Played some interesting pinballs last night.

shardian

New member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
8,762
Reaction score
8
Location
Culloden, West Virginia
I had the pleasure of visiting a local pinhead this evening to look at some trade candidates. He has large pin collection, along with a nice selection of vids. Here are the new ones I played for the first time, and my thoughts:

Whodunnit: I like this one in pinmame alot. The real deal had better gameplay, but it was more impressive visually on the computer. If it had a steeper angle, I would have enjoyed it more.

Taxi: Neat game with a few neat features( bell and catapult). The rules are quite shallow. Even my wife had it figured out in like 5 minutes. I'd get one for a bargain basement price, but definitely wouldn't pay going rates. It's the weakest sys. 11 I've played.

Ausin Powers: To be fair, I have played this one before. This one was in much better working condition though, and it was new to my wife. The theme kills this one IMO. Fun to play occasionally - but like the movie - you wouldn't want to watch (play) it every day.

Family Guy: Visually, I was quite underwhelmed. I wasn't a fan of the layout. I have to agree that the mini pinball was quite a let down...and waste of real estate. Me and the wife were both so excited to access the mini playfield, but once we were there it was like "oh...". It was neat, but definitely too much real estate and still felt cheap no amount of engineering can change that fact. I would probably find the game more enjoyable if I spent more time with it. Overall though, the game had a cheap feel to it.

Pinball Magic: Now here was a cool game! I have never seen or played this before, and right from the looping shooter lane, this game grabs your attention and just screams FUN! The magic wand ramp is just badass. The levitation show is badass. The light show is badass. The DMD animation style is badass. Simply put, this game is badass. I don't know how this title would hold up long term next to Theater of Magic, but I can tell you the toys on this one are worth the price of admission. This game made me feel like a 10 year old kid again. This game has multiple awesome toys I have not seen on any other game. If you get a chance to see/play one, I HIGHLY recommend it.
 
Taxi: Neat game with a few neat features( bell and catapult). The rules are quite shallow. Even my wife had it figured out in like 5 minutes. I'd get one for a bargain basement price, but definitely wouldn't pay going rates. It's the weakest sys. 11 I've played.

This makes me sad. I love Taxi, and you are right the bell, and catapult (Drac shot) are awesome. Did you guys get the airport rides to light the million shot, use the express lanes during multiball for the bonus, and get the jackpot to 4M before cashing out? I think Taxi is deeper than some think on the surface. You just need to spend some more time with it :) Im also biased though, as its my first pin, and the only pin I have memories of as a kid.
 
Pinball Magic: Now here was a cool game! I have never seen or played this before, and right from the looping shooter lane, this game grabs your attention and just screams FUN! The magic wand ramp is just badass. The levitation show is badass. The light show is badass. The DMD animation style is badass. Simply put, this game is badass. I don't know how this title would hold up long term next to Theater of Magic, but I can tell you the toys on this one are worth the price of admission. This game made me feel like a 10 year old kid again. This game has multiple awesome toys I have not seen on any other game. If you get a chance to see/play one, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Hey man, glad to hear you liked the game. I have had a Pinball Magic for about a decade (it was my first machine, and happened to be the game I played at the bar I worked at in college) and I still love it. The play is a little linear (really the only drawback of the game, in my opinion), but the toys are as good as any and the shots are all fun. I personally like it more than Theatre of Magic, but that's a great game as well. And if you have kids, Pinball Magic is an ideal game, as the ball saver feature keeps interested, as they never lose balls instantly (I also have a twilight zone and the kids play a lot more Pinball Magic than TZ). The kids go insane the first time they float the ball. It's really a great machine.

Anyway, I think we have pretty similar taste in pins. I also llike Whodunnit, and wasn't overly impressed by Austin Powers. Though I do have to say I am with jow as far as Taxi goes -- I think it is a fun game and would be happy to add it to my gameroom. But if you got a chance to pick up a Pinball Magic in good shape in a trade, I'd highly recommend it.
 
This makes me sad. I love Taxi, and you are right the bell, and catapult (Drac shot) are awesome. Did you guys get the airport rides to light the million shot, use the express lanes during multiball for the bonus, and get the jackpot to 4M before cashing out? I think Taxi is deeper than some think on the surface. You just need to spend some more time with it :) Im also biased though, as its my first pin, and the only pin I have memories of as a kid.



I'm comparing it to very recent extended play on Funhouse and Cyclone. Both are much deeper than Taxi.
 
Pinball magic has the best pop bumper action of any pinball period. That one bumper thumps the ball so fast its not even funny.

I have owned ToM and I like ToM for different reasons. The artwork is much better but I have to say that the gameplay in PM is better overall.
 
I had the pleasure of visiting a local pinhead this evening to look at some trade candidates. He has large pin collection, along with a nice selection of vids. Here are the new ones I played for the first time, and my thoughts:

Whodunnit: I like this one in pinmame alot. The real deal had better gameplay, but it was more impressive visually on the computer. If it had a steeper angle, I would have enjoyed it more.

Taxi: Neat game with a few neat features( bell and catapult). The rules are quite shallow. Even my wife had it figured out in like 5 minutes. I'd get one for a bargain basement price, but definitely wouldn't pay going rates. It's the weakest sys. 11 I've played.

Ausin Powers: To be fair, I have played this one before. This one was in much better working condition though, and it was new to my wife. The theme kills this one IMO. Fun to play occasionally - but like the movie - you wouldn't want to watch (play) it every day.

Family Guy: Visually, I was quite underwhelmed. I wasn't a fan of the layout. I have to agree that the mini pinball was quite a let down...and waste of real estate. Me and the wife were both so excited to access the mini playfield, but once we were there it was like "oh...". It was neat, but definitely too much real estate and still felt cheap no amount of engineering can change that fact. I would probably find the game more enjoyable if I spent more time with it. Overall though, the game had a cheap feel to it.

Pinball Magic: Now here was a cool game! I have never seen or played this before, and right from the looping shooter lane, this game grabs your attention and just screams FUN! The magic wand ramp is just badass. The levitation show is badass. The light show is badass. The DMD animation style is badass. Simply put, this game is badass. I don't know how this title would hold up long term next to Theater of Magic, but I can tell you the toys on this one are worth the price of admission. This game made me feel like a 10 year old kid again. This game has multiple awesome toys I have not seen on any other game. If you get a chance to see/play one, I HIGHLY recommend it.



Played a Whudunnit once;thought it was alright not enough times to base an opinion...

Taxi-I have to admit I'm to admit not a real big fan but I haven't played one in awhile where the ramps were all chunked up and it played perfect......There is alot worse Shar as System 11 goes. Big Guns is horrible, Millionaire is another while I liked alot of people think it's crap, put Bally Pool Sharks in there too...


Austin Powers--It's one of those if you don't like the theme you're not going to like this.


Family Guy-I actually like this one; not enough to warrant the price for one yet!!!

Pinball Magic---I'll preface by saying I love Capcom pins...It's too bad the company went defunct so early. Pinball Magic is cool and quite rare. I thinks it's alot better than the overrated one-shot TOM!! Airborne is another awesome Capcom pin. I think Capcom's masterpiece is Big Bang Bar; pin is incredible. Have not played a real Kingpin, played on pinmame a couple of times, looks pretty cool!!!
 
This makes me sad. I love Taxi, and you are right the bell, and catapult (Drac shot) are awesome. Did you guys get the airport rides to light the million shot, use the express lanes during multiball for the bonus, and get the jackpot to 4M before cashing out? I think Taxi is deeper than some think on the surface. You just need to spend some more time with it :) Im also biased though, as its my first pin, and the only pin I have memories of as a kid.

An easy to understand rule set makes for a good game in my opinion. Assuming it's not really easy to finish or too simple. If it were easy to pick up all 5 passengers, collect the jackpot, drop off all 5 passengers and collect the special then the simple to understand objective would be a bad thing. I'm not sure if I've ever done all of that and I've owned the game for quite a while, though I'm not a very good player. Any pinball designer will tell you that their goal is to provide an easy to understand goal that's difficult to achieve.

I own several system 11 games including Taxi and I don't find it to be lacking by comparison due to it's easier to understand rules. I won't really say it's not as deep as some of the others... it's just a lot easier to understand. Don't confuse easy to understand with easy to master. That's the nice thing about pinball. Everyone gets to have their opinion :)
 
An easy to understand rule set makes for a good game in my opinion. Assuming it's not really easy to finish or too simple. If it were easy to pick up all 5 passengers, collect the jackpot, drop off all 5 passengers and collect the special then the simple to understand objective would be a bad thing. I'm not sure if I've ever done all of that and I've owned the game for quite a while, though I'm not a very good player. Any pinball designer will tell you that their goal is to provide an easy to understand goal that's difficult to achieve.

I own several system 11 games including Taxi and I don't find it to be lacking by comparison due to it's easier to understand rules. I won't really say it's not as deep as some of the others... it's just a lot easier to understand. Don't confuse easy to understand with easy to master. That's the nice thing about pinball. Everyone gets to have their opinion :)

Great points. I for the first time on Monday nigh picked up all 5 passengers and got the jackpot, but was nowhere near dropping them off, getting the airport million bonus, and never got the multiball.

You are right though, Taxi is very easy to understand and I like that.
 
I picked up all passengers, got multiball, and set off some bell that scared the crap out of me - I assume that means I hit the jackpot? This was the first time I've ever played it in any fashion. My wife also picked up every passenger her first time playing, but then lost her ball.

I'm not saying it isn't a fun game - it is. I would enjoy the hell out of it. I'm merely saying I would only take it in if I got an amazing deal like some of you have been getting lately. I would not pay $1k+ for it.
 
Fixed!!!!!!

Family Guy: Visually, I was quite blown away. The layout was amazing...one of Pat Lawlor's best!. I have to agree that the mini pinball was a brilliant toy...and it's placement allows for some great shots and combos underneath. Me and the wife were both so excited to access the mini playfield, but once we were there it was like "HOLY SHIT!!!!". It was neat, and was a brilliant way to get Stewie Multiball where you play both playfields at once...and still felt great, a real testament to the engineers. I find the game so enjoyable, I wish I could spend more time with it. Overall though, the game had a solid feel to it.
 
Ha! The game just didn't do it for me. In your games defense, I was distracted by my toddler daughter who was in a 'mood'. Maybe some uninterrupted play would change my tune a bit.

I'd be willing to give it another chance, but I'd likely be too distracted by the Pinball Magic sitting next door to it.
 
Family Guy is WAY too easy. I've only played it ONCE in the airport waiting for my plane. I played for about 10 minutes, my plane was boarding and I walked away with another ball to be played.

I also tend to not like games I can't see the ball very well on... like Whitewater... cool ramps and all, but man, 1/2 the game is covered.
 
Family Guy is WAY too easy. I've only played it ONCE in the airport waiting for my plane. I played for about 10 minutes, my plane was boarding and I walked away with another ball to be played..

It's all adjustable. There's a Pirates at the movie theater near me that I can play forever on...the back legs are way down, so its super slow. It hands out free balls and free games like crazy.

Family Guy can be set as hard as you want it...jack the legs up, open the outlanes, disable or reduce the time on the ball save post...

...in any case - advancing in the game is not easy. Did you reach TV Wizard Mode or Sperm Attack?
 
Family Guy is WAY too easy. I've only played it ONCE in the airport waiting for my plane. I played for about 10 minutes, my plane was boarding and I walked away with another ball to be played.

I also tend to not like games I can't see the ball very well on... like Whitewater... cool ramps and all, but man, 1/2 the game is covered.

Family Guy is one of those games that I've never had trouble beating. It's weird, I just blaze through modes on that game.

You can play super long ball times on that game, even with wide open outlanes though.
 
You can play super long ball times on that game, even with wide open outlanes though.

YOU can....but you've got some kind of psychic pinball powers or some shit.

Seriously, I don't get it...I'm no wizard, but I don't think I'm a bad player...I've gotten to plenty of wizard modes on games...but I've played Family Guy over a thousand times and still find it insanely challenging to even get TV Wizard Mode (even with long game times).
 
After all this talk, I need to play a Family Guy pin now...
 
I have to agree with Rare Hero on FG. The game is really on the top tier of contemporary games and still has that classic Pat Lawlor vibe.
I can completely understand being underwhelmed by the mini playfield AT FIRST; but the more you play it and get the feel of its unique physics, you start to understand that it takes a different thinking and skill set to be played and then becomes an outstanding component of the game. I can also see that the lack of any detailed dressing on the sides of the mini pin (only the two simple stickers on the side of the mostly blue plastic) can make the mini pin look "cheap" but the rest of the machine has a great look that does the property justice.
BTW there are "mod" stickers for the mini playfield at Pinball Life that add more appropriate art to the side and front and even add a little faux coin door; might solve the look issue for some. As far as the mini pin covering the board; it really doesn't. It does hide a bit of two shot paths, but in no way impacts the shots themselves.
As far as the game being to easy goes: you can keep the ball alive for a good amount of time because of the liberal "Death" ball save but this is a deep game with many goals and I have a hard time thinking that folks are easily getting TV wizard mode much less Sperm Attack. Heck even getting some of the goals in Stewie multi ball can be a big challenge. I am more inclined to believe that people who find the game easy don't know the full rule set or potential of this machine; they are just keeping the ball on the table longer. As far as I'm concerned longer play but plenty of goals to fill up that time make a better game than the opposite.

This really is a great game by one of pinball's best designers and I can honestly say the only game that actually makes me laugh out loud once in a while. If you don't like this game, I respect your opinion, but do yourself a favor and give it a second chance.
 
Back
Top Bottom