# Episode 3: Double O Pinball

**Source:** Pinball Party Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-09-07  
**Duration:** 34m 56s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://pinballparty.podbean.com/e/episode-3-double-o-pinball/

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## Analysis

Jason hosts Pinball Party Podcast episode 3, announcing Stern's new 007 James Bond pinball game (release Tuesday, Pro/LE editions), discussing TNA pricing concerns, reviewing The Reboot Social arcade in Eau Claire Wisconsin with detailed game inventory, and delivering an in-depth review of Deadpool (Stern Pro Edition) that scores B+ overall, highlighting exceptional audio design but noting visual and shot-layout inconsistencies.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern Pinball announced a new 007 James Bond game releasing Tuesday the 13th at 10 a.m. with Pro and Limited Edition versions — _Jason citing Stern insider email and Pinside news; described as official announcement with specific release details_
- [HIGH] TNA ($250 tokens) are still in stock and not sold out — _Jason reporting follow-up on previous episode discussion; direct observation about availability_
- [HIGH] The Reboot Social in Eau Claire, Wisconsin uses 3-for-$1 tokens with custom power symbol design instead of quarters — _Jason's first-hand venue visit and experience; physical examination of tokens_
- [HIGH] Deadpool's Wolverine shot bounce mechanic (hitting standup target to redirect to scoop for 2x multiplier) was non-functional on Jason's first machine due to target damage, but worked on his second machine — _Jason's direct ownership experience comparing two separate Deadpool machines_
- [HIGH] George Gomez designed both Deadpool and Mortal Kombat, influencing their similar rule structure and gameplay feel — _Jason stating this as discovery during his research of designer influence on game design_
- [HIGH] The Reboot Social inventory includes: upstairs (Pro edition): Rush, Avengers, Star Wars Mandalorian, Star Wars, Godzilla; downstairs: Medieval Madness, Rick and Morty, X-Men Pro, Addams Family, South Park, Space Jam, Attack from Mars, Star Trek Pro — _Jason's detailed first-hand account of machines present during his visit_
- [HIGH] Jason purchased Lord of the Rings from Wisconsinpinball.net for $5,900, later sold it, then purchased Deadpool (Pro Edition) from a Minneapolis seller — _Jason's personal acquisition history narrated in episode_
- [MEDIUM] Deadpool Premium and Limited Editions are mechanically similar to Pro Edition except disco shot on left keeps feeding right flipper — _Jason comparing versions he has played; limited direct comparison detail provided_

### Notable Quotes

> "It's set to be released next Tuesday the 13th to the public at 10 a.m. Apparently the dealers slash distributors get a little sneak preview a couple hours ahead of time."
> — **Jason**, ~3:20
> _Official release timing for 007 announcement_

> "For me personally, that theme does very little if not nothing at all. Never been a giant Bond fan, I mean, it's fine. Now if it was based on just the N64 game, Goldeneye, that would draw me in a lot stronger."
> — **Jason**, ~4:10
> _Personal opinion on 007 theme reveal; shows lukewarm reception from reviewer despite announcement importance_

> "Those $250 are not sold out. You can still buy them. That gives me just a glimmer of hope of those in this community. There's some good left in this world."
> — **Jason**, ~7:00
> _Follow-up on TNA pricing controversy from previous episode; indicates some community resistance to high pricing_

> "I have yet to meet someone in my real life in the comic book world, we have a comic book fan... Deadpool is always just like, yeah, he's great. He's fine. I'll always take him."
> — **Jason**, ~27:45
> _Reflects broader community sentiment that Deadpool theme is solid but not exceptional_

> "When I would hit the Wolverine shot in a certain way, it would ricochet off the stand up target and go up the scoop and make this snick sound... That's how people are getting these scores."
> — **Jason**, ~35:50
> _Key discovery about hidden shot mechanic on Deadpool; illustrates gap between machines and rule complexity_

> "The audio, as good as this is... This is the tippy top. This my friend is a 10."
> — **Jason**, ~50:30
> _Highest scoring category for Deadpool; audio design praised as exceptional_

> "I think there's a lot of similarities that I don't think it requires separate reviews... But gameplay... I would say that I was very, very convinced... every shot you hit was working towards something."
> — **Jason**, ~43:00
> _Deadpool rule design compared favorably to Lord of the Rings; highlights designer influence on rule depth_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jason | person | Host of Pinball Party Podcast; collector and enthusiast discussing personal pinball experiences, machine acquisitions, and venue visits in Wisconsin |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer announcing new 007 James Bond pinball game for Tuesday release with Pro and Limited Edition versions |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer of TNA; subject of pricing controversy regarding $9,000/$250 purchase options discussed in follow-up segment |
| The Reboot Social | venue | New bar/arcade/bowling alley in Eau Claire, Wisconsin with substantial pinball and arcade game collection; uses custom-designed tokens |
| George Gomez | person | Pinball designer credited with designing both Deadpool and Mortal Kombat, influencing similar rule structure and gameplay philosophy |
| Deadpool | game | Stern Pinball machine based on Marvel character; extensively reviewed by Jason in episode (Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition variants) |
| 007 | game | Newly announced Stern Pinball game based on James Bond franchise; set for release Tuesday with Pro and Limited Edition options |
| TNA (Total Nuclear Annihilation) | game | Spooky Pinball game; subject of follow-up discussion regarding pricing and availability of remaining $250 units |
| Lord of the Rings | game | Stern Pinball game; Jason's first machine, purchased via Wisconsinpinball.net for $5,900, later sold |
| Star Trek | game | Stern Pinball game; Jason owns Elite version at home; serves as reference point for visual and audio design comparisons |
| Medieval Madness | game | Classic Bally/Williams game; featured at The Reboot Social arcade as original/early version |
| Godzilla | game | Stern Pinball Pro Edition game featured at The Reboot Social |
| Addams Family | game | Classic Williams game; featured at The Reboot Social arcade |
| Rick and Morty | game | Stern Pinball game noted as unexpected inclusion at The Reboot Social alongside newer Pro Edition titles |
| X-Men | game | Stern Pinball Pro Edition game; Jason's first machine played at The Reboot Social, grandmastered in two games |
| Attack from Mars | game | Pinball classic (original version) featured at The Reboot Social |
| Star Wars: The Mandalorian | game | Stern Pinball Pro Edition game featured at The Reboot Social; used as visual design reference point by Jason |
| Wisconsinpinball.net | organization | Regional Wisconsin pinball community forum/website where Jason purchased Lord of the Rings; described as mini-Pinside |
| This Week in Pinball | media | Industry news source mentioned as source of 007 announcement information alongside Pinside |
| Mortal Kombat | game | Videogame referenced for rule design similarity to Deadpool; designed by same designer (George Gomez) influencing pinball game |

### Topics

- **Primary:** 007 James Bond game announcement and release details, Deadpool Stern Pinball review (Pro/Premium/Limited editions), The Reboot Social arcade venue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- **Secondary:** TNA pricing controversy and availability follow-up, Game designer influence on rule design and gameplay philosophy, Regional pinball community acquisition channels (Wisconsinpinball.net), Machine reliability and shot mechanic consistency across units
- **Mentioned:** Pinball visual design and lighting package quality assessment

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.58) — Jason shows genuine enthusiasm for pinball community and gaming venues (positive toward The Reboot Social, appreciative of TNA community restraint), but expresses lukewarm reception to 007 theme announcement and delivers mixed-to-critical review of Deadpool (noting visual/shot clunkiness despite praising audio and rules). Overall tone is constructive and engaged rather than negative.

### Signals

- **[announcement]** Stern Pinball officially announced 007 James Bond pinball game with confirmed Tuesday release, Pro and Limited Edition versions, and confirmed pricing increase expected (confidence: high) — Jason citing Stern insider email with specific release date (Tuesday the 13th, 10 a.m.) and edition structure; described as 'breaking news'
- **[venue_signal]** The Reboot Social opened in Eau Claire, Wisconsin as multi-game venue (bar, arcade, bowling, pinball, pool) with 12+ pinball titles and substantial arcade collection; uses custom token system (confidence: high) — Jason's first-hand visit with detailed game inventory listing and operational observations
- **[market_signal]** TNA $250 special edition units remain in stock and unsold, suggesting market resistance to premium pricing relative to $9,000 base option (confidence: high) — Jason's follow-up reporting that tokens 'are not sold out' and noting this 'gives me just a glimmer of hope'
- **[product_concern]** Deadpool machines show significant variance in shot functionality (Wolverine target registering on second machine but not first due to damage), affecting gameplay discovery and scoring potential (confidence: high) — Jason's direct comparison of two owned Deadpool units revealing non-functional mechanics on first machine due to bashed target; 'shot didn't exist' on first unit
- **[design_philosophy]** George Gomez's design philosophy creates similar rule structure and gameplay feel across games (Deadpool/Mortal Kombat comparison); designer identity becomes discovery point for players researching games (confidence: medium) — Jason noting rule similarity between Deadpool and Mortal Kombat, then discovering both designed by Gomez: 'they're designed by the same fucking dude'
- **[sentiment_shift]** 007 James Bond theme announcement received lukewarm community reception from host despite being official reveal; host expresses stronger interest in N64 Goldeneye alternative (confidence: medium) — Jason: 'For me personally, that theme does very little if not nothing at all... would be much more curious' if based on Goldeneye
- **[gameplay_signal]** Deadpool's hidden shot mechanics (Wolverine target bounce-to-scoop 2x multiplier) represent non-obvious rule design that influences scoring potential; requires machine-to-machine discovery or player education (confidence: high) — Jason comparing two machines: first didn't recognize shot existed; second required repeated play to discover mechanic: 'That's how people are getting these scores'
- **[community_signal]** Wisconsinpinball.net operates as active regional community forum for game buying/selling and discussion, complementing larger platforms like Pinside and Facebook Marketplace (confidence: medium) — Jason purchasing Lord of the Rings from forum; describes it as 'mini Pinside' with general news, discussion, and B/S/T sections
- **[product_launch]** 007 announcement expected to trigger Stern Pinball pricing increase across model tiers, consistent with manufacturer pattern (confidence: medium) — Jason noting: 'Beyond the announcement, We Are Pinball and I'm sure that there's going to be a price increase'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Deadpool visual design (art/lighting) scores lower than audio and rules; dark color palette and monolithic RGB lighting perceived as meeting expectations without distinction; translite quality varies between Pro/Premium editions (confidence: medium) — Jason scoring visuals 6/10: 'not great... Nothing more, nothing really less'; comparing unfavorably to Star Trek/Mandalorian; noting Premium translite worse than Pro
- **[design_innovation]** Deadpool integrates fighting game mechanics (character selection, health bars, battle modes) into pinball rule set, drawing from Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat influence (confidence: medium) — Jason: 'It actually reminds me of... Street Fighter 2... and clearly had an influence on... Deadpool as well... modes... just like Mortal Kombat videogame'

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## Transcript

If thou art offended by words such as *, , , and mother*****, don't keep listening. Hey, welcome to episode three of the Pinball Party podcast. This week is the third time of the charm. Third wheel. Three is a crowd. Or maybe three strikes you're out. Let's hope for third time of the charm. My name is Jason. I've been the one welcoming you for the last, I don't know, five to ten seconds. We got a good show today. I'm happy to talk about a local place that just opened up. Good place to play pinball. We'll talk about a little breaking news, some of it very breaking, a little follow up on last time, and last but not least, review the next game that I've bought. So, without further ado, let's go. All right, first and foremost, I'd like to thank those who reached out. All the kind words. I'm glad you're liking it. I'm liking it. I'm having a good time. You know for me, it's a good break away from music. I guess not necessarily audio, but you know we're going back to record another album early November at Black and Bloom Studios in Denver, Colorado and a big juicy shout out to Kyle and Chris Fantastic sound engineers to work with Anyone who's thinking of recording in the Denver, Colorado area The recording of black and bloom studios they've had some pretty large names there in the rock the punk rock genre uh... one of the hugest names they've had, ugh jeez, they're called Neon Dale? They're so good! I mean maybe not the singer, songwriter and guitarist but everyone else is fantastic catchy as hell all that But in all seriousness, it's a little less pressure to do this kind of thing. And I love to talk about a fantastic hobby that we all share together. And that hobby is pinball. And interrupting your episode three, I come with some breaking news from Stern Electronics. They've announced their next game. And that game is Seven, based on the movie by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt. Morgan Freeman About the seven deadly sins and man. I mean I came out of left field, but I am excited You know knowing they're gonna do about all the seven deadly sins. It's a little you know mature for Stern a little What? What? It is. Oh, I thought that was a typo. Oh, well that makes more sense. No, you know I'm recording The breaking news from Stern electronics They've announced their latest game 007 based on the franchise of Bond James Bond himself and To be honest. There's not a lot to say about it. Just little bits. It's set to be released next Tuesday the 13th to the public at 10 a.m Apparently the dealers slash distributors get a little sneak preview a couple hours ahead of time And from the email I got from Sterninsider and all the pin side news and gossip combing through the BS, it seems like the closest things to facts we have aside from it being released on Tuesday, they'll probably start with the pros per usual, but the email itself, the insider email actually referenced LEs if you want to buy them direct. Beyond the announcement, we are pretty sure that there's going to be a price increase. All we can really say for sure is that the next game is 007. For me personally, that theme does very little if not nothing at all. Never been a giant Bond fan, I mean, it's fine. Now if it was based on just the N64 game, Goldeneye, that would draw me in a lot stronger. It wouldn't sell me on it, but I'd be much more curious. Yeah, overall, Bond, I don't have much to say on. I don't have history with it. I've seen some of the movies. Take them or leave them. This week in pinball I think a lot of people will be happy and I guess one more little rumor or hope is that it's a Gomez game Which I you know, I guess you've been talking about in a little bit, but Gomez knows what he's doing So here's hoping to a great game by hopefully Gomez and the Stern team at least now we know what we're dealing with Back to your regular scheduled programming

One quick follow-up to last week before we talk about a new place to play pinball Pinball in Wisconsin. A little update on the TNA spooky scandal aka will you please pay us $9000 for TNA 2.0? No! And the short update is this. Those $250 are not sold out. You can still buy them. That gives me just a glimmer of hope of those in this community. There's some good left in this world. And A subtle message of we're not that hard up for total nuclear annihilation. But just to reiterate again, I wish nothing but the best for Spooky. In fact, I'm rooting for them. I want them to succeed. And that's why this just trips my trigger so much. Oh, you sons of bitches. I don't want to give you $9,000. Come on, man. Let me give you money. Just not that much. And speaking of I would like to formally welcome from I guess just this podcast very grandiose of me a big welcome to Reboot Social. Reboot Social opened up this weekend in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is a bar, cade, bowling alley, pinball, pool, all that kind of stuff in one. And while we've had some of those in the past, this one seems to actually take itself very seriously. Well, not in the Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood, Serious, but as in they put a lot of money into it, prepared quite a bit, I think got the right stock of games, both arcade and pinball, but let me walk you through, I guess, my day there yesterday. Well, I pull up in my Mazda CX-5 as I do, and as I approach, some rando asks, are you wearing a pickle hat? In fact, I was wearing a Vlasic pickle hat. I said yes I am He said that awesome I said I know and I walked in and first thing is I saw this very nice bar very clean a few waitresses a couple waiters a bartender I saw some pinball machines in the back I could tell right away we got some new Sterns I take it all in I walk up to the machine see that there no bill validators or credit cards I like all right cool I mean go find out what the what the sitch is here I couldn't find a coin machine anywhere So like all right I asked one of the ladies hey you know what the scoop here It my first time How do we T-O-K-E-N, Token, Tokens, Welcome Back To 1990 I suppose. And not only are they tokens, it's three for a dollar. Not four. Their math is fantastic, apparently. So whatever, okay. I put in a dollar, get my three tokens. They literally just look like quarters, but they say, what do they say on it? Let me grab one. They say, oh, they do say Reboot Social on it. Actually, that's pretty sweet. One side is Reboot Social, the other side is the power symbol, like the circle with the little line through it. You'd recognize it as a power symbol on any sort of electronic. And they're actually pretty, you know, the same weighty as a quarter. Like these are some expensive tokens. I'd say instead of spending so much money creating these actually heavy duty tokens, just use quarters. Anyway, hey, whatever. Not a big deal. I get my tokens. I look at the machines downstairs. Great. We have another just big lineup. And you know, the first game I actually played The game was a X-Men Pro. I've wanted to in a while and that was it. But let me read the games actually that they had there. Because for Eau Claire I think it was pretty impressive. Alright, here we go. These are all pros, by the way. Rush, Avengers, Mandalorian, Star Wars, Godzilla. You know, those are the Stern pros upstairs. Downstairs we had Medieval Madness, OG, Rick and Morty, which actually surprised me. You know, all the newer ones upstairs and suddenly downstairs there's a Rick and Morty. X-Men Pro, as I mentioned. Addams Family, surprise. South Park Space Jam? Yeah. Attack from Mars, original I think. And then a Star Trek Pro. What did I do? Well, I played X-Men Pro first. In the last week of the week, I spent most of my time on Rush, so what did I do? Well, I played two games, made that machine my bitch, and grandmastered it. I'm not a big deal. Just a Sunday. And as a gentleman, I left the two credits in there for the next batter up. After that, I made my way back downstairs and thought, you know, I, you know, for those who've listened to the first episode, I love Star Trek. I have an Ellie at home. And I haven't played a pro in a while. Crowds a little rough but overall great time. Reboot Social, Eau Claire Wisconsin, check it out. I'm going to keep continuing this Wisconsin theme and talk about how more money has been moved around Wisconsin in my pinball life, I suppose. We're about to get to my review of Deadpool, the third game that I owned. But before we do, I realized last week I didn't mention how I acquired Lord of the Rings. I've heard others express interest in, you know, hearing the mini story on how some acquire games. Because foreshadowing, there's some interesting stories ahead, to say the least, on some of these. I saw Lord of the Rings for sale in Madison, Wisconsin, not on Pinside, not on Craigslist, not on Facebook, but on a website called wisconsinpinball.net. Wisconsinpinball.net is another forum slash well website forum which is you guessed it all about pinball. There is general news, there's general just talk of the day, there's buy sell exactly what you'd think. A mini Pinside. Someone on there listed a Lord of the Rings for $5900 and I sent him a message within 30 seconds, yes I'll take it, and went to go pick it up. At least I knew this time, you use cardboard to get in the car, you use shrink wrap to wrap the head down, and you know, this guy was moving to Florida, selling off his collection, it was a home use only Lord of the Rings, that's it, I picked it up, took it home, and you heard the review last week. So let's move on to the review of the day, the review of the pod, the review of the cast, and that is Mr. Chimichanga himself, Mr. Ryan Reynolds, Mr. Allred with a couple eyes, Mr. Is he in X-Men, is he in Marvel, what is he? I'm talking about Deadpool. Well, there's actually a little more to the story on getting Deadpool. Because, when I had Lord of the Rings, I, personally, was cool with that. I'm done with pinball. I just want Lord of the Rings. It's a theme that resonates to me. I enjoy tinkering with it. I didn't go on Pinside, anymore, or any of that. However, I would say a month after getting Lord of the Rings, life happened. Without getting more into it, it was a good decision to actually sell that game and use the money for life things. So I actually took, I think it was about a year and a half break from pinball altogether. And you know, life kept happening as it does and came back to a point where monetary I was out of the game. I didn't know, you know, I was like, well, I'll get a Lord of the Rings again, I guess, but I wanted to kind of, you know, find out the lay of the land. And it came pretty apparent fast that the game that I saw previews of right when I sold Lord of the Rings, which was Deadpool. The actual game was in Minneapolis there was a Deadpool at a good price a Deadpool Pro shout out to Brobrá in Minneapolis i saw his posting shot him an offer he accepted and I went and picked it up. I'm still going to go through the same metrics as the last two times. We're going to go through theme and gameplay and rules, visuals and audio. And then my overall kind of personal opinion aside from how numerically it pans out. My first thoughts on Deadpool. This was my first Spike 2 game. So my very first thoughts were, holy shit, it sounds good. It doesn't sound terrible anymore. Not only does it sound good, the animations, you know, maybe I was spoiled hindsight, animations were phenomenal. I remember on Lord of the Rings my biggest, not my biggest complaint which was the audio quality, but my was my next mod was going to be a color DMD because I thought that would be a great uplift to that game. But on Deadpool, holy shit, it just looked great. It sounded great. It was just a rock and roll vibe. I was all in like, okay, this is this is I'm glad you know I kinda bought this without even thinking and let's go and my overall first impression was just thematically cool sounds great this is a new era pinball similar to how I felt when I first got Star Trek Pro like this is this is a new game pun intended but let's let's get right into the categories. Theme on Deadpool I have yet to meet someone in my real life This week in the comic book world, we have a comic book fan. I have a lot of comic book friends and I myself am a comic book person. When I say comic book friends, I guess what I actually mean is in the industry, either doing graphic design in a comic book manner or literally make comic books. They're usually, you know, oh, I grew up on Jack Kirby or early Spider-Man, early Conan, things like that. Early Thor. Deadpool is always just like, yeah, he's great. He's fine. I'll always take him. And that's The movie is great. So the theme, you know, I just don't really have much to say on it other than it just fits in a perfect seven. It's good. It's not bad. Does it scream pinball to me, the theme? No, but it's fine. There's much worse. And there's some better. Gameplay I am going to give, well I'll give a number, but some of this corresponds with real experience. Every shot was sort of clunky. The scoop was a great shot. In fact, it was my favorite shot. Scoop was my favorite shot. I could hit that thing as much as I could hit the Addams Family scoop. It was just like muscle memory riding a bike. I could hit that scoop anytime, anytime, anytime. Same with the Wolverine shot. Could always hit it. Everything else, even when you would dial it in, had a little bit of clunk to it. And I chalked that up to, well, this is a very innovative design. It's not necessarily a fan layout. I can't expect everything to be perfect. You know, the game is fantastic. How can you not like it? I know what you like. This is up your alley. Okay, I'll give it another shot. I gave it another few shots and there just was something missing. I don't know what it was. I couldn't put my finger on it. Let's now fast forward to the second time I owned Deadpool. I owned Deadpool again because I got it at a price that I couldn't refuse. I actually got it from a guy that routes games in the cities and I bought a Star Wars and a Deadpool at once. It was better to buy both than one so a story for another day. So the second Deadpool I got, something was different. When I would hit the Wolverine shot in a certain way, it would ricochet off the stand up target and go up the scoop and make this snick sound. Like, whoa, what is that? That feels good. And I noticed it hit the two times multiplier. Well, it turns out what was happening that on the first machine I had, I had no idea that that standup target would be such an important snick shot. For those uninitiated, the Wolverine shot, which is up the middle, it's kind of like a little loop, a half loop, half moon loop. There is a little standup target to the right of it angled at about, I guess what would you say 45 degrees? That if you hit that and it bounces up then the ramp to the left, which is a kind of an odd thing, it gives you a two times playfield multiplier. You hit it again that increases. My first game, literally that shot didn't exist. I didn't know enough to even look for it. But I guess that stand up target was there but it was bashed to shit so bad that it just never registered or never bounced off. So that was the thing that was feeling clunky and missing. And then the second game, I could hit that shot if I tried, I'd say three out of five times. No shit. I've played others that, you know, it's a little harder than that, but that shot was, oh, okay. I see how people are getting these scores. I see what that is. I guess I can give this a second look, a little more attention. And we're specifically talking about Deadpool pros here. I have played premiums and LEs and I think, would I own it again? Yes. And I would own a premium. I think that between the pros and the premiums slash LEs there's enough similarities that I don't think it requires separate reviews. Other than on the premium and LE's the disco shot on the left will keep feeding the right flipper. That is really the only gameplay difference. Everything else is basically the same and even that gameplay differences and isn't super huge. Cosmetically, I actually like the LE powder coat and everything the best but that's for another day. But gameplay wise let me just squish the two machines together and assume I just owned it once. I would say the I was very, very convinced and I wrote my review on Pinside about this, that it was a very similar rule set to Lord of the Rings in that every shot you hit was working towards something. And my only personal experience aside from the Twilight Zone, Addams Family, 90s Attack from Mars era was Star Trek, which is hit the lit shots and Lord of the Rings, which was, oh my God, all these shots do something, whether you're in a mode or not. And Deadpool, it's like, oh, that's, that's a very There's the chimichangas, there's the katana ramps, there's the modes which were so intuitive, so awesome, and to this day, it's just Mortal Kombat in a videogame. Which, come on, just re-theme it, make it Mortal Kombat, you can probably triple your sales. Well, come to find out, oh, they're designed by the same fucking dude. And that was my first introduction into a designer actually has a major influence on how the game plays feels look all that I mean can you blame me I was this is my third pinball machine I'm not necessarily, like when I came back to the game. Oh what I want to know more than anything who does the artwork who does the software You know I wanted to play games and buy it But you start picking up on these things the more you experience and especially when you have money into something you research a little bit. So to suffice to say I like the rule design I actually loved the addition of the fights like I mentioned the Mortal Kombat stuff And the shots were clunky overall I give the gameplay an 8 I I think the shots are a little clunky. There's some satisfaction in there and the satisfaction the katana shot and some of the snick it when you're aiming for it You get yourself an 11, but there is a lot of clunk overall Give it an 8. Rules, I think I I guess I just talked about them quite a bit and the fact that the battles are great one of the most simplest tell someone how to do it hit the scoop pick a person do a battle You ever seen a fighting game before? Of course you had. It's just like that. It actually reminds me of being, oh I guess how old would I have been? 10, 11? At Moulton's Skate America in Eau Claire that is the skating rink you know where you go in elementary, middle school and have your first kiss and listen to awesome 80s music, you ride the turtles, you roller skate, you play arcade games and then one day You and a friend see this game like whoa whoa wait a second. What the hell is that? There's this big green guy with orange hair and he's full of electricity and there's this other guy in a white karate gi. He's throwing fireballs. There's these two giant health bars at the top. People just start gathering around and at that age there was nothing like it. These giant sprites on the screen. Oh my god. Street Fighter 2, one of the most influential videogames of all time, and clearly had an influence on Mortal Kombat and Deadpool as well. So the rules being a marriage of a love of fighting games, very similar to lord of the rings, shots aside, I think there's a lot to it. The modes may be, there's only what, five or six, but then you can double them. I think the great thing about the rule set is that there's an end to the game. You get to fight the big bad guy. Your final battle, similar to Star Trek, you know, there's the Kobayashi Maru, this unobtainable thing, this crazy deep makes sense to the whole story. Deadpool, okay, Mr. Sinister, okay. That's not like Lex Luthor to Superman, that's not like the Joker to Batman, it's just like alright, sure I guess we're fighting, so, I think it's a little like meh, meh. But, that aside, the rules are a nine. Visuals. Again, for those who aren't used to the way I'm reviewing games in a visual standpoint, I'm combining both the art and the light package into one. I think this is, and I don't like saying this, because this game is fantastic. It's a six. All right, let's get back to the video. So, the first game I played was Dark. It's just so red and dark. And it's the first game I thought, like, is there a couple bulbs out? I had to look. No, no, they're not. Okay. What? You know, and even Lord of the Rings, that's a dark game. And this is the game I owned after, and I thought this was dark. It just didn't have that wow, like a Star Trek or, you know, now that, you know, years later, a Mandalorian or Alien or, well, in a certain game, you like the visuals the most here. Whatever. I, you know, it's not great. All of it was just, you know, what I expect. And that's, I guess, you know, in quotes, that's what, oh, you delivered on, I guess what I expected. Nothing more, nothing really less. And the lights, yeah, there's RGB and they're all the same. They're what I expect. Yeah, they do. They do the job. That's it. They're fine. And what I find odd is going to the premium, like the back glass, the translate is worse than the pro. If I, if I got a premium again, I would switch it with the pro. Which you know I guess I would actually do the same in Metallica but anyway visuals I don't have much more to say on it six sorry bro. Audio. Well you know Lloyd, just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber you go and do something like this and totally redeem yourself. Get on that kingpin, idiots. You can handle whatever content you click on that. The As good as this Sound effects, maybe sure maybe some music some sure but this is this is the crème de la crème. This is the tippy top. This my friend is a 10. All right, let's go through the numbers theme 7 gameplay 8 rules 9 visuals 6 bummer, bro and audio 10 with my Genius level math that is a 40 out of 50 multiply that by 2 you got yourself an 80 B minus and this My my my system is fucked. My system doesn't work. This is in fact a broken system my personal opinion on the game I guess it's close here if we just add another line to that minus my personal opinion is a B plus We meet in the middle to be who cares systems broken I'm gonna go with my gut on this one and call it a B plus well there's a review of the third game I owned and I guess I wonder what the next game I owned was alright that's it thanks for joining me at the Pinball Party feel free to contact me at pinballpartypodcast.com Questions questions, comments, concerns, count the number of times I say so, all that fun stuff. Thanks for listening to me talk a little bit about Spooky, a lot of Wisconsin stuff today, giving my thoughts on Deadpool and of course the last minute 007 news. We'll talk more about that next week. Speaking of next week, I hope to see you here and see you here with my ears, my voice, your ears, All right, thanks again. Always appreciate it. Take care. See ya.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 00d1a8cf-2466-4e86-8ac3-c5e94634bd27*