First impressions...

[suffocater]

Meh..was fun for the standard goals, doesn't motivate me any further.

 

[FrankenBall]

First game, two standard goals down. Feels like it came out with the same thumbprint as Tee'd Off. Thematically it's........very earnest. The dramatic seriousness of "saving lives" is pretty heavy-handed. It bears the stamp of its network sponsor, writ large. I like the left pocket, and the ramp shot's not very hard. Ball comes down quick through the return lanes. Multiball seems shortish, but that's my fumble fingers. Not for a minute be put in the class of Bally, Williams, OR Bally/Williams of this period in time. Dot Matrix work is strong, but distracting still at first play. The table art is goofy and....cartoon garish. I know, it's pinball, I should expect refinement? Still compared with graphics on playfields of competitors of its day it seems underdeveloped. No bugs found yet in play as far as the portover goes. Uptable flipper is easy to miss, gonna be working that dual shot to the cumulative hole and the path to the left of it. Not so disappointing in gameplay thus far, but it does aesthetically leave me distincly underwhelmed. It's hard to find table info like Extra Ball target etc through the loud obnoxious art.

 

[Garycope]

I like it cause I like pinball. All pinball!

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

Was it worth all the hype? Nah. Is it a good table? Sort of.

I will admit that the art could be a lot better, it looks much more like something out of the Simpsons than something that fits the theme. However, the rules are actually done really well - I think the saved lives count-up feature is actually pretty neat plus the helicopter doesn't get old at all. Also, Life Force may have some of the best sounds in any wizard mode.

What I noticed so far is that Multiball can increase your scores super quickly. The Jackpot maxes out at 300m - the same value you get from completing Life Force - and you can easily shoot it over and over again. I got 1.5 bil through scoring two 300m Jackpots and completing Life Force.

 

[invitro]

First impression: yuck. All the shots feel awful. The sound and DMD are much better than similar Premiers though. I'll play some more to see if I can figure it out. I don't know if there is a TPA table that does a worse job of explaining what a player should do.

 

[Tarek Oberdieck]

I don't know if there is a TPA table that does a worse job of explaining what a player should do.

It's simple. Go for multiball and jackpots as primary goal. And of course collect EBs.

 

[daneman20]

On the second play, I had already got the high score and I am not a super great player. Some of the shots are a bit awkward, especially the top flipper. Still, I dig helicopter, that was a nice touch. The fun for me will be learning the rules before I actually read them. Sometimes after I figure out the rules, a table grows on me.

 

[sneakynotsneaky]

I'll break with the glum assessment here because this was one of my most anticipated this season and I'm enjoying it. I have a big soft spot for this table in real life (I can put up respectable scores on it which is not the norm for me), and I think the recreation is solid.

I generally enjoy the Gottliebs both in reality and TPA. In particular I rate LCA way above the general consensus. Variety of course is the spice of life. Obviously I love the "obvious" classic pins but if I'm at the arcade there's only so many games of MB or LOTR I can take before I'm craving something a bit different. I often think about this when I read that (interesting) top 5 pins thread on the general board. I find it upsetting that there should be some "right" way a pin should look or play, and whether you like them or not you can't deny that something like R911 or Stargate just has a totally different feel than a Williams.

On that note, I'll go back to hoping for Banzai Run...

 

[Tarek Oberdieck]

(I don't want to read the rules yet, as not knowing a TPA table's general rules is a prized state that occurs only for a short time for each table.)

Ok. I've never played Rescue 911 IRL. After reading the instructions my conclusion is to read two chapters: Multiball and Extraballs. That's enough for basic good scores...

 

[Trackball]

I will admit, the "Extra BAWL" made me laugh.

 

[Slam23]

Ok. I've never played Rescue 911 IRL. After reading the instructions my conclusion is to read two chapters: Multiball and Extraballs. That's enough for basic good scores...

Yep.

 

[invitro]

I will admit, the "Extra BAWL" made me laugh.

Maybe there should be...

In Judge Dredd, "Extra BAIL"
In Diner, "Extra BOWL"
In Safe Cracker, "Extra BILL"

Anyway.

 

[Dedpop]

Maybe there should be...

In Judge Dredd, "Extra BAIL"
In Diner, "Extra BOWL"
In Safe Cracker, "Extra BILL"

Anyway.

 

[dtown8532]

Happy Easter Muthafrackers!


As someone who played this one in the arcade, I still don't get the communities votes on R911 and the MF'ing of LCA...��.

The helicopter just slows down an already boring design. I'd rather have Operation Thunder, Gold Wings, Deadly Weapon or, gasp, Big House. Sheesh...

 

[Fungi]

Happy Easter Muthafrackers!


As someone who played this one in the arcade, I still don't get the communities votes on R911 and the MF'ing of LCA...��.

I'm thinking the community is less than 5 people. Surely less than 10.

 

[Rich Lehmann]

Why did they pick this table? It seems boring, poorly laid out and dumb. I don't know if it is the worst table TPA but it is pretty close.

 

[dtown8532]

Many years ago there was a vote. R911 did pretty good on the Gottlieb poll.

 

[Fungi]

Many years ago there was a vote. R911 did pretty good on the Gottlieb poll.

And I'm sure in a poll with nothing but other Gottliebs, it did well. And in a poll held here with many members eager to put in their 2 cents when asked, I'm sure it did well. But with unsolicted badgering of what FS should add next, I'm sure it was the loud minority that helped get it in.

 

[Kolchak357]

They mentioned during the Twitch stream that the constant requests on Facebook helped 911 get made.
So if you really want a pin, badger them on Facebook.

 

[Slam23]

I'm not hating it. If you play for score, then it's a bit of a one-trick 300M jackpot pony. I do like the technique involved to keep it going, especially getting back to the starting position of having one ball on the lower left flipper and one ball one the upper flipper if you get out of that pattern by missing the ramp or jackpot shot. If you play it for modes, lives and lifeforce, it has an original layout and the hurry-up timer aspects of that make for some nice tension. It's definitely not upper class but servicable. I didn't ask for it on FB to be clear