Hi all
Here is an update from our Tuesday ( yesterday here )
The PHOF opens at 11am so we were finally able to have a fairly relaxed morning.
Seeing as I did a 'write up' once before , I have asked Tony to chime in later with his thoughts on the place ( he LOVED it by the way ).
I also had a better experience here this time , the games are still in great nick and play VERY well.
So in no real order - see below.
I had to pry Tony away from this place to go to the PHOF - he just didnt want to leave
I had not played Tron before - I only got a couple of games on it and you just cant 'get into' any modern game unless you spend a few hours on it, I did like the appearance of the game, although the LED lights are a little 'dull' - possibly on purpose so they arent blinding ther player?
Now, Rolling Stones gets bagged, but I dont mind it to be honest, the 'non-stop moving Mick' is a little annoying BUT once you realise you have to use him to score 'notes' it makes good sense. As an example I had to score the last 'note' on the right side, so I had to time my flip AS HE STARTED to move so that the ball AND Mick were at the same spot on the playfield at the EXACT same moment in time - I thought this was good as it made the timing of your shot that little bit harder.
I did not play Iran Man or Avatar this time around as I had played IM at The Riviera the night before.
There is an entire row of wedgeheads at PHOF - ALL of them in very decent condition in the playfields and back-glasses - SOME BG's were a little flaky in spots but overallthey were VERY good, also considering that these games are on 12 hours a day EVERY day still to this very day.
I REALLY enjoyed playing this Stern IJ machine - it is very open and has very fast playfield action - it is maybe a little 'easy' but I liked it a LOT more than I thought I would.
Here is a close up example of the condition of one of the older BG's - NICE.
Now here is an EM that I like Nino
Q-Bert was fun to have a game on - it was a little faulty as the right bank of 2 x targets wasnt working, but I played a game on it to get the feel of those bottom flippers - if the ball goes down there you really have to nail a SWEET shot on it to get it smoothly back into the normal field of play.
A small section of the more modern games here - ALL of them in EXCELLENT condition physically and playwise.
Not sure if Tony liked this Superman game or not - maybe I raved about it too much beforehand.
Mike Bowden in his best Angry Birds attire getting interviewed by 2 girls from LV Uni doing a film on Pinball - how cool
Tim Arnold doing some repairs - meeting Tim, I found him very nice but I have to say a little odd, I think some of the Americans just talk short and sharp, finish what they are saying and 'move on' - it isnt arrogance, it is just how they communicate , like ' point is made' so thats enough chatter about ( X topic ).
Tim is a little like that - but how cool that he keeps this place going, he was also very keen to be made aware of any faults we came across so he could sort it out. Once again PHOF had a really steady flow of people through it at all times which was excellent to see.
OK OK , a little bit of playfield wear here and there - but NOT much overall in any of the games.
Now - flame suit is on.........I REALLY liked this game - as in I REALLY liked it, I played it a lot and it kept growing on me. I have to say that I like the way most of the modern Stern games 'play'....the flippers are STRONG and the shots can be silky smooth.....I am guessing I am fairly alone in liking Monopoly.
A little game for little people
Here is an example of the Pinbits colour changing LED - it was a REALLY nice effect on this TZ - larger 'knob' than I thought it would be.
I hadnt recalled ever seeing this old little pinball with real mechanical cars on a track in the backbox.
Any ideas anyone?
And for Arcade game lovers amongst us - there are stacks of original cabinets games here to play as well.
Tony with The Pinball Circus - one of only 2 ever produced - $1.00 a game = 5 balls. I got to Video Mode on it this time and it is a cool animation where you fire a 'Human Cannon' through gaps in 'moving walls' ( moving gaps ) - when you miss , the human hits the solid wall and squashes up on the display while a classic SPLAT noice sounds , it was pretty funny.
Hope these are OK - done in a mad rush - we are off for the night to see The Blue Man Group
More when I can.
Wotto and Tony
Oh - and we visited the Tapout Gym - the actual one where the pro's train in Las Vegas.
It was very empty and no pro's were there ( they go at night if anyone ever goes here - theres a tip )
Lucky , because I was in the mood for kicking Bones Jones ar$e
