Author Topic: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review  (Read 9176 times)

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Offline swinks

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X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« on: August 10, 2012, 06:55:40 PM »
guess who played 10 games on a wolfvie  && && && &&  this afternoon all to myself      #*# #*# #*# #*#

fricking awesome - will up date this with a semi-detailed mini first impression review tonight as this was probably one of the first X-Men's to be sited in OZ as AMD only got them yesterday in which luke sited at Budgewoi near Newcastle.

He has already put a sub and mirror blades in, and it had a shaker (can't remember if this was stock or a mod)

daz and tony   sure you guys will love it
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Offline Greg

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2012, 07:16:41 PM »
review???????? you used to be a lot better at reviews Jady
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Offline swinks

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2012, 07:26:09 PM »
I know, that was just a teaser, keep an eye out tonight.  ^&^
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Offline swinks

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2012, 09:30:37 PM »
Ok, now for the mini review.

I know it is frowned on when you give a review on playing a game maybe less than 50 times and for me I had 10 solid games which took almost 1hr with no breaks and until you understand the games rules etc. But like the AC/DC review my intention is to share my experience and share details about a machine from a slightly unbiased point of view. I do say slightly as have been interested in this game so helps that I like..  *)*

To paint the picture I am not a world traveller pinballer as there are so many A list games that I still have not played but from alot of the machines I have played this in short is up there in the ratings. Luke who owns the machine and sited it last night at Budgewoi said it is a blend of Iron Man, Spiderman and Tron.

I myself have only played Spiderman twice so I can't confirm that opinion but I can say it has a Iron Man flavour as well as a slight Tron flavour but to me only in looks or a similar reverse layout in a way but not in game play. I own a Iron Man and love it and at times the only down fall is could be a little deeper in rules. X-Men LE definitely is deeper but get into that a little more. But I will stick to a similar review format as I did last time.

Also this game was setup very promptly so it missed the software date so I played the original code, luke is heading there tonight to update it.

Looks
- This machine looks great, at first during the first inspection and first game the cabinet looks stunning as does the back glass but for me personally would like the team of X-men and badges up there - just me.
- During the first play I was thinking something about it sort of looked plastic and childish in a sense, but after a few more games can honestly say it's the comic theme as it just grabs you and really start to absorb the characters and action associated with those characters (dmd flashes that you see and the call outs) - it is beautifully meshed in altogether and just looks stunning.
- The figures do look slightly glossy plastic but after a few games they suit being there how they look - would change anything. The magenta definitely looks awesome in the centre back  ^^^, the Wolverine is pretty good there but will comment in the gameplay section. He does look good there and suits being there but he is there for a reason to add a bit more of a challenge and I can accept that.
- The light show is great  ^^^, this will be one thing that the pro probably will not benefit from as like the AC/DC Premium and LE when you pick a song in this game when you pick a opponent to go against different lighting affects come into play and so look fricking awesome. If Stern do not use these lights in a pro the game will lack some of this almost needed affect - doesn't affect game play but does enhance it.
- the dmd is crisp, red and great - the dots look better than some of those pictures first released and so much variety and full screen like the Bally / WMS days  ^^^
- there is no tacky feel about it - hate to say the AC/DC LE has the tacky half a job canon, aluminium block above the bell and the jiggling band - this just looks polished and complete, though the ice ramp would have looked better in maybe a brushed blue SS - that gives me a idea but not enough to warrant here in Aus I think.
- Xmen logo near the slingshots lights up beautifully, almost a 3d effect - 10 points for this.
- light show is great as well during the different modes.
- the night crawler pops are sorry lame looking - probably the one obvious cost cutter and does not wow me in looks at all.
- the blue trim is great quality and looks great.

Sound
- I think this sounds bloody great, some cool sound affects with a lot and I mean alot of variety and the backing music is cool as well - all original which is refreshing - not a few movie sound bites repeated and repeated.
- the call outs are great as well, there are so many especially with all the different modes - with a bit of humour as well which is cool.
- luke put a sub is the sound is enhanced but the back box speakers were left as original - sounds great - personally would touch it. In this pub is a dedicated corner with 6 pins and luke has a certain amount of freedowm to let it rip - sound great but a sub is a nice addition.
- to be honest I think back now and can't remember the shaker interaction unlike the Iron Man the two are coordinated awesome so Iron Man pips ahead there.

Layout
ok I got the sensation of a few games in this:
- Iron Man because of the ramp shape, feel and the magnets and bash tool though it is different (gameplay will explain that)
- Tron with the drop hole but lucky from the high side the ball can fall in the back which to me annoys the crap out of me. This is different as if the ball hugs the very left side of the pops it can drop in to the hole fairly easily but not all ways and obviously the best other way is to shoot straight on in to the hole. I know many say the layout is the very similar but flipped - I can see it but it just doesn't feel it - good thing really gives you a new machine to enjoy and I find the top rhs flipper easier to shoot the ramp than the lhs top on Tron.
- Whitewater because shooting through the pops
- Avatar with the ball lock in the top centre.
- there are probably many others but that was my obvious first impression.
- the layout is great, interestingly less permanent targets - 2 x lhs, 2 x rhs which both are a challenge to hit and 1 either side of the ball lock similar to whitewater and the game just feels like there is so much to shoot for and is fairly clear and open vial which I personally like in a game.
- the ramps are cool, and the ice ramp is cool as well but wouldn't go for a LE just for that. I can see when this is ion play that this would deliver the ball to the right flipper to repeat the rhs ramp over and over but shit I found this a hard task as I only got the ice ramp into play during multi ball and because the ramp crosses over found myself reacting to balls at the flippers - didn't have time to look around and target the right ramp.
- the shot from the top rhs flipper has some variety - with the left ramp being one, rogue shot that takes you to ball lock, night crawler if they are in play and then just deflect down to the bash toy.

Gameplay
- great game and fast passed very similar to Iron Man as the balls come flying around and deflecting off the bash toy or up from the hole at you - good action. In comparision I found the AC/DC pro fast but it was more the first half of the play field - this just felt fluid.
- shots that I can remember left to right from the right flipper - 2 targets on the lower left (hard to get), drop hole, through the pops (orbit shot or ball lock depending on mode), the bash toy (interesting the magnet is slight off centre so 75% of the time the ball is not caught by the magnet so changes the feel compared to a Iron Man which is good for variety), lhs night crawler, vuk, centre ball lock.
- shots from right to left with the lhs flipper - 2 targets on the lower right (also hard to get), orbit shot through the pops but feeds out randomly as the bash toy does change every so slightly in rotation position so at times deflects the ball differently, rhs nightcrawler pop up, rhs ramp, then a small rhs return to the rhs where there is a spinner, centre ball lock
- shots from the top rhs flipper - mentioned in layout.
- overall a sense of heaps to do so like the Spidermans etc
- throughout the game you get options to play certain villains and you can select from a certain range which does vary, but like AC/DC LE and Premium the lighting effect is excellent and I think the pro will lack here but hoping I am wrong.
- I like the idea once you have selected a mode you have to batter them down so their strength is weakened - nice concept -  ^^^
- there is a lot to do here so like Tron and Transformer it will keep you busy which is a good thing
- Wolverine bash toy and magnet is different to whiplash or iron munger but similar, through a fraction close to you but I suppose he is put there as a blocker a bit so serves function.
- the spin disc is cool and randoml;y slow spins through the game changing the ball direction slightly at times. when the balls are released from magneto the disc magnet grabs them and only does a short spin and not quite what I was expecting - sort of a tame spin but code may change that as it only tends to spin for a few seconds and then must drop the magnet out. The iron monger throughs the ball more wildly in my opinion. The lighting through this is cool as well. In edition the magenta also activates with out the disc and does a similar effect like on iron man which is good.
- multiballs are cool almost frantic - bit of learning there.
- nearly forgot the pop ups - not bad as a feature but I only got it twice and it was a multiball so is a challenge to get the ball to hit them especially the lhs as easier to get it with the top right flipper.
- game length - luke has the games sets on 5 balls and though he has the posts above the slings set to wide as possible the games seem to be lengthly compared to creature and iron man and ac/dc - I played 10 games in about 55 minutes with no breaks.
- scoring is a tough one - of the 10 games seven were under 10 million, 1 was 19 mil and 1 was 21 mil and another at 23.5mil which seemed like about a 15 minute game - so quite lengthly games and I am no pro just enjoy playing.

Mods
- luke had mirror blades, sub and shaker and this is awesome.

Overall
- firstly to compare to another machine - Iron Man as in a way these are similar and I own one, IM is fast, sounds and shake coordination are both awesome, it looks great and is more challenging than you think, but is a simpler machine to just jump on and play
where the X-Men LE:
- is a great player with a much deeper rule set even on the first issue code so once it gets a polish should be incredible and still alot of fun
- has a few more shots than Iron Man
- looks absolutely stunning and not cheap looking at all
- has incredible sound, especially with the sub and the shaker is cool

so would I buy one if I had LE money - yes definitely
so would I buy a pro - yes but first want to play and see what game is like with no disc and check out what the lighting is like but reckon I could live with both not there, but I could live without the ice ramp and could live without the pop ups as they are more a treat through the game. The spinner would be a nice feature but at least one less thing to worry about maintenance wise.

Overall great as a LE, definitely the best LE in the last 2 years that I have played and apart from the Iron Man this a great machine that I would like to own for the whole package and I am not a comic collector.

I hope this helps and that you guys are able to search pout to get yours or even more excited to play or purchase yours.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2012, 08:33:54 AM by swinks »
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Offline swinks

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2012, 09:38:39 PM »
forgot to add some photos
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Offline swinks

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2012, 09:39:51 PM »
and 2 more
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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2012, 12:41:07 AM »
Swinksy, in the section you called "OVERALL" at the base of the page, in the first sentence, do u mean IRONMAN for the TITLE/NAME or  is it supposed to say WOLVERINE X-MEN ?  !@# !@# !@# !@#  me confused. Wasnt the review on X-Men ?
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Offline Cow Corner

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2012, 03:54:53 AM »
Super Review Jady. I thought without playing it that it would be a cross between Sterns top shelf games ie SM, IM and TRON.
With the new code update this pin will be epic.
I can't wait to get mine!
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Offline swinks

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2012, 08:35:23 AM »
Sorry Cavery, I read back through the Overall section and is a little confusing, must have been getting worn out after all the typing  %.%

I have made some corrections
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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2012, 11:24:09 AM »
OK. cool. Glad u got to play it.   Machine looks great.    Now looking forward to the PRO review.
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Offline Crashramp

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2012, 11:54:17 AM »
Excellent review, well detailed. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your thoughts.  ^^^

Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2012, 12:00:55 PM »
This video will go great with your review Swinksy.

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Offline Cow Corner

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2012, 01:24:08 PM »
OK. cool. Glad u got to play it.   Machine looks great.    Now looking forward to the PRO review.

Pro review would be the same without the spinning disc, nightcrawler popups, iceman ramp and LE lightsow.
Not having the nightcrawlers will speed the game up a bit and not having the spinning disc will stop the randomness a bit.
 ^^^
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Offline RottyGuy

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2012, 01:36:54 PM »
Are you buying a Pro model X-Men , Daz ?

Offline Cow Corner

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Re: X-Men Wolverine LE - first release mini review
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2012, 01:44:35 PM »
Are you buying a Pro model X-Men , Daz ?

LE if I can swing it but now that Avengers is next in line it might be the pro so I can grab both of them.
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