If this game had been made a few years later, Data East would have licensed the movie "Down Periscope" and it would be absolutely perfect. With that in mind, after playing multiple dozens (maybe even beyond 100+) of titles in the past 3 years, I can honestly say Torpedo Alley is my biggest surprise hit, stupid-grin fun discovery... I liked it so much I had to have one. Why?
Let's address the battleship in the room first: that backglass - you either love it or hate it. Personally I adore the ridiculous campiness of it - like a porn shoot for pinball, in the best lighthearted way. If you get past the costumes there are some clever bits in the art, like a space shuttle on an aircraft carrier (what?!) in addition to sea life and hapless dudes on a raft in the battlefield. (Again, think "Down Periscope" long before the movie was filmed, and it the overall execution of the theme starts to make sense). Add a unique layered translite 3-D effect, and displays integrated to the con, and you objectively have a well-done image.
While I'm on the art subject, the rest of the cab is beautiful: nautical blue with sharp red white and red trim, featuring the clever TA bobcat logotype and a smart sailor in uniform in front of an anchor - really well done. The playfield is fun to take in with different boats (easter egg names), sharks, refugees, 80s-futuristic aircraft, and a near-field perspective of the captain taking it in through binoculars: a clever and colorful hand-drawn original.
Maybe someday an alt translite will be available for those who can't stand the cheese, but I think it's perfect as is because it's goofy fun - and the gameplay is also just too much goofy fun!
It's not super deep: you essentially have 3 target banks representing ships to attack. Complete each bank to sink each ship, increase your bonus, wash rinse repeat. However the interest is upped by attempting to increase lucrative multipliers via the rollovers, cash in bonuses via the drop bank in the back, and of course locking for multiball, which is a blast and easy to start. And there are modes in this game too, albeit linear: if you sink enough ships you're prompted to "destroy the fleet" by making timed shots, which are quite lucrative. There is even a progressive jackpot that's cued for award: shoot the right habitrail when the game starts to rap.
Rap? That's right: it was made in '88 baby, so in addition to the numerous callouts which are both serious and funny, you can hear a "whoop! Whoop!" during a particular break-beat music track. DE was heavily promoting their new "digital stereo" sound system at this time and you might be shocked at how good it still is. It easily blows away B/W/GTB games of the era, even some that came out years later. As for Torpedo Alley, the booms of sinking ships are clear and deep and rewarding, while pop bumper action is like attending a 4th of July celebration. A generous soundtrack of at least 8 different original "songs" awaits, most of them loosely tied to a military theme. Mode tracks increase drama and tension when needed, and achievement tracks (and lightshows) are fantastic. You might find yourself cradling a ball just to let the music play uninterrupted. (But make sure to fix the DE "speaker hum bug" for the best possible experience - it's worth it!)
But why is the game so much fun? It just IS. I dare anyone to not grin the first time they get multiball and the klaxon blares out ("DIVE DIVE DIVE!") - or any time they do it after. Keep a ball out of the outlanes and the JAWS theme will keep you on your toes. A "LASER kickback" made no military sense then, but hey it was the 80's so you just had to have lasers! You can play it mindlessly for the great light shows and explosions, fantastic sound effects, funny callouts, JAWS homage, and wonderful music: the game is forgiving enough to offer newbie-friendly ball times. And it even has a continue option - which was almost unheard of for the time.
But, you can dive deep and aim your shots at specific goals, and discover that this game is FAST when set up properly and will brutally bite back when you least expect it, with some sucker shots and lightning orbits for good measure. The geometry doesn't require a lot of flipper trickery and there aren't too many backhand shots. The upper right flipper seems useless at first but, set up right, you can slow, cradle, nudge, and aim shots and so it becomes the key to great scores. And you can never be 100% certain where the ball will go even if you think you are... did I say this game is fast? It's among the first things my kids tell their friends about it, and I have a Firepower a few feet away so they know what fast is. Makes sense to be named for torpedoes...
As for gimmicks: the launch shot is interesting as it crosses the pf and disappears behind it before reappearing into the rollovers. Sound effects are great, and the spinner shot is especially responsive with effects keyed to how hard it's hit. The "sinking ship" in the binoculars is too fast to see, but clever... LED flashers really make the explosions pop! A word of caution: LED GI is great in this game, but disconnect the GI relay flasher if you don't want to have a seizure.
DE put a lot into this game for its era, but sadly only sold 1,000 of them. Likely far less than that survive so if you ever see one, you owe it to yourself to take the con and launch a shot - you might be pleasantly surprised at how much fun pure silly pinball can be. "Ahooga ooga!"