If you had to pick one "newer" Stern title...

[retroACTIVE]

The bad news is, I can't narrow it down to one. The good news is, you really can't go wrong with any of those. At this point, you'd probably have to go by which theme or gameplay style is your favorite.

I've posted these before- but here are some gameplay vids I made of each of these games:

Lord of the Rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVD_7H11SQ4
Simpsons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieXve8W1PhA&hd=1
Family Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpJs97rm0FQ&hd=1

If I had to order them in terms of my "theme" preference it would be

LOTR
FGY
TSPP

I've played them all (briefly)... Simpson's seems to get good marks however I'm not a huge Simpson's fan but to be fair I would have to give it another try...

 

[stevenp61]

TSPP. If you could only have one Stern, TSPP has the best rules. Since the flow sucks, you could always get a Shadow or a AFM. For me, a deep ruleset will greatly increase the longevity a game stays in the basement.

Exactly why I would pick LotR. Very deep rules (and easier to get a handle on than TSPP's less-obvious rules), PLUS great flow! My second pick would be Spider Man. Good mix of modes, flow, and interesting shots.

Family Guy/Shrek is interesting, but nowhere near the range of satisfying shots as the above 2 pins. Not a fan of Iron Man, BBH, haven't played Avatar yet.

 

[RareHero]

I've played them all (briefly)... Simpson's seems to get good marks however I'm not a huge Simpson's fan but to be fair I would have to give it another try...

I actually hated TSPP when I first played it....but that was also before I really "got" pinball in general...rules, strategy, modes, technique, etc. Once I got better and then understood the logic of the game, that's when I started to really love it.

 

[retroACTIVE]

I actually hated TSPP when I first played it....but that was also before I really "got" pinball in general...rules, strategy, modes, technique, etc. Once I got better and then understood the logic of the game, that's when I started to really love it.

I'm kind of at that point myself... just starting to "get it".

 

[JODY]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the latest Batman. It is the only one of the newer Sterns I've had the opportunity to play. I enjoyed it, especially the moving crane which had a ball hanging from it that had to be hit repeatedly as it moved back and forth.

 

[Kryzsky]

Batman was actually my 2nd choice. Plays great, fun shots, the crane is a nice feature along with the rotating Joker platform. Love the way it looks and the movie is great also.

 

[MtZRcade]

i like all my sterns, and i have quite a few of them

lotr
sopranos
roller coaster tycoon
csi
shrek
avatar (coming this thursday)
ripley's

 

[RareHero]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the latest Batman. It is the only one of the newer Sterns I've had the opportunity to play. I enjoyed it, especially the moving crane which had a ball hanging from it that had to be hit repeatedly as it moved back and forth.

I've had quite a few Stern games....Batman's one that I had, but decided to sell. While it is quite a good game, it didn't quite have that "IT" factor that my other favorite Stern's have...IMO, of course. It's a great looking game, the crane is awesome, and there's a lot to do. That actually is part of my issue with it...the gameplay is VERY methodical...but for some reason, not as fun as the other two "deep" Sterns in my collection (TSPP and LOTR). I think the main hit against Batman is the sound package. The sound-alike voices are not very good, especially the wussy sounding Batman...and there aren't that many clips from the movies to make up for it. That's one thing Iron Man and Spider-Man do very well...TONS of clips used in very relevant ways....well - Iron Man has a few weird random ones...but I LOVE hearing Lebowski, er - Jeff Bridges talk as you fight Iron Monger. There's really clever stuff like him saying "Your services are no longer required" (accompanied by synced red flashers) when losing the ball during the Monger mode. Batman doesn't have those little touches ...but more importantly, it has ZERO voice calls associated with Harvey Dent, Commissioner Gordon, or Rachel....so - the player has NO idea they're actually doing anything related to those characters, or why they have collected them in the character circle in the middle of the playfield. Just some quotes from the movie would remedy this....but who knows if there will be another code update, or if it would even have more audio.

At the end of the day, I think Batman is a good game with a great toy - but I felt it wasn't a keeper and wanted another game in its spot.

Pirates and Wheel of Fortune are 2 other "newer" Stern games I've had and sold....and, again - I like them...I think they're good games....but Pirates got very monotonous, and WOF, while very fun and underrated - lacks that "cool" factor that eventually made me want to replace it.

 

[TiffanyArcade]

Anything besides avatar!

 

[hisnice]

Simpsons is the only one that I own (partially because of the theme and partially because i think it's the best stern).

Spiderman and Pirates are the other 2 that I've played on location and really liked and considered buying someday. That's my top 3.

 

[pudluther]

i like all my sterns, and i have quite a few of them

lotr
sopranos
roller coaster tycoon
csi
shrek
avatar (coming this thursday)
ripley's

i like ripley's as well. fun pin.