Battle of the Tables - Quarter Finals

Espy

New member
Sep 9, 2013
2,098
1
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone
Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars
Centaur v Monster Bash
T2 v Theatre of Magic

Still can't believe White Water is out...! Only AFM is in my all-time favourites out of this selection.
 

Day

New member
Jan 9, 2013
257
0
Twilight Zone - feels varied & has depth, if a little stop/start
Attack From Mars - prefer AFM's humour to MM's... AFM seems to flow better (love making those loop combos)
Monster Bash - lots of fun and a vote against centaur (sorry does very little for me)
Theatre of Magic - again varied shots & satisfying gameplay
 

MOO

New member
Dec 11, 2013
47
0
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone ... I don't think I need to explain my vote on this one
Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars ... This one's pretty close: both tables have lots of modes, and are great fun to play, but the "Martians from another planet" just squeeze it because that Saucer shot is a little more forgiving than the Drawbridge shot
Centaur v Monster Bash ... Centaur is still my all-time favourite table from the very first time I saw and played it. The artwork is awesome. The sounds are great, and it has the best taunts in all of pinball. It doesn't have the most shots to make, yet it is challenging. I love MB, but there is only one Centaur (unless you include Centaur II)
T2 v Theatre of Magic ... T2 doesn't have enough magic

Hmmm... Four Williams vs Bally matchups, and I've voted for all four of the Bally tables...
 

Bowflex

New member
Feb 21, 2012
2,287
1
This gets easier to deal with writing reasons each time a new round starts!

Whirlwind v Twilight Zone - A tough one for me. I love Whirlwind. I have a spot in my heart for it that gives it an advantage from a purely sentimental standpoint. The table is fast, has lots of rewards to go for and changes up between normal playing and craziness when the discs start spinning requiring total readiness for changes. Twilight Zone has one of the ultimate licenses and is loaded with toys and gimmicks. The Power, Powerball and the skill shot are really nice features. Getting Lost in the Zone is a crazy experience. Whirlwind also has a sort of wizard mode that is very exciting but nowhere near as insane. TZ could have spawned sequels and done so much more because of the fantastic source material, but what it was able to accomplish in one table was mind boggling. Both are similar in layouts by my favorite designer, Pat Lawlor so some similarity occurs with the loops and leveling up of the bumpers. Twilight Zone does end up beating Whirlwind handily but both are such great tables. I guess at this point in the tournament, that is to be expected.
Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars - Lots of similarities in design and actually lots of similarity in style. Basically these are likely the top 2 funniest tables ever made. Cactus Canyon could be up there if the software was finished but these tables easily beat the version that came out. I think deciding between the two tables is mainly a theme preference. I do like the Phyton-esque middle-ages masterpiece myself. While some hate the trolls, I find it to be a great goal that requires a different shooting approach and the table keeps you on your toes. Earning the wizard mode also makes more sense. The goals are tied into acts to be performed by you going along with the theme. AfM has you performing goals like 10x combos and scoring a super jackpot. Certainly not as well themed. Both are super-fast, flowing tables but MM rams its jousting pole through the hull of the martian mothership.
Centaur v Monster Bash - Centaur has such great art and a richly dark theme that it is easy to get caught up in those aspects. Monster Bash does have a lot of cheesiness and humor but when you think about it, what is campier than a half-man, half-motorcycle. Centaur is probably a lot cornier than most people think. While Centaur has some great multiball modes and a couple unique ball save features, Monster Bash has a few nice multi-ball modes, plus stacking! Centaur has a fantastic, creepy voice but the bash has very good music and voices tied-in to the theme flawlessly. The monsters are constantly entertaining and nicely varied. Goals are well themed and the table is quite intuitive. Centaur is oddly the more complex table with lots of strict rules. Monster Bash takes this round.
T2 v Theatre of Magic - This is the one easy decision on here. Well, for me at least. Theater is a masterpiece of theme, fast pace and fun. Great dramatic sequences and fantastic DMD graphics. T2 is kind of the prototype for the Williams tables of the mid 90's like ToM, MM and AFM with the ramps, orbits and the integration of DMD. It also has throwbacks to earlier Ritchie tables like Firepower with the ball locking. Unfortunately it just doesn't come together as nicely as ToM. Of course the other 6 tables of this round would have handed Cyberdyne's greatest achievement a crushing blow as well.
 

Sean DonCarlos

Moderator
Staff member
Mar 17, 2012
4,293
0
Whirlwind vs Twilight Zone - I'm sad to see Whirlwind go...but it's no match for the pinnacle of Lawlor's genius.

Medieval Madness vs Attack from Mars - An extremely tough decision. But I find MM just a tad more entertaining and with a tad more variety in the gameplay, so it gets the nod.

Centaur vs Monster Bash - My love for old tables only goes so far, and Centaur's Cinderella run gets trampled in MB's mosh pit.

Terminator 2 vs Theatre of Magic - No contest. Even comparing flow, T2's strongest point, the Theatre wins.
 

shutyertrap

Moderator
Staff member
Mar 14, 2012
7,334
0
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone While it'd lose in the depth of rules department, I find Whirlwind to be much more approachable and fun. Lawlor vs Lawlor, huh? Interesting...

Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars Essentially the same table, just different themes. As a Python's Holy Grail fan, MM wins simply for the references.

Centaur v Monster Bash I really wanted to pick Centaur. It's tough, it rewards persistence, and has great multiball. But so does MB, which also has great humor, fun modes, and generally holds my interest longer.

T2 v Theatre of Magic ToM got my vote last time by default, and would have lost to any of the 7 other tables left. I didn't even have to think about this one. It doesn't hurt that I'm a fan of T2 though.
 
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Zorgwon

New member
Sep 14, 2013
614
0
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone
Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars
Centaur v Monster Bash
T2 vs. Theatre of Magic
 

SydyneBall

New member
Jul 18, 2013
122
0
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone - TZ - Got to get to the Zone!
Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars - AFM - While they both are similar, I've played more AFM in RL and find the quotes and graphics funnier.
Centaur v Monster Bash - Centaur is just such a challenging table and a real shooter. Missed shots are costly.
T2 v Theatre of Magic - I think TOM has much better modes then T2, but I play both regularly on TPA.
 

Lord Boron

Member
Apr 18, 2012
583
1
Whirlwind (one of my all time favs)
Medieval Madness (very similar table but MM gets the nod from me)
Monster Bash (love them both but MB just edges it for me for the great theme)
T2
 

Father Time

New member
Apr 21, 2013
94
0
Whirlwind v Twilight Zone

I honestly can't believe Whirlwind made it this far. I'm not a huge Twilight Zone table fan, but I just don't see anything special with Whirlwind.

Medieval Madness v Attack From Mars

Ooh this one was tough. Really tough. But based on what I've played more it's probably gotta be Medieval Madness. Besides I could never destroy enough saucers to get the attack mars phase or whatever it's called, and I'm a little bitter about it.

By the way I now want to see a movie where knights and castles and kings fend off an alien invasion. That would be cool.

Centaur v Monster Bash

Monster Bash. It's just more fun.

T2 v Theatre of Magic

Ditto.
 

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