At the end of the day, I reckon they have done a cracker of a job on the Pro, but I am a little miffed about the blandness on the LE with the lower playfield ?
Luckily for me, I bought a CONGO machine 6 months ago and got to see n feel the lower playfield on that model, and got a real feel for what a lower PF does or doesnt do. And it doesnt really do diddly. But it is different. What Stern shld have done with the lower playfield, was incorporated something new, and something that is a bit harder or just something that does something better. It was because of this, and knowing that the under playfield was going to be a bit boring, i went with the Pro.
On CONGO, the Gorilla is what hits the ball, so its a backwards situation to the flippers on the LE. Now being backwards, makes you have to think backwards when hitting the flippers which roughens up your hand eye co-ordination better for a while, that makes the under playfield design on Congo better than the LE AC/DC. With the Congo under PF, u are hitting the ball towards u, not away from you. That makes it a little fun, not huge, but JUST enough to say its worth having.
I think honestly, if you or anyone bought a Back in Black, because of the unique blue/black colours u have done alot better than the other LE, on looks alone. Does the blue fit in with the playfield colours when u stand in front of it, I am leaning towards no, not really, but from afar the blue/black looks great. I dont like the Premium backglass, so that was out for me, and I think the Pro has a better translite than the Premium.
The Pro ands the LE will play different, because of the under playfield etc.I personally think the under playfield real estate wasnt used properly, and reckon the artwork on the Pro without the under PF will be liked alot more, maybe even by LE owners after they play both. When u stare at the Angus head on the Pro, it actually looks great when u play it. I am wondering when u play the LE, will staring into a relatively empty window with only basic flames be enough eye candy. The window detracts from the artwork, it hasnt increased it. Look, if the LE was only $1500 to $1700 more than the Pro, i think most LE owners would be very happy, but at 3 plus grand for the differences, I dont know, i think alot of people will be let down with the lower Playfield.
People will still love their LE models, dont get me wrong, but i wonder how many will play the Pro, and think the extra money was not as well spent on the LE as thought. I think Stern made a big mistake on the under playfield artwork. That alone has changed the whole feel for the LE. I bet any money, they change the Premium artwork down there relatively quickly IF any LE buyers complain to Stern after their machine arrives IF the flames dont look as good as they want.
Maybe, in person, the under PF art will look alot better, just like the angus head on the Pro looks fine.
But having said all that, how many machines in the last 20 have had a under playfield ? none, so just by having one there, may be enough difference to keep people happy too. One of the reasons I play Congo, is cause I can smash the ball repeatedly with the gorilla under the playfield, its not a huge thing, but its different enough to play it sometimes. I reckon most people will just hear the music on any of the ac/dc models, be blown away by the music, and will be happy anyway. No machine is perfect. The next LE just has to be less expensive, back to the LE transformers pricing or less in this now competitive market where companies need to fight to get your dollar.
Does anyone think they might make some changes to the Premium ?
