I am new to pinball in some respects. As a teen in the 80's I played alot of EMs at home, but got very little exposure to Solid State machines. During the 90's I probably only had 1 or 2 games on a sited pin, seems I was doing other stuff back then. My grounding is in EM pinball, EMs taught me how to get into the flow of the game, to nudge, to make subtle shots, and EMs were designed to take coin fast. I must say that I am a crap player really, but I have the odd good score.
I think this gives me a unique insight into pinball, allthough it could be argued that I have a limited view. My opinions of various machines has been based upon playing the games of collectors (which I consider a privelige). Nearly allways these machines play flawlessly, and give you the best opportunity to know/enjoy that particular game. When I walk up to play most 80's and 90's games I have little to no pre-experiences, pre-judgements, and am excited for this "first time".
Because my grounding is in EMs I am drawn to solid states/dmds that remind me of EM play. EM play for me is, walk-up simplicity, challenging shot play, fast flowing action (no stop and start, forever trapping the ball stuff), and a good game is a fast one (pure pinball). Games like WCS94, Fishtales, Dr Who, Black Rose, The Flintstones, Rocky and Bullwinkle, all really float my boat because they tick all the boxes for simple, and fast fun (I admit couple of these games can be played more deeply). I could list some 80's games, but in my experience this was the era that got it right (ok gotta mention Nugent lol), and tables were not significantly different (with the expection of multi-level, ramps etc).
A big factor in my appreciation for a game is "bang for buck". For me the magic formula is, $$$ value must equal fun level. I do not really consider myself a collector (more of an enthusiast), and as such am not constained by notions of higher price = better game. Of course my limited means limits me to owning cheaper machines. It could be argued that if I had more $$$ then I would find TZ or Indy a fun game. I really do not think so though as these machines simply do not provide me with walk-up fast paced/flowing, simple, and knockem-down action. I hear guys say you have own it for a few months to understand, and appreciate it properly. For me a machine must be "instant like". Interesting that in prowlers thread that my opinion was supported by a couple of guys agreeing that Flintstones is a better player than Indy and TZ. For some of us it is absolutely a more "fun" game.
Of course this post is biased to what I think about pinball. I know many guys enjoy deeper/tougher and more expensive machines. I really do not want to take anything away from what these guys enjoy. An "ace" player invited me to go second player one nite. His first ball last nearly an hour, and I reckon the game had heaps left in it to do. You could tell he was really enjoying it (I was in awe for the first 20mins, but then started to get hungry). I couldave had 3 good games on FT in that time period. Point is that we all enjoy different elements, and bashing a steel ball around on one table can be so much different on another. Its a hoot for me for play for 30 mins on 5 balls, or 10 mins on three.
Someone said (respected fella) today that he thought Big Hurt, Shaq Attack, Streetfighter, Rescue 911, World Challenge Soccer were all very boring games (cheaper titles). This was the spark of this thread really. I have never played those titles, and would like to think the designers at GTB got it right with at least one of them.
