to get these as rewards from the left orbit... But, not likely... Most of the time you already need to have 2 of the 3 completed to be rewarded with the last one.
From there you need to hit the mixer. Then you hit the left orbit. This increases the dude meter and starts MB.
When you're in the MB you want to hit the mixer and hope luck is with you and you get enough hits in the mixer to register the Jackpot.
Its rinse and repeat from there. You want to complete the dude meter and get the gazillion point shot. And that's all there is to the game.
But, really... I think its enough. Its can be a brutal game as there is no ball save and the SDTM due to the pops.
Which is why its important to soft plunge and get control. Still, just to hit the shots to qualify for MB can be quite dangerous. The heart of Rock and Roll is safer from the left the flipper, but if you miss it can go into the center lane and pops and then SDTM.
If you miss the gift of gab from the left flipper it can go into the right orbit.
Some games you might be able to hit it from the right flipper(some maybe not). So while this game might be simple... I do think it can be brutal.
I like the rules. Simple, but make sense and to get into MB the subsequent times is a little bit harder as you need to make more shots to qualify.
The mechs and gimmicks for this machine might be a bit tame by comparison by today's standards. The nice light for the dude ray is a decent effect and leads to a decent light show when you activate it.
The mixer is fun, but really makes the game a bit of a lottery. As you could hit it 5 times in a row and not register a hit(rare, but possible).
There is a bully toy sculpt and I do like that he taunts you, and you can bash him back... But, there really is no point to aim for that. As it'll just happen. But, its not a strategy you should go for or ever aim for. When he is lit and then subsequently hit, it lights the big points for the outlanes. Which can be nice when you drain down them. But, again... Not worth aiming for. You'll hit it plenty during your normal game play.
As I said above, I like the callouts. Not a lot of them, but I feel, enough and they're good.
I don't know if I ever would want to own this game. But, it is a fun game to play on occasion. I like party zone better, but then again Party Zone came out later and was a DMD.
Champaign, IL
