# My New Pinball Machine | James Bond Pinball by Stern – First Impressions, Gameplay & Is It a Keeper?

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-04-24  
**Duration:** 53m 46s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nqcBcEL_TY

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## Analysis

Gonzo reviews his newly acquired James Bond 007 (Premium Edition) by Stern Pinball after a month of ownership. He praises the game's code evolution from early stripped-down builds to a feature-rich final state, compares it favorably to other George Gomez designs, but expresses personal frustration with shot difficulty and playfield ergonomics that prevent him from progressing meaningfully. He demonstrates specific problematic shots and discusses whether the game will remain a permanent part of his collection.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] James Bond 007 by Stern has evolved from early code builds with minimal movie footage and assets to a feature-complete state with abundant Sean Connery quotes and licensed content — _Gonzo comparing his first play at Preston event (stripped code) vs. current state after updates; confirmed by extended gameplay discussion_
- [HIGH] The Broccoli family held artistic rights to James Bond until recently, when Amazon acquired the license — _Gonzo's direct statement about licensing constraints and recent transfer to Amazon_
- [MEDIUM] This is a Sean Connery-focused Bond game, distinct from the 60th Anniversary Edition designed by Keith Elwin which was more retro in style — _Gonzo states this distinction but adds 'I might have that wrong,' indicating some uncertainty_
- [HIGH] The shot between the two right-hand ramps has poor positioning and ergonomics, compounded by inconsistent switch registration — _Gonzo extensively discusses this specific shot, testing the switch repeatedly and describing it as positioned 'exactly in the wrong position'_
- [HIGH] George Gomez's post-launch code development transformed Bond from an 'average game into an excellent game' — _Gonzo's explicit statement and comparison to Batman 66 (also Gomez, also Lyman Sheats code)_
- [HIGH] Gonzo has beaten Jaws twice (including the shark hunting mode) but remains 'a million miles away' from comparable progression on Bond — _Direct statement about specific Jaws achievements vs. Bond progression gap_
- [HIGH] Gonzo was initially anti-Insider Connected due to work-life digital fatigue but has adopted it, finding it particularly engaging on Jaws — _Extended discussion of Insider Connected experience and attitude shift_
- [HIGH] The DB5 ejector seat mechanism is 'one of the coolest mechs in recent times' but is understated in community discussion — _Gonzo's direct assessment and emphasis on underrated nature_
- [HIGH] Bond's difficulty curve and shot positioning create a game that 'humbles' casual players even at 800M+ scores, contrasting with games like Deadpool Stern and Attack from Mars that provide encouragement — _Extended comparative analysis and personal play experience_
- [MEDIUM] Dungeon & Dragons pinball is coming to Pinball Heaven 'next week' and will likely have strong Insider Connected integration due to RPG nature — _Gonzo's speculation based on D&D mechanics, not confirmed announcement_

### Notable Quotes

> "The code is very good... the coding on here has turned an average game into an excellent game... In coding terms, it's a masterpiece."
> — **Gonzo (review author)**, ~11:00-13:00
> _Core assessment of George Gomez's post-launch code quality and transformation of the game_

> "I'm not a great dialer of shots. I don't seem to get much better at it... This game humbles you. Well, me. I'm talking about me."
> — **Gonzo**, ~9:00-10:00
> _Self-aware admission of skill limitations and the game's difficulty curve as personal blocker_

> "The shot that's the killer for me is this one here. I can't hit it with any regularity. And sometimes I think it jumps over. Sometimes it jumps over the switch."
> — **Gonzo**, ~26:00-28:00
> _Specific evidence of playfield ergonomics/switch registration issue that blocks progression_

> "I absolutely love all the Tolkien stuff... The Hobbit was the finished game, and Bond looked like it needed a lot of work."
> — **Gonzo**, ~5:00-6:00
> _Early comparison showing code immaturity at friend's house vs. Jersey Jack's finished Hobbit_

> "I was very anti-Insider Connected... Once you're in, you're in. It's hooked me, particularly on Jaws."
> — **Gonzo**, ~17:00-18:00
> _Community adoption signal for Insider Connected ecosystem; attitude shift from skepticism to endorsement_

> "I think this humbles you... even if you have your best game, I'm a million miles away."
> — **Gonzo**, ~12:00-13:00
> _Core tension: game lacks reward/encouragement loop compared to other Gomez designs_

> "The DB5, the Aston Martin DB5... it's one of the coolest mechs in recent times it does not get mentioned enough in my opinion"
> — **Gonzo**, ~24:00
> _Mechanical feature praise; signals potential underrated aspect of game design_

> "I am a very very bad player. I'm maybe better than someone that walks up to play a pinball machine."
> — **Gonzo**, ~10:00
> _Transparent self-assessment framing his criticisms as player-skill-driven rather than game design failure_

> "I love the Q Branch modes on it. They're fantastic... I love the ejector seat and the DB5, I love it. It's a completely underrated mech."
> — **Gonzo**, ~13:00-14:00
> _Positive mechanical/rule design elements despite overall difficulty frustration_

> "I think the point I'm trying to make is... firing up this machine and playing this machine, it definitely takes me back... Music's a time machine really."
> — **Gonzo**, ~3:00-4:00
> _Thematic resonance and nostalgia appeal as emotional driver for the purchase_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Gonzo | person | Content creator at Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama; casual-to-intermediate pinball player; collector; self-describes as 'very very bad player' but better than walk-up casual players |
| George Gomez | person | Pinball designer at Stern; cited as Gonzo's favorite designer; designed Bond 007, Batman 66, The Lord of the Rings, Deadpool Stern, Monster Bash. Praised for code quality and design philosophy |
| Keith Elwin | person | Mentioned as designer of James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition (different from this Premium Edition); described as retro-style approach |
| Lyman Sheats | person | Code designer for Batman 66; invoked as comparative reference for code quality on Bond |
| James Bond 007 (Premium Edition) | game | Stern Pinball machine based on James Bond IP; heavily modded example owned by Gonzo; features Sean Connery era; DB5 ejector seat mech; multiple ramps; henchman/villain modes; problematic shot ergonomics |
| Jaws | game | Modern pinball machine owned by Gonzo; heavily modded; shark hunting mode gameplay; has achieved multiple complete runs by Gonzo; functions as positive contrast for accessibility and encouragement |
| The Hobbit (Standard Edition) | game | Jersey Jack Pinball machine; Benedict Cumberbatch voiceover; big screen with movie footage; seen at friend's house as comparison point—finished code vs. early Bond |
| Batman 66 | game | George Gomez design; Lyman Sheats code; cited as comparable high-quality modern Gomez game with better rule encouragement structure |
| Deadpool Stern | game | George Gomez design; one of Gonzo's absolute favorites; plays poorly on it but receives encouragement/progression feedback via rules and playfield lighting |
| Attack from Mars | game | Owned and regularly played by Gonzo; functions as accessibility/encouragement comparison—achievable progression vs. Bond's humbling difficulty |
| Godzilla | game | Mentioned as example of game Gonzo had to sell due to scoop shot ergonomics; comparison point for shot positioning problems |
| The Lord of the Rings | game | George Gomez design; ranked among Gonzo's top games; cited as one of few games better than Monster Bash; regular setup in his collection |
| Pulp Fiction | game | Owned and set up by Gonzo; played in rotation with Bond |
| Dolly Parton | game | Mentioned as game in Gonzo's collection; played aside during Bond focus period |
| The Big Lebowski | game | Set up in Gonzo's collection; available for regular play |
| Monster Bash | game | George Gomez design; cited as one of few games better than LOTR in Gonzo's estimation |
| Pinball Heaven | company | Channel sponsor; supplies games for Gonzo to review/test; maintains stock of Bond machines; now offering financing for pinball purchases |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of James Bond 007; employs George Gomez; known for post-launch code updates |
| Broccoli family | person | Historically held artistic rights to James Bond IP until recently; licensing constraints influenced early Bond code limitations |
| Amazon | company | Currently holds James Bond licensing rights; recently acquired from Broccoli family |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern's connected play system; tracks achievements; integrates with Premium/Pro models; Gonzo initially skeptical but now advocates for it post-adoption |
| Sean Connery | person | Bond actor featured on this Premium Edition; era focus of this particular game design; associated with gadget-heavy Bond aesthetic |
| Roger Moore | person | Gonzo's preferred Bond actor; era associated with car-to-submarine (Lotus Esprit) and helicopter gadgets; some of these props incorrectly modded into Sean Connery game |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Post-launch code evolution and quality, Playfield ergonomics and shot difficulty, Mechanical design (DB5 ejector seat, ramps), Player skill gates and accessibility vs. depth
- **Secondary:** Insider Connected ecosystem adoption, Game designer philosophy (George Gomez comparative analysis), Licensing constraints impact on game assets, Collection management and keeper decisions

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.45) — Gonzo expresses genuine appreciation for code quality, mechanical design, thematic execution, and aesthetic appeal, but frustration with playfield ergonomics and personal skill limitations that prevent meaningful progression. He is conflicted about whether to keep the game. Tone is analytical and self-aware rather than bitter—he credits his own limitations while identifying legitimate design concerns (shot positioning, switch registration). Underlying affection for the theme and admiration for Gomez's work is evident.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Pinball Heaven now offering financing for pinball machine purchases; expanding accessibility/payment options in retail market (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'They're doing finance now. They're doing finance on pinball machines. That is quite a new thing'
- **[community_signal]** Insider Connected is driving sustained play engagement and community connection through achievement tracking and progression metrics; Gonzo's adoption after initial skepticism suggests expanding user base (confidence: medium) — Gonzo's statement: 'Once you're in, you're in. It's hooked me... I like it now. I do like it'; active use on both Jaws and Bond
- **[design_philosophy]** Game design provides insufficient encouragement/progression feedback for mid-skill players compared to other George Gomez titles; difficulty curve isolates casual players and blocks meaningful wizard mode access (confidence: high) — Comparative analysis with Deadpool Stern and Attack from Mars; 'I think this humbles you... even if you have your best game... I'm a million miles away'; 'it may well be a little bit too tough for me'
- **[design_philosophy]** Gonzo identifies pattern in playfield design: some George Gomez games (LOTR, Deadpool, Attack from Mars) have shot positions that feel 'natural' and intuitive while Bond does not; suggests deliberate or intuitive ergonomic philosophy difference (confidence: medium) — Gonzo: 'There, and I've mentioned lots of them. And, um, yeah, almost every other George Gomez game I've been able to shoot really well... But yeah, alas, not on this one'; shot angle comparison to Godzilla scoop positioning
- **[licensing_signal]** Amazon's recent acquisition of James Bond IP from Broccoli family likely enables fuller asset licensing and reduced restrictions on game content; early code builds had minimal movie footage/quotes due to licensing constraints (confidence: high) — Gonzo: 'licensing maybe wasn't easy with the Broccoli... Amazon have now... the license for James Bond'; comparison of early stripped builds vs. current feature-complete state with abundant Sean Connery quotes/footage
- **[market_signal]** Secondary market availability: Pinball Heaven has stock of Bond machines available for purchase, suggesting reasonable availability post-launch despite initial scarcity expectations (confidence: medium) — Gonzo: 'if you want Bond and you're a better player than me, then I do believe that there's some Bonds in stock at the moment... because Pinball Heaven keep a good stock of games'
- **[personnel_signal]** George Gomez's continued development of Bond code post-launch demonstrates Stern's commitment to post-sale support and rule depth evolution; multiple code iterations from launch to current state (confidence: high) — Comparison of Preston event early build (stripped) to friend's house later build to current final state; Gonzo: 'congratulations to the whole team on this, who have just carried on, carried on, and carried on, and just produced it'
- **[announcement]** Dungeons & Dragons pinball coming to Pinball Heaven next week; expected to have strong Insider Connected integration due to RPG mechanics requiring progression tracking (confidence: medium) — Gonzo: 'we're getting Dungeons & Dragons coming next week, I think, courtesy of channel sponsor Pinball Heaven... I'd imagine the Insider Connected is going to be pretty damn cool on that'
- **[product_strategy]** This Premium Edition is specifically Sean Connery-focused design, distinct from 60th Anniversary Edition (Keith Elwin, retro style) and standard 007 variants; targeting nostalgia-driven collectors (confidence: medium) — Gonzo's assertion: 'this is very much Sean Connery's Bond, which I believe is different to the 60th edition'; thematic emphasis on gadgets and Q Branch consistent with Connery era
- **[product_concern]** Specific playfield ergonomics issue: shot positioned between two right-hand ramps is difficult to hit consistently and sometimes fails switch registration; additionally, upper flipper Bond girls loop shot has poor angle and consistency (confidence: high) — Extended discussion of problematic shots, testing switch repeatedly, demonstrating in gameplay; 'I just can't really seem to hit the Bond girls loop off the upper flipper very well at all with any consistency'; 'I find it is exactly in the wrong position'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Gonzo's personal attitude shift on Insider Connected from skepticism (analog purist, work-life digital fatigue) to advocacy (achievement tracking, engagement hooks); signals potential broader community adoption trend (confidence: medium) — Gonzo: 'I work in social media... I was very anti-Insider Connected... Once you're in, you're in. It's hooked me... I like it now. I do like it'
- **[technology_signal]** Connected ecosystem (Insider Connected) with integrated app features is becoming expectation for new code releases; affects player retention and engagement loops (confidence: medium) — Gonzo's extended discussion of Insider Connected adoption and its role in sustained engagement; speculates D&D will have strong IC integration

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## Transcript

 Ah, pushy galore, I must be dreaming. Not my words, you understand. The words of Sean Connery is everywhere on this game. What's this game? Well, of course, it's James Bond by Stern. This is the premium edition. And this is my new game. Well, it's not my new game. Had it about a month. I did do a video a week into getting this game, which is actually the data got corrupted and you didn't get to see it. And to be fair, you've probably got a slightly different video now because I've learned a lot more in the month that I've had this game. What can I say? Well, first of all, James Bond is maybe it's not a dream theme for me, but it's an important theme. it's a theme that appeals the game behind it jaws is is a dream theme certainly um there will be a video coming on jaws by the way it's just every time i'm about to do the video i get another mod for it so i'm there's some wonderful wonderful modifications on there from some brilliant people some brilliant companies and they all deserve a really really good video for that so i've got to make sure it's right uh before i do that you can't see on the other side the red team holding still on it i've got it honestly it's just there is the tea molding um the white tea molding it's all looking pretty cool anyway jaws is a dream thing this is not a dream thing but it's a very nostalgic thing and it's a theme that i'm very much interested in i couldn't tell you everything about james bond i don't have an encyclopedic knowledge but it is very nostalgic it's certainly in the UK back in well you know when I was a kid in the 80s and to be fair I was a kid in the 70s as well on Sundays used to be the film day and there would often be a James Bond film on and what kid doesn't like gadgets and and cars that well I was gonna say flying cars not flying car to be fair cars that turn into submarines and all these wonderful things that are all part of James Bond's, I guess all the lore surrounding him from the Ian Fleming books, the stunts at the start of the film. It's just a wonderful, wonderful, iconic character and certainly one that definitely reminds me of my childhood and none more so than the theme tune. I mean, music can be very nostalgic. Music's a time machine really, isn't it? It can take you back to a certain point in time so I think the point I'm trying to make is you know firing up this machine and playing this machine it definitely takes me back there's a lot of appeal on offer there from this title I'm very late to the party I think as far as Bond is concerned the first time I played it was at level in Preston which was on location but it was fine we were very lucky it would the games in level have been supplied by pinball heaven that they channel sponsor and because of that we were able to get a sort of little quiet corner there so it wasn't like playing it on location but the code was very stripped out i remember playing it thinking that there's no movie footage on here that's very different now now there's an abundance of movie footage all the famous quotes from well the sean connery films are on here and it's important to note that this is very much sean Connery's Bond, which I believe is different to the 60th edition, which was designed by Keith Elwin, which is almost a retro style game. That might be all the Bonds. I might have that wrong. But this is just very much Sean Connery. But there weren't any. So all the quotes, Pushy Galore and all the rest of it, all that type of stuff, it's all in there. It's all in there. It's on the screen. Yeah, I'm not going to do a joke. It's all on the screen. Put it that way. you don't feel that anything's missing now so that side of the code has really been developed the next time i played it was at my friend john's house was quite soon afterwards and again the code hadn't been developed and it was actually next to a hobbit and as if you're regular watchers of the channel you know i absolutely love all the tolkien stuff um and certainly do have more of an encyclopedic knowledge of that stuff than the James Bond but also you had this this Jersey Jack with the big screen and every clip you could hope to see from the Hobbit movies were all packed on there um with the voiceover Benedict Cumberbatch doing the dragon wonderful absolutely wonderful next to it was Bond so and it was a pro version as well so it didn't have the ball lock on it so I felt it was relatively stripped out with toys and again virtually nothing on the screen you could very much it was almost like it was a holding screen in many respects um there was a polka dot graphics on there but not a lot else so there was no competition hobbit was was the finished game and bond looked like it needed a lot of work and i say that as somebody that approached bond with very very open open opinions on it because as i mentioned i like the thing but it's george gomez game and george gomez is my favorite pinball designer i there's not too many games that in my opinion are better than the lord of the rings deadpool and monster bash and that's to name just a few actually batman 66 as well i mean some pretty damn good games and there's a lot of similarities between this and batman 66 so i was very open to enjoying this game but i was completely underwhelmed fast forward i don't know two, three years, maybe you've got a very different game. Now you've got every asset from the license. And I understand we've been lucky enough to have George Gomez on this channel. I understand the licensing maybe wasn't easy with the broccoli, not the vegetable. They were the people that held the artistic rights for James Bond until recently, actually. I think Amazon have now, yes, Amazon have got the the license for James Bond, which I'm, you know, I'm not in two minds about i think one of the wonderful things about james bond is was a film every few years that was great and that kept it special and i like that i like that about it i'm not i'm not a great fan of when these legacy characters or legacy franchises if you want to call them that get taken over and we get almost too much too much content um i'm not sure i want to see the Moneypenny the Moneypenny spin-off and so on and so forth um because I've loved James Bond you know throughout I was gonna say throughout the years I loved I mean Sean Connery certainly I mean really Roger Moore was my James Bond um he was he was so cool I really liked Roger Moore I didn't mind Timothy Dalton I actually thought Pierce Brosnan was was pretty good I can't even remember the George Lazenby film if I'm honest um I'm not I'm not that much of a fan of of daniel craig or craig david as we like to call him and i think one of the reasons for that is the gadgets i felt the gadgets were lessened he was it was a quieter a less an unassuming bonds um i i like i like explosions i i like i like gadgets i like all the stuff that's probably more historically synonymous with with all the bonds and um it's my favorite part of Bond film is when he goes and sees Q and he gets all these gadgets and all of that stuff I feel is covered in this game and in many respects they've chosen the perfect Bond in Sean Connery to feature on this what we're going to do in this video is after I've had a little talk about my impressions of the game and what I think about the game we're going to take that camera off its tripod I'll show you around the playfield show you the game because this is a heavily modded game a heavily modded premium too too modded by the way um some stuff's got to come out but the truth of the matter is i've not got around to do it for two reasons i'm still modding jaws and i keep playing it i keep playing it all the time so i've not had time to take out the mods that that don't that don't fit basically i mean don't when i say don't fit i don't know what i mean is that they're roger type mods in a Sean Connery and the era the eras are not not correct for those modifications to be in them um but it's it's a premium version and it's it's a very very impressive pinball machine um there's no doubt about that at all I have Jaws is not set up for reasons I've already explained but Attack from Mars is it's just over there Lord of the Rings is set up Lebowski set up Pulp Fiction and Dolly Parton aside from one game I've played nothing but this for the past month it's incredibly addictive incredibly addictive but the truth of the matter is it may well be a little bit too tough for me a little bit too tough and I've done all of the things I'm supposed to do I think the point for me is I've not you probably I've not I've not progressed I'm about as good now as I was in the first week that I've got it I've not really learned the shots I've not dialed the shots in I'm not I don't know if anybody else is like this I'm not a great dialer in of shots I don't seem to get much better at it I tend to when I play a pinball machine the shots in terms of how I hit the flipper how i hit the ball off the flipper the shots are either where they're supposed to be or they're not jaws is a great example it's just a tremendous game and i'm really looking forward to doing that video on jaws i can just hit like the right hand the orbit that goes into quince shack i can hit it it's not an orbit really it goes up a ramp and comes back down i can hit it all the time the middle ramp i can hit it all the time i virtually never miss it all the shots feel like they're in natural positions for me to hit. This isn't. And because of that, I'm really struggling because the code is so deep. Now, it's not for me to criticize the code. The code is incredible. And I'll give you an example. Because I made the comparison myself to Batman 66, which obviously is a Lyman Sheets code, but the George Gomez game. You could make comparisons to the code. The code is very good. And as I mentioned earlier, the coding on here is turned an average game into an excellent game. And I can understand if I was a better player than I am, this game would be an absolute keeper, which I'm not sure it is for me now. I roughly understand what's going on. Not all of it, but enough. I understand the villain modes. I understand the henchman modes. I understand what shots I'm meant to be shooting. and I've got a grasp of the multipliers with the Bond girls. Unfortunately, there's a real big problem with that, which is the shot that you need to hit, I struggle with. There are really three shots I struggle with on this game and one that I can really only hit with any consistency off of one flipper as well. And I just can't really seem to hit the Bond girls loop off the upper flipper very well at all with any consistency. I hear other people talking about this game saying, It's great because do you gamble? You get to gamble on whether to sort of cash out or hit another shot and increase your multiplier. I understand how that's exciting for some people. It's not exciting for me because I'm not good enough to do it. It's very different to Batman 66 where you might get to the end of a mode and then you have a button. Do you want to cash out or do you want to continue that mode? Do you want to continue Catwoman or Joker for twice the value? It's almost different. This is not asking you to do that. This is saying if you hit this shot, you might be able to qualify for a bigger playfield multiplier. I'm not good enough to do it. The other thing that troubles me on this is one of the shots which I'll show you. It's the shot between the two ramps on the right hand side. I don't hit it with any consistency at all. It's a real struggle to hit it. I find it is exactly in the wrong position. um i think if that shot was in the position where the target is next to it i'll be able to hit it okay i just it's a bit funny with that angle and this with the trouble is with that one as well is the switch doesn't always activate and i've tested the switch i've tested the switch over and over again i think sometimes it just jumps over it and it's a hard enough shot to hit anyway and i think sometimes when you hit it and it doesn't maybe you'll get to see it in in the gameplay that i show you later that's quite frustrating so i find this the shots on this game I find quite hard anyway. And that difficult The scoop actually okay I not a great player I nowhere near a great player I a very very bad I maybe better than someone that walks up to play a pinball machine I've got a couple of flipper skills, but I'm not a good player. And I've had to give games up before because I couldn't hit the shot. I mean, Godzilla's a great example. Godzilla is a massive problem for me because I can't hit the scoop. It's right on the end of the flipper. But it's not in a dissimilar position to the scoop on this game. But this scoop's a little bit more generous. I prefer the design on this because even if you over hit it, it'll bounce back and fall in the scoop. Actually, probably the scoop on Godzilla is in not a dissimilar position to, sorry, a dissimilar size to the scoop on Deadpool. But I don't know why the scoop on Deadpool just feels in the right place. I can hit it almost any time I want. you know probably nine times out of ten i am for that shot i get it um scoop on godzilla probably one time out of ten i get it if you can't hit that scoop on godzilla you can't activate the modes and that's a problem for me so godzilla as good as it is it had to go i'm struggling with shots on this so i think ultimately it will probably have to go and i think that the trouble is with this well even saying that i keep coming back to it i keep trying to play it again but i've not beaten a billion points on here and my my average is tends to be about 300 million a good game a good game is a good game be 800 million something like that um that'd be a very be a very good probably my best game but i think the other thing that is really interesting on here is and one of the reasons that i've i don't want to say i've struggled to gel with it because i have gelled of it that's why i keep playing it i've not grown frustrated with it i just know i'm never going i'm never going to get to wherever i need to get to and there's never never going to be wizard modes on this game for me and stuff like that and if you want to compare it to another george gomez game which is uh deadpool which is absolutely one of my absolute favorites even if i don't play well on deadpool there's there's enough encouragement in the rules there's enough encouragement with the with the inserts and the lights on the playfield to let me know I've been doing well so maybe I might defeat Sabretooth and Juggernaut and maybe I've got halfway through the quest on T-Rex let's say even the game ends there's enough encouragement everything okay okay well you know what maybe next time I can get Sabretooth Juggernaut and Mystique and then it just feels reachable so yeah um Attack from Mars is exactly the same. You might knock down a couple of flying saucers. You might do one in France. You might do one in the USA. And even if your game ends, you think, well, okay, I can get three more of those. I can do that. It gives you confidence. I think this humbles you. Well, me. I'm talking about me. I think when you finish playing a game like this, even if you have your best game, so even if I've got 800 million, I'm a million miles away. and even then you're going to have to get all the extra balls and this game has very much been coded up to give you lots of extra balls um so it's tough it's tough however you do feel like you are in the the bond universe to use completely the wrong words but yeah it's mi5 right yeah it's i should know it's no it's mi6 it's at the top um what's what what's a one between friends eh you do feel like that you do feel part of it i love the q branch um modes on it they're fantastic the we'll go it we'll go into it in more detail when i when i pass the camera around but the the ejector seat and the db5 i love i love it it's a completely underrated mech um i love george gomez ramps the ramps don't seem to be the problem on this it's it's um it's in it between the ramps and hitting the other shots uh and the game just works it's been done really well and i've got to say that ideally everybody gets um a finished code when you take a game out the box in the ideal world not only do we know that that's not the case people still continue to buy games even though that's not if people stop buying games then companies would finish their code first but you're never certain how much a company is going to develop the code after you've finished playing the game or after you've got the game and you have to say congratulations to the whole team on this who have just carried on carried on and carried on and just produced it is it is in coding terms it's a masterpiece i probably think it's a masterpiece if you're better at playing pinball than I am but I would imagine for the casual person walking up and playing this game it would kick your ass because you possibly wouldn't get to that first round of extra balls before before you before you drained out with three balls and I say that as someone that's put this on four ball I've got modes on all the easiest modes and it's it's still a struggle and i think the thing is you know what i could probably put it up to five ball or six ball if i really really wanted to but then i think i'd just be having really long games and still not massively progressing in the game and i do think because of my inability to hit that shop off the upper flipper i'm missing out one of the best benefits of the game which is that gamble i don't get that i don't get that part i'm not good enough to unlock and access that part of the game one of the other things it has got me doing is using insider connected and i was very anti insider connected so i work i work in social media i'm on computers you know doing computers cameras that are all of that all the time and i've always seen pinball as analog so when i finish doing work the last thing i want to do is go online so i was very anti very anti insider connected i've got to say jaws has got me into it and i've carried on playing it on here i think once you once you're in you're in i don't i don't link up with my mates i'm not sure if you can do that i'm not sure if you can link up your mates and insider connected but i like it telling me when i've got an achievement says got me it's hooked it's hurt no pun intended it's hooked me particularly on jaws is very good particularly when you're doing you're doing the shark the updates on your progress with sharks and what shark mode you've done and stuff like that it is it's really cool actually i i would use that as another example i am obviously i am you know the same standard of player on either game but i have already twice got to jaws got to hunt jaws i've whatever killed the tiger shark killed the maker shark whatever it was and i've got jaw i've got to that mode where i'm hunting the great white come on it's amazing i'm a million miles away from that on this game but insider connected yeah i i like it now i do like it i would imagine on dungeons of dragons speaking of which we've got dungeons of dragons coming next week i think courtesy of channel sponsor pinball heaven i cannot thank them enough without pinball heaven would not be able to do i'd still be doing the channel don't get me wrong but i would not be able to show you the games and have the games that i'm able to to show you because they give me access to games they send me games down to review and test and um and funny enough if you if you want to bond and you're a better player than me then i do believe that there's some bonds in stock at the moment um because pinball heaven keep a good stock of games as well go and check out the website the link's in the description below and by the way they're doing finance now they're doing finance on pinball machines that is quite a new thing so go and have a look um all these games and dungeons and dragons will be on there but i think because of the nature of the role-playing game of dungeons and dragons i'd imagine the insider connected is going to be pretty damn cool on that so we look we look forward to seeing that um overall if it sounds like i've been a bit negative it is i must stress it is purely down to my inability to play pinball at the standard i wish i could and i'm not getting any better and my eyes are only getting getting worse in fact i've got i've actually got my glasses here i haven't put them on because you can just see the video light right there and just get a big glare uh right off of them um so yeah i i can't i can't see too well which i don't think helps but as i say some some games have just got that the shots are in a natural position that's certainly one of them there and i've mentioned lots of them and um yeah almost every other gomez game i've been able to shoot really well um and get good scores good scores but yeah alas not on this one so i think it's this one will probably be the first one out to facilitate something else coming in and there's some pretty damn good games around at the moment and some some interesting releases to come as well but who knows i'm going to get to test their dungeons and dragons maybe this goes and um and then we go with dungeons and dragons instead i mean it's what not what's not to like about a big i was gonna say fire breathing dragon it doesn't it breathes balls ball ball breathing dragon what's not to like about that anyway um before we get into too pure old humor we'll take that camera off of its perch and let me show you the game in detail. Okay, the first thing I'm going to show you is this absolutely brutal twanger. This is a modification. There you go. It's got the Union flag. Union flag twanger. Very British twang to that. It's got these... Well, they're not fridge magnets, actually. They're stuck on there. You can hopefully see there. I mean, I should have taken them off by now, but I'm not modding this game and I think I've just played it so much and I've got so much to do on Jaws but you see I've got you know a bit lots of lots of stuff there to go on plastics and the tea molding to go on Jaws I don't particularly maybe I'll give you a little quick sneak peek there you go that's all you're getting to see um a cabinet artwork is obviously you know on this side it's just depicting uh the flyers the posters from the films but let's have a little look at the playfield itself shall we so premium so it's got the the metal apron with the scanner for the insider connected first thing you'll see is the flipper bats have got little covers on them um you'll see there's just so many mods on this particular game now right first thing you've got to say about this game and i think it's probably gets understated so the db5 the ester martin db5 there this is on all the games this on the pro as well i think it is a very very cool mechanism because it's the ejector seat the ejector seat and the ball pops up at the db5 um that's cool that it really is that is one of the coolest mechs in recent times it does not get mentioned enough in my opinion uh the play field you can see here is there's all your villains and you can actually you see they go up to the ramp here which says villain modes that's a cool ramp it is i they the one thing i'd say is they feel good these ramps when you hit them they really do they've got a nice nice feel to you you've noticed something already just above there but i'll work my way up the playfield systematically um one of these this this is a modification it's just been stuck on there um i think that's fine and it's certainly in keeping with the film um no doubt no doubt about that at all uh and obviously very much sean connery because he flies what i can't even think what you call those things gyro is a gyrocopter or something like that i'm not so sure um i'm not sure how well you can see that the scuffle with bond and the diver um just through the glass there um but just in case you didn't there's um there's another diver just here um this shot is i mean this this shot's a very a very gomez shot i don't know why it reminds me of the shire but it sort of does i know it's completely different maybe it's just over this left hand side of the play field i'm talking obviously talking about lord of the rings there I just throwing things off the top of my head here while I remembering them I do want to say this shot this orbit which is here this orbit that goes all the way around and then goes up to the back and then round I think it's a beautiful shot. It feels very, very satisfying. I think it's an excellent shot. I really do. So what you're going to see now is... Oh no, I didn't... Actually, excuse me. I did not mean to do that. I lent on the, you know what I did. So we've got the shuttle from Moonraker here. And we've got the Lotus. I mean, they're Roger Moore's. They're Roger Moore's. They're incorrectly modded. I don't want to be, you know, that fussy geek. But that's, they need to come out, really. They've got no place in this game. this is the well there you go i sometimes have people um come and watch these videos who um who are sort of subscribed to my my west ham channels my football channels um on youtube and sometimes they just curiously come and have a watch they're probably thinking what the hell's that we know we were you know in pimble we were laughing about the um the bond dildo a couple of years ago, two or three years ago. There's a really cool mod for this coming out, by the way. Bond, James Bond. Little Sean Connery there in the back. That's a modification. There's another modification here, which is another DB5. I think that's fine. I don't know if you can see it. It's all shot up. That wasn't me that did that. There's a little bullet holes in the glass or whatever. This mod's okay. I think this is pretty cool, actually. So it's clearly meant to represent smoke from his jetpack. It's okay. I'm not sure how smoke-like it looks, but I think it is better than just a stick or a bond on a wand. um we've got here i think this is dr no i think this is but again we got we got a lotus esprit i think it might be a lotus esprit now don't get me wrong this car is my bond car right from my roger moore driving that underwater i'm not sure you drive underwater but whatever he was doing sailing underwater whatever the car turns into a submarine basically right cool as hell cool as hell it's just this isn't a roger moore game that's also i am being fussy um we've got another chopper and next to the chopper pushy i'm is that i'm not sure or is it brit eckland i don't know i honestly don't know um i should know really as i say i've not got an encyclopedic knowledge of of james bond there's the old stern fan wording again the the anti-video fan um i don't i don't think this is a mod here is it i don't know i don't think it is no i think this comes with it it's the tank here i've got to say i do like the bullocks on the premium i do like a physical bullock um this is so the upper flipper you can hit the henchman modes from there which i don't find that one hard i can do that this one here is quite a tight shot just go down there but it's not the shot that is the killer for me. The shot that's the killer for me is this one here. I can't hit it with any regularity. And sometimes I think it jumps over. I don't know if you can see through there. Sometimes it jumps over the switch. but it's hard. I really, really struggle with it. Now, it is actually backhandable, but when I backhand it, it still doesn't register sometimes. So it's a hard shot to hit anyway, and half the time I'm hitting it, the shot's not registering, and it's just enough for... Well, it doesn't put me off. I keep pressing play again, but it's enough to stop me. I'm not blaming that on me not progressing in the game, by the way. I'm still pretty useless at playing the game um i think the other the other thing i'd probably say about this game is that there are a few of the shots i struggle to hit with both flippers um and i think that's that's a bit of an issue i did watch a tutorial with someone who was i wish i could remember who it is but is it am i a bit wrong it might be the pinball company his tutorials are really good they're really quick and it saves watching a stream which is quite time consuming I think I was watching him play it and I think he was hitting this shot he was backhanding it with this shot here and it was going up here and almost bouncing on the underside of there it was really cool he was very good at pinball I was very jealous actually okay you'll have to excuse the camera angle um i don't think we'll be doing this for long insider connected there we go as promised i'll try and give you a slightly maybe on the second or third ball i'll try and do a slightly different um angle on it but um the glass is off so as you don't get glare it's um yeah it's noise the audio experience is worse for you but visually you should at least be able to see the ball Okay, here we go. Okay, so that's initiated a henchman mode. Mr. Assata. I do actually have shots to take on the action button. I'm trying not to last year. That's a shame. Okay. That's about as well as I do on those. We get about halfway through. I tried. That was just rattled. I tried to hit that shot where the bond girls are. I can never really hit it cleanly. It rattles and I lost the ball. That's quite quickly offering me up an extra ball. Which is all part of the code, isn't it? to try and get the extra ball. Hit that then, got the extra ball. You're gonna be, you're gonna get a little bit more punishment in this, you're gonna have to watch me play more than you would have done before. As I say, I've actually got it on all the easiest settings. I give myself a hard time but I still can't break a billion points. So that's a very satisfying shot, that orbit as I mentioned earlier. I finally got it in that scoop, you probably can't see from that angle I was trying to get it in the scoop. which is just under the DB5. That's a shame. You do have to hit these shots very cleanly. And I'm not ever mentioned. I struggle to... I don't know how much of this you're seeing on the camera. I had to double check it's recording. Okay, so I've still got two action buttons left. I've actually got a jet pack multi-blocker. To be fair, I wasn't going for that shot. I was going for this shot indeed. I've done the place of multiplier as I mentioned so gambling here for many I'll get a chance to get one of 17 here. So that's one shot which is probably going to sit on that villain mode screen. That was stupid. I shouldn't have let that trickle off the end of that flipper there. Anyway. There you go. Shoot again. Oh. That's the best weapon that's available. Oh man. Just my aim. My aim is terrible. I've never completed this attachment with these two guys I need the wind. This is pretty tiered. Oh, I see. Ball one launch! Oh, could have done with hits in that to get the skillshot. Oh no! That's just terrible. That just... that's just poor. I do believe if I start the next if I do start the next multi then it qualifies me for that 12-7 mode, whatever it is, because then you've played one. My friend Andy told me that. Oh, man. That's terrible. I do find this shot here very hard to hit off the right flipper if the ball is moving at any speed at all. And I find that sort of an ignorance for me. I think if I could hit that middle shot off both flippers, I'd find this game a bit easier. But it's just hard. I'm only hitting that shot off one flipper generally. I find it hard to hit the Bond girl's shot cleanly. And this shot up here, I barely make at all. It's just a lot of the game is inaccessible for my... my awesome skill set so I think ideally it must be a hit a shot off the upper flipper where the one gel is at I think if I could hit this, that shot gel to get it up on the upper flipper it would be ok I've got to actually did it, I actually did it! Wow, I actually did it, there you go I don't really want to lock that ball yet, so I want to start another mode I guess. I can lock this ball now I'll get a multiball on gold finger. Hopefully you can see them there's so many moving things in here I'm just not able to do it. It's not accurate enough. Oh I've got it then, there you go. So this is probably no bad thing. I've got to play the multi fire now. Thank you. Thank you. That was pretty lucky. Ha ha ha ha ha. Thank you. Oh, okay, that was pretty hectic. That's pretty hectic, okay. This is a good score for me. This is about as well as I can play. Whoa! Oh, that's a shame, that's a shame. Yeah, that was a bit of a shame. I had three shots on and couldn't hit any of them. Okay, power. This is quite cool stuff. Because for this mode, you sort of save up. That's ticking down. You increase your bonus by hitting these shots, then you've got to get it in under here, which is again a terribly difficult shot for me I was trying to get it there I really need to go in there by accident. Oh I got it then, there you go. Oh come on, I was very hopeful of a accident then. Oh no, I thought I deserved that. I hope you can still see this Oh go on, there you go, that'll do really is my last sport. right let me just try and show you from another angle now so just excuse me if I drop this down okay you won't see the screen anymore but it's a slightly different view now this I find really hard because it's that shot I've done well to get two of them off already I've got it! Oh that's great! All saved, got lucky there. see it didn't register then again that didn't register so it's quite frustrating because because those shots are hard for me, you know? Oh man. I did, you know, I actually hit that shot twice, fluked it once, and lost the ball. So that's, yeah, it was quite, yeah, quite a shame, actually, that that's happened. Because you don't, when you, you know, this is a tough game. what you don't need is to hit shots and the game doesn't reward you for it. That's pretty poor in my opinion. And one of the reasons that this will probably go. But it's great fun. I mean, I am having fun here. I don't know what happens now. I've actually got all these lit. So I don't really know what that means. What does it mean? There's no point telling me in the comments I'll never get this far again. Okay. Right. What are we going to do? I wonder if it's cued it? Is that what I've got to do? Maybe I shouldn't have hit that. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, that is annoying. So that, I think that might be my best... Oh, maybe not, maybe not. I think my mistake was probably getting that henchman mode. Oh, there you go. There you go. It should know who I am, shouldn't it? Enter your initials. It should know who I am because I'd scanned in. That's weird. Let me try and scan in again. That is odd isn't it? She did not know them. So I'm scanned in. No. Very odd. I thought the whole point was it's meant to know who you are. Anyway, there you go. as you can see I've got I've not not had to put my name in too many times oh sorry I should be showing you this shouldn't I sorry there you go in which case you don't be looking at screen that's that's a high score seven hundred something there you go 789 789 there you go and there you have it James Bond James Bond there it is James Bond next to Jaws to very very good very good pinball machines yeah this is really good this is really really good I don't know how long I suppose yeah I mean I was like a 20-minute game maybe it's not as bad as it was

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b1400be4-19f2-4401-8dd6-f40575f8099b*