Normal
I think the cheesiness factor goes into play with the premier era gottliebs. You can tell a lot of corners were cut and many things were probably done to save money. A great number of their tables tie in to an obvious licensed theme (at least at the time) but there is no license so you get a second rate imitation. Not sure if they couldn't secure it but it seems like they were trying to cash in on the success of Ghostbusters for a game like Bone Busters Inc and create something on their own rather than pay for the license. Plus these games typically came out years later after the hype died down and there was no real tie-in opportunity to promote the license with the game. Raven=Rambo, Arena=Conan, Class of 1812=Munsters, Hollywood Heat=Miami Vice and a few others. In all fairness, licensed games really did not come out back then but you just take a look at the blatant ripoff and laugh. By the time you get to Stargate and Freddy, they were putting more effort into the look of the tables and getting the licenses. The real deal! Those are also the best tables that Premier put out because they finally did it right in all aspects. Not a second rate experience but the full experience.The other aspect is the features many of their games have are just gaudy. Gottliebs were very well built but having the giant clock on Lights Camera Action or some of the giant toys in their games just really ruins the art/presentation for many. I think they did have some great balance in some games but look at the bonus portion of Cactus Jack. Half the playfield is a circle filled with lights for bonus awards. You could use that space for so much other artwork to tie into the theme. There are other art issues with color choices and artwork as well. Appearance goes a long way and placed next to the old WMS and Data East machines, there was just no competition for a first impression.
I think the cheesiness factor goes into play with the premier era gottliebs. You can tell a lot of corners were cut and many things were probably done to save money. A great number of their tables tie in to an obvious licensed theme (at least at the time) but there is no license so you get a second rate imitation. Not sure if they couldn't secure it but it seems like they were trying to cash in on the success of Ghostbusters for a game like Bone Busters Inc and create something on their own rather than pay for the license. Plus these games typically came out years later after the hype died down and there was no real tie-in opportunity to promote the license with the game. Raven=Rambo, Arena=Conan, Class of 1812=Munsters, Hollywood Heat=Miami Vice and a few others. In all fairness, licensed games really did not come out back then but you just take a look at the blatant ripoff and laugh. By the time you get to Stargate and Freddy, they were putting more effort into the look of the tables and getting the licenses. The real deal! Those are also the best tables that Premier put out because they finally did it right in all aspects. Not a second rate experience but the full experience.
The other aspect is the features many of their games have are just gaudy. Gottliebs were very well built but having the giant clock on Lights Camera Action or some of the giant toys in their games just really ruins the art/presentation for many. I think they did have some great balance in some games but look at the bonus portion of Cactus Jack. Half the playfield is a circle filled with lights for bonus awards. You could use that space for so much other artwork to tie into the theme. There are other art issues with color choices and artwork as well. Appearance goes a long way and placed next to the old WMS and Data East machines, there was just no competition for a first impression.
