Pick my next pin - BK2000, Pinbot or F14

Malice95

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So I am really starting to enjoy the pins. They are getting more play then the
video games these days. I made a decision that I am going to thin down my
collection to just vectors, games with special controls like missile command,
and pins. The rest I can play on my Multicade. I should be able fit
6 or so pins in my basementcade comfortably. I might even sell my beloved
Juno First.

I currnetly have Haunted House, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Space Station, and
Black Hole. Black hole is being restored and Space station is getting a full
teardown shopping.

So I am saving cash/selling video stuff to get my next pin. I really like pins
from the 80's.. So I am considering BK2000, Pinbot, or F14. I've played
pinbot, and watched videos of F14 & BK2000. They are all very cool..

How would you rank them? if you had to choose what would you pick and why?
 
1.f14-cool light show, pretty fun, possibly the least expensive of the bunch too

2.pinbot-I have only played this on the xbox360 PHOF(williams) and I do like it

3.black knight 2000- Black knight games just arent that fun especially the first, but I just like the other two games better than this one
 
pinbot has superb sounds. i thought it would be ownable last year but i've rethought it.

bk2k isn't so fun in virtual pinball but everyone here loves it that owns it.

i've heard f-14 is intense. sounds worthy to look into.
 
Given your current machines I'd probably go with BK2000 or PinBot. Nothing wrong with F-14, but I just think one of the others will offer more variety. In fact, if you didn't have any other machine though I'd probably go with F-14.

My 2 cents.
 
Trade you my Pinbot for you Space Station? :p

Not really. My wife has decreed that Pinbot is a keeper, especially since we got it at stupid good price. Pinbot was always a grail for me, I was totally addicted to the NES version.

F-14, I've been playing on emulator..man, that can be a crazy game, and I'm looking to add it at some point (hopefully soon lol). It's quite a bit different from Shuttle and Pinbot, which to me are both a bit slower games...but it could just be my games aren't as tuned up as they could be. :(

BK2000...haven't ever played it, but I have a feeling I'm more attracted to the sound and art than the actual gameplay.
 
I know I like pinbot... The music, sounds, etc. It probably the simplist of the three which is good sometimes. Middle of the road price wise.

F14 is the lightshow, speed, and Fighter theme. Classic cold war 80's. Cheap is good.

Bk2k is a cool light show as well, great music, good sounds. Game play seems
a bit repetivive from the videos I've seen.. kinda like modern pins where its loop after loop. Probably the most expensive

Still dont see a clear winner in my head.
 
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For what it's worth, if I could pick up any of the three at relatively close price points, it would've been Pinbot, F-14, BK2000 for me. But all three of these games are ones I'm intending on owning and keeping at this point, so.....yeah... I'm torn too. I only expect I will have F-14 before bk2k because it's a hell of a lot easier to find, and usually a good bit cheaper.

There have been two for sale in Dallas since last June, neither was over 1000$. =\
 
by the way, if you can source a nice pinbot in the midwest for 900, i'll rethink my ownership of the game. seems like everyone thinks their pinbot is priceless.... ;)
 
Black Knight 2000 - The music alone puts it at the top for me.
F-14 Tomcat - Fast, incredible light show when everything is working well.
Pinbot - Great game, but for me playes slower than the others.

In all honesty, none of those choices are bad. I would take any of those titles.

If you want to play a Black Knight 2000, let me know, and you can come over if you want to make the trip. I am also planning on having it at the Pinball Show in Allentown in May if you can wait that long.


Chris
 
by the way, if you can source a nice pinbot in the midwest for 900, i'll rethink my ownership of the game. seems like everyone thinks their pinbot is priceless.... ;)

they're probably right if they have a topper.

I swear to god... I may never get a topper for mine unless Planetary shocks the crap out of everyone, or I make one myself.
 
I've played F-14 and BK2K. Pinbot I've played on VP, and it is a cool game, but I get the feeling you really have to know what you are supposed to do (rules) or you don't get anywhere in the game, and maybe feels like there is nothing going on. That's fine for "collectors", but for friends and family over it doesn't seem to work as well.

F-14 is fast, loud and bright. It is simple though, and I thought the voice/sound was a little "eh" quality wise.

I like Black Knight 2000, which is funny because I don't like the original. Great music, sound, looks. I'll admit it's very heavy on the right flipper, and feels odd since it's more like 2 half playfields.

I'd go BK2K, F-14, Pinbot. My opinion.
 
I don't think you will get a very definitive answer from this thread as it already seems to be pretty split. I had an F14, and currently have a Pinbot, but have never played BK2000, although i have heard really great things about this game. I would probably rate the games in this order: PB, F14, BK2000. The reasoning for PB to be #1 is none of your other games seem too close to it, playfield layout wise. Your SS and R&B have lots of stuff going on in the top half of the playfield like the F14 does. The HH and BH have additional playfields like the BK2000 does. I rated the F14 higher just on the idea that I have never played BK2000, but really I don't think you could go wrong with any of these 3.
 
I personally like BK2K the best out of the bunch. All three games are sys11 Williams games. If you are into sys11 games you may want to consider Whirlwind, Earthshaker, Taxi, etc. Also FH (Funhouse) has that sys11 type of feel (really a sys12 game) but looks/plays like a sys11 game.
 
Pinbot rules.

Shoot the 100k value skill shot. Shoot it every time you get the ball in the shooter lane.

Shoot the grid to open the visor. Lock both balls. Lock 1 ball. Shoot the ramp for jackpot.

Anything else isn't worth the points, IMO. It's all about the bagatelle and getting the ball back in the shooter lane for me. At the max score to rollover being 9,999,999 and the shooter lane can be 100k->1 million points.....yeah. You can practically roll the game just on making the ball back into the shooter lane enough times.
 
Sooooo.. Complete lack of consensus:)

I dont think I will be able to wait until May to check out bk2k Chris
but thank you for the offer.

I think I'm just going to let fate decide.. and put a WTB up for all three

Whatever comes up first in my area wins.

All 3 seem greate an have lots of pluses and none of the minuses
are enough for me to care. I think I would be happy with anyone of
them.
 
All 3 are system 11 games and all are pretty good pins. But here's my take on your dilemma. You have asked whats the best pin between 3 pins 2 of which are made by Steve Ritchie and 1 made by Barry Oursler/Python Anghelo. Anyways, I own an F14 and admittedly its not right yet. But I can already tell you its fast as hell and unforgiving like you wouldn't believe. The light show is pretty kick-ass though. I've also played a BK2K that was no where near right. But it seemed to have little more substance to it. And the backglass is just beautiful. Didn't really hear the audio enough to comment on how great it was. As for pinbot, it has a futuristic theme and its pretty much the classic title among the lot. Basically, you can't go wrong with any of them. But you want a pin that fits your taste. If you want something fast and showy, go for the F14, if you want a classic that easier to the casual player, go for the Pinbot, and if you want a nice blend between the two, I'd recommend the BK2K. But if you do pick the F14 (which may be the best of the bunch), examine the playfield closely. The one I had has some wicked insert lifting that will have to be repaired before the game is right. It may be a problem with that model so look for it.
 
1) F-14. "It's fast. It's furious. And it fights back!" - marketing line from Williams at the time, and fits this game perfectly.

2) Pinbot. Not as good as Bride, but still a classic, and great replay value.

3) BK2K. Fun, fast - but I just absolutely HATE the audio. "You can do it! you can do it!" - just grates on my nerves to no end. "Tacky" is what comes to mind to me, but I see others here like the audio, and everybody has different tastes.

I think you'd likely enjoy any of the three - all comes down to condition, and price really!
 
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