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Halloween Pinball Review (Spooky Pinball, 2021) (SDTM, 2022)

Straight Down the Middle·video·48m 11s·analyzed·Oct 31, 2022
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Spooky's Halloween gets B+/A- grades for art and code but mixed marks on playfield ergonomics.

Summary

Straight Down the Middle hosts a detailed playfield-by-playfield review of Spooky Pinball's 2021 Halloween machine, discussing art, layout, shots, rules/code, toys/mechanics, and music. Reviewers praise the cabinet art and code depth but have mixed feelings on shot layout consistency and playfield difficulty. The game receives strong marks for theming, lighting, and innovative mechanics like hidden subway flaps, though some early build quality concerns are noted.

Key Claims

  • Halloween has four ramps total but only one wireform that feeds down to the left, making it mechanically unique

    high confidence · Host describing playfield layout in detail during gameplay walkthrough

  • The game's code features non-linear mode progression with varying difficulty levels (easy/hard modes) that utilize different playfield shots

    high confidence · Detailed discussion of rules and code design around 50-minute mark

  • Early code had overlaid audio of characters speaking simultaneously, creating confusion (mentioned as a 'Santa Claus issue')

    medium confidence · Reviewer mentions overlaid audio problem during code discussion, though notes it may be fixed in newer code

  • The left ramp scoop is extremely difficult to hit, with some machines returning balls hard enough to bounce back out

    high confidence · Multiple reviewers (Greg, Luke) discussing scoop difficulty; one reports his machine has rejection issues with the left ramp scoop

  • Spooky Pinball has shown progressive improvement in shot geometry and build quality from Alice Cooper to Halloween, though incremental rather than dramatic

    medium confidence · Comparative discussion between Alice Cooper and Halloween regarding assembly and playfield feel

Notable Quotes

  • “You need to play it. You need to go through the modes. You need to get through this game a little bit. Once you understand the differentiation of the modes, and it's not linear... that's where, to me, the game shines.”

    Greg (co-host)@ 20:09 — Core thesis on Halloween's strength: rules depth rewards engagement and mastery

  • “C minus. This scoop is horrific. Horrific. You can't forehand it. You can't backhand it.”

    Luke (co-host)@ 19:03 — Strong criticism of playfield ergonomics; scoop difficulty is a recurring pain point

  • “The art is a highlight for me Greg... the cabinet art might be some of the nicest in all the industry”

    Zach Sharpe@ 13:33 — High praise for visual design; establishes strong suit of the machine

  • “This game reminds me of Alice Cooper to me... But I'm telling you what, you have a very graceful ball save, so when you are attacking those stand-up targets, if you come off the right flipper, that's the only time I come off the right flipper, is during my ball save.”

    Luke@ 18:11 — Contextualizes difficulty within game design philosophy; ball save mechanics mitigate risk on hard shots

  • “The lighting is fantastic... the only thing I would give them is find a frosted lens in front of... just frost that out we don't need to see bare leds”

    Greg@ 25:29 — Specific constructive feedback on lighting implementation; minor cosmetic suggestion

  • “Anybody that knocks the code on this game, get the fuck out of here.”

    Greg — Strong endorsement of code depth and quality; dismisses critics

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyHalloweengameGregpersonZach SharpepersonLukepersonJohn CarpenterpersonJason EdmundsonpersonBen HeckpersonRyan PalickipersonMatt Montgomery

Signals

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Reviewers push back against negative community reception of Halloween's playfield difficulty and layout, defending its shot design and rules depth as underappreciated.

    high · Greg: 'I know a lot of people are not going to agree with that... It gets a bad rap that it shoots like shit... There's a lot of shots in this game.' Multiple references to 'haters' of the game dismissing its qualities.

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Left-side playfield real estate (three lock scoops with stand-up targets) underutilized in mode design; criticized as waste of valuable space, though not heavily penalized because modes don't feel incomplete without them.

    medium · Greg: 'I thought the three on the side are a waste... it eats up a lot of real estate on this game to not use' it much. But later: 'I don't miss it... visually you can see what you need.'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Music and audio composition deliberately paced slowly with repetitive motifs to match horror theme, prioritizing atmosphere over excitement—intentional restraint that some find boring initially but rewarding on repeated play.

    high · Greg on initial reaction: 'This is the boringest shit I've ever seen... But then the next morning I woke up... phenomenal.' Music 'never gets old' despite repetition; matches Judge Dread philosophy of thematic consistency.

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Halloween's code design prioritizes non-linear mode progression and thematic immersion ('journey') over pure point-based scoring, reflecting intentional design choice aligned with horror theme.

    high · Greg: 'Once you understand the differentiation of the modes, and it's not linear... that's where, to me, the game shines.' Later: 'I've never really looked at a score on this game. We're just trying to get through the journey.'

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.144

0:00
All right, let's kick this shit. Thank you. From Haddonfield to somewhere in Indiana, this is Straight Down the Middle. Do it again! Behind those dark, dark eyes lies someone who likes drinking Miller Lite way too much and watching the shitty Chicago Bears lose yet again. I know you're smiling under there. Do people even know I'm Dr. Loomis? Boney Myers, we found ourselves in another Halloween episode. This time, things get a little scary.
3:03
This year, we will be reviewing Spooky Pinballs 2021 release. You don't, of course, you don't know. Halloween.
3:19
But finally, a pinball machine that's somewhat horror and scary. How many horrors do you have in your closet there, Greg?
3:31
I don't like that you don't have any vocals. I must carry the whole damn thing. People don't even know if it's you behind that wicked dark, dark mask and those eyes. Those eyes are like a spider's butthole.
3:50
Sorry. I like spiders but... We shall see... I gotta get this thing. We shall see what Zack and Greg rate this most magnificent and hated pinball machine. Michael do you know who designed this most devilish, sinister machine? Chorus Barlow. It's a play on words because it was a team that did it. The Boris Carlo. Do you get it? Jason Edmundson. Does that name ring a bell? He's an artist. Art is pretty sweet, isn't it? Fawes Muff, not just a Muppet, also a coder. Music by the iconic John Carpenter and Matt Montgomery. Animations by Ryan Palicki and others. Now, we shall entertain you with an overview of Halloween the Pinball Machine.
@ 22:58
person
Charlie Emeryperson
Straight Down the Middleorganization
Alice Coopergame
Jurassic Parkgame
Back Alley Creationscompany
Wonka (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory)game
  • ?

    announcement: Third-party aftermarket mod ($180) available: TV screen shaped like the house that mounts in front of playfield plastics; reviewers consider it essential accessory.

    medium · Host mentions $180 mod 'with the little TV thing and it looks like the house... That's a must have.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Spooky has made iterative improvements in playfield geometry and shot consistency from Alice Cooper to Halloween, reducing 'clunky' boutique feel, though progression is gradual rather than transformative.

    medium · Greg: 'This one, I think they're getting the shots down. I think that they're making progress with every game that they make... However, I would say the differentiation between the steps should be greater.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Early Spooky Pinball machines (Alice Cooper referenced) exhibited geometry and assembly issues creating 'clunky' feel; Halloween shows improvement but still carries boutique build character that some view as quality gap vs. major manufacturers.

    medium · Greg: 'It still feels a little boutique-y... whether it's the build some of the build stuff... They lack attention to detail on other things.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Early code versions contained overlaid/simultaneous character callouts (Haddonfield/Dr. Loomis audio overlap), though newer code appears to have addressed this. Issue described as audio bug rather than intentional design.

    medium · Greg discusses 'overlaid uh audio of the same character at times' and mentions uncertainty whether this persists in current code build.

  • ?

    product_concern: Left ramp scoop exhibits rejection problems on some machines; ball hits hard and bounces back out rather than feeding cleanly. Reviewers note this varies by individual machine, suggesting quality control variance.

    high · Luke: 'C minus. This scoop is horrific. Horrific. You can't forehand it. You can't backhand it... scoop is so hard to hit.' Host notes his machine has rejection issues requiring potential foam padding.

  • ?

    technology_signal: Halloween introduces novel subway flap mechanism (hidden flaps in in-lanes that activate when scoops eject balls), positioning this as innovation Spooky can iterate on in future designs.

    high · Luke praises 'innovation-wise, technology-wise, it's different, it's unique, it's new... it's a smooth, quick return... They can now say that they know how to do that.'

    • 5:21
    Kill, kill, kill. Here we are with Spooky Pinball's Halloween. Really great game, fantastic, great shots. I know a lot of people are not going to agree with that. But we'll start over here to the left into this end lane with Lori. And what makes this game a little different than anything else that you've ever really seen is that down here under you'll see that scoop right there there's actually a subway and that's a flap and the ball kicks out of that and that flap will allow when it's down it allows the ball when it actually enters the end lane up there to roll over it but then that ramp pops up when the ball ejects out of that subway to the left of that we've got the three locks for hedge multi-ball and your michael myers anytime you hit those uh to lock your first ball michael will swing out from around that hedge. First scoop there to lock the ball, then you've got a stand-up target, you've got your second scoop, stand-up target, you've got your third scoop, stand-up target, and those also will play some factors in some of the modes that you're in, especially those stand-up targets when you need to hit them when they're green and so forth. Then over to the right of that, you have your left orbit entrance, which goes all the way around under the playfields and so forth and comes out over here by the Judith Meyer tombstone. To the right of that, you've got two more stand-up targets and your left ramp and that left ramp goes up. You can see where it does a quick 180 degree bend and then that will return down here to your left flipper. To the right of that, this right here may be some of the most brutal stuff. You've got three stand-up targets. You knock all three of those stand-up targets down and then shoot it into the pumpkin scoop, and that is what starts your modes. Once you knock those stand-up targets down, you have a ramp that does a nice little 180-degree bend upwards, which we've seen on a few games, and that's what puts you either there's a diverter, puts you up and you follow around and you go to this little magnetic lift thing, which then drops down and allows your ball to roll down that left wire form. into there. When the diverter switches around and you're able to access this upper playfield, that's where your upper playfield is accessed by. And this upper playfield, it'll go in and you can actually hit it around off of that spinner. It'll eject, it'll fall down, and then you can knock it around behind the staircase here and come around. And then you'll flip it off that flipper again, and you can rip that spinner come around and it'll actually kind of roll off that flipper if you hold it up and it will go around again and back to your flipper it's kind of a crazy returnable shot there's also a stand-up target up here that you can see that uh is utilized in some of the modes you need to knock that down to be able to access that ramp to get up to that uh past that diverter and go to that little weird drop down thing which is pretty cool actually um then if you don't make the flipper there's a drop here which drops you down here to the sanitarium sanatorium whatever you want to say with it and then you can access and hit that target to start the sanatorium mode which once you drop that target you'll hit it in the scoop there and then it'll life the two drop targets on each side if you hit it up under there to the left it will fall back down into the play field and roll down your flippers kind of a dangerous shot you can hit it off the flipper also hit it over there to the right hand side there's a hole and then so there's a lot going on this then sometimes if it rolls and you get a bad bounce or it goes up under there you will actually roll down back into the shooter lane to that hole and what I really like about this is sometimes that scoop's hard to hit so if you just you're needing to start a motor do something that scoop if you just let the ball fall down into that left hole that little gobble hole area there, then that accesses the pumpkin scoop here too, and you can light modes that away.
    9:28
    So back up here, you got a stand-up target to the right of that ramp, and then to the right of that where you're seeing the green knife and blood drop flashing, that's what takes you up to the sanatorium, sanitarium, whatever you want to call it. That's another 180 degree up bend that kicks it up when you hit that ramp and will take you to that second, well, I guess first level of the upper play fields there. So then to the right of that, you've got your pumpkin scoop, and that pumpkin scoop is what is responsible for starting your modes and finishing your modes. You must finish your modes in that pumpkin scoop. To the right of that, you have your right orbit. Again, just like your left, feeds all the way around behind everything and will come out over here to the left. to the right of that is the Judith Meyer tombstone lock. There's a target there that, you know, currently it's only utilized that I can tell by just your skill shot. So when you plunge, you can plunge short and it'll come out of that right hand orbit. Or if you plunge hard, it will come out of that left orbit to your flipper. You immediately hit it off that flipper. And if you can hit it into that shot, it will lock the ball back there. And then that ball stays there until you hit that drop target and knock that drop target down. Or if you drain, then the ball will pop out. So it's kind of like a ball save. And then again, over here, back to Loomis, another one of those flaps down there. Again, balls come out of that from your scoop. When you hit it in that pumpkin scoop, your balls will eject out of that Loomis in lane down there. They don't go down a wire ramp or anything else. And that's kind of what makes it unique is there's only technically there's, I guess, one, two, three, four, four ramps in this, but it only has one wire form that feeds down here to the left. So kind of a unique game. I think it shoots great. I enjoy the hell out of it. But yeah, let's kick it back over to Zach and I. Let's start talking about this game. Let's rate it. Chromit, Brasset, Black Nicolet, Candy Chromit, Powder-coated. The possibilities are endless at pinballplating.com.
    11:41
    Your pinball machine deserves the best. At Comet Pinball, you'll find the best variety of LED products with the best quality LEDs. And most importantly, at the best price. Your collection is begging for an upgrade. Order yours now at cometpinball Check out Pin Graphics for the latest and greatest in pinball enhancements power blades blade skins pin blades and even more Visit pingraphics.com now to see what's available for your pinball machine.
    12:27
    All right, Greg, before we get into the actual review of the game, we've got a couple thank yous. We've got a couple donations. Big thank you. To Scott Dye. Thank you, Scott. Ever more relevant for this episode. You are. Not Scott. Dye. Yeah. Dye. You get it? Yeah.
    12:48
    Huge thank you. Look how big that thank you is. Oh, thank you. That gives me a bony. Damn. I know, right? Thank you. Brian Lamon. is it lemon lemon lemon we're calling lemon lemon give me that fresh money lemon all right yeah that was a big one that's big thank you so much man all you gotta do is donate down there if you guys want us to keep wearing stupid ass costumes like this and buy awesome ass equipment and do promotional videos and different things um yes all you got to do is uh paypal right down there hit us up we would very much appreciate it buy a t-shirt or something yeah flipping out pinball.com All right, I'll jump into the art. The art is a highlight for me Greg definitely how much for you your name is Yes, I'm a B plus
    13:31
    There's a highlight does the playfield because the playfield I would have given it a straight a or a plus just for the cabinet art might be some of the nicest in all the Industry yes, that glass is beautiful. Yes. I love it all. Yes Yeah, I like the plastic so much for a place and Laurie you guys do the prototype of Bram Stoker Dracula Yes, but see here's the thing is like even though like the playfield may have had a little bit You know to be desired Yeah still not that Like that and I think that the the composition on that cabinet the richness of the color God, but it still say say muted You know I'm saying it wasn't blown out It wasn't too colorful, but it was rich and the same thing with the black back glass Like I love that wide angle Hmm almost view of Michael Myers above the house and I love Michael even on the playfield like literally this is some of the best art like and i don't care what you feel about this game i don't care what anyone thinks like this art deserves way more credit okay well i'm good with that the the it's muddled on some of the plastics it's a little yeah the faces are a little yes i agree even like the leaves and i mean i agree with y'all but that stuff grows on you but everything else is so i could not rate it any lower even the haters of this game can't look at that cabinet art and not say that's some of the nicest they've ever seen on the head everything Especially with the butter. Yes. So you're at an A-minus. I'm at a B-plus. We're starting off strong here. Shots and layout. Uh-oh. You love this game. You're a B. Yeah. B. A B layout. Really? What do you love? I don't. Listen. I know. I just don't think it's bad. It gets a bad rap that it shoots like shit. And I was nervous when I first got it because I'm like, to me, it looks like there's basically two shots. Okay. Up the middle. And that's in your orbits. Yeah. It just looks like that. There's a lot of shots in this game. But there are a lot of shots. Like the one underneath. Two upper playfields. And it utilizes the upper playfields good. Now, so let me go. Orbits are fucking buttery smooth. They are. The ramp's on my... Now, listen. I know. So here's a bit of a disclaimer. I understand where a lot of people are complaining. Like, yours does not shoot as well as mine. No, that's awesome. I'm playing on a game that I may have gotten lucky with. I don't know. But mine shoots very fucking well. It does. And I love it. Like, my ramp, I get very few rejections off of that. That goes up to the I do when he goes to the right. It's like forget Oh and the left yeah left ones font like everything is good like none of the shots are bad to ever play They feel good. Yes, they're fun. Yes, and and I like yes, they are fun. They're not they're not a waste They're not gimmicky like especially upper play-fill when you're ripping this rip the spin as the butt press Oh, yeah, like that, but oh The best design so well, yes, and they hit the drop-down target hit it over the path boom boom bounce bounce tilt moment in the game lighting boom yes and you utilize those shots up there you made some of the modes and we'll get into code and stuff but it is a good shooting game orbits are fast why do you need four scoops on the main play field it doesn't slow it down that much to me nothing slows it down what scoops but three that you lock balls in count those as scoops they're scoops but they're not scoops to me they're scoops how many scoops there's more scoops listen but you don't you don't use and that that's some of my gripe maybe but i don't feel that it's missing it's hard for me to sit there and say hey listen the three on the side because i thought the three on the side are a waste i thought man that eats up a lot of real estate on this game to not use what i don't miss it okay i don't miss it in the modes the way they did the modes and i don't miss because Visually you can see what you need for multiple. I get that. Yeah, I like the far right shot with the drop target Yeah, we'll talk about code something's you're less enough. No, but they're going to well talk about that. I'm going to A lot of this is going but again, even though that the left side of the play field can't change the layout Yeah, it's and you know what? There's still the stand-up targets there on that left side with the hedges like it's still utilized Triple bang, drop down right in the middle. Tony, it just, oh, I like that. Oh, it's a rock. It's terrible. It's a hard game. It is a hard game. I don't care what anybody says. No. It's a hard shooting game. It's tough. You know what this game reminds me of when I'm shooting it? It feels like Alice Cooper to me. Oh, no. Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. No. Bouncing around everywhere. No. It's not a lot of the short bricks. Rob Zombie? No. You know what it reminds me of? This feels like a spooky game. You know what it reminds me a little more of other than the three drop targets is Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park you have some bricks that come off of stuff. I'm not saying the way it blows or the way it shoots. The clunk of it. Yeah, some of that. But I'm telling you what, you have a very graceful ball save, so when you are attacking those stand-up targets, if you come off the right flipper, that's the only time I come off the right flipper, is during my ball save.
    18:19
    Everything else, if you come off the left, it's not that brutal on you. It's giving the game a chance. Yeah. The 180 ramp is almost too smooth because it just passed that upper little flipper. I'm like, oh damn. Yeah, sometimes. Yes. I don't like that it comes back down. So that's why I had to rate it where I was. Again, I would have rated it higher than a B. If it wasn't for, I would like a few more things over there on that side. Left ramp, you get a little bit of a rejection from. Mine actually goes down and then are pulled out. I'm so glad you brought that up. Yes. I'm at a C minus. I love you, Bug. I love you, Luke. I love you, Spooky.
    18:56
    C minus. Yes. That scoop is horrific. Horrific. You can't forehand it. You can't backhand it. Oh, I can't mind. But, like I said, mine goes in the scoop. My problem is it hits so hard on the plexi underneath that it literally goes all the way in and then comes back in. Really? Yes. Oh, wow. But I think I can fix that with just like if I put a small piece of foam or something. Yeah. That scoop is so hard to hit. I'm like, hey, welcome to TNA again. Yeah. It's not as bad. Or at least mine's not as bad. C minus. This is the low point for me. I do like shooting. This game pisses me off just as much as Wonk and everything else. Oh. It makes me mad. This game makes me mad. Theme appropriate, though. Yeah. I'd rather Halloween make me mad or scared. Than Willy Wonka. Yeah. I'll give it that. C-. I can't do it. Can't do it.
    19:53
    Rules and code. That's something that you love. Knock me all you want. I'll try. Knock me all you want. This reminds me of every game that I love. They utilize. This is where, to me, the game shines. You need to play it. You need to go through the modes. You need to get through this game a little bit. A little bit. Once you understand the differentiation of the modes, and it's not linear, You know you know other than the last two currently on the code that you have play one of the hard modes you unlock one Of those yes, yes, yes, but they're all different So like let's just say like like mode number one if you want to pick that then easy it literally just hit Yeah, it's called easy now the one complaint I will have let me give this real quick and some of the modes to me some of the easy ones tend to be a little Longer and harder and one or two of the hard notes one or two the hard mode seem easy Yeah, it should be they should have been real the modes are hard to me, but they're tough though But like the first one you just shoot in the orbits the two ramps You know you're basically hitting just all the main shots one of the hard modes with the drop targets and one's green Yes, you'll have three drop targets and what happens is the left won't be lit green first other to a red You can only hit the green if you hit one of the red ones They all pop back up or we hit the green and a red simultaneously They pop back up you hit that green target down make an orbit now the the right drop target. Yeah Yes, and you got hit orbit, so it's tough, but it utilizes that then you'll have things like hit hit the green targets It's a green tire. It's not the red. It's just like to stand targets in the middle shot And then once you hit one of those it turns red So now you you you got to progress like it utilizes so much of that game that that's why that you don't miss Some of the left-hand shot. There's a lot to do. Yeah, and then sometimes you're hitting all the stand-up targets in a mode So you're meeting it. Yes, and then one of you need to get to the upper playfield knock the drop target down Then bring it back around shoot it up the ramp. That's And then you finish everything with hitting the pumpkin scoop again about that So that's that little extra like fuck you at the end like but I like that. There's a lot of most There's a lot of mini modes in there. Yeah, there's a little mini modes like the same or the is it the same? Yes, sanctuary. There's a sanctuary no sanitarium sanatorium sanatorium sanatorium. Yes, there's that Yes, the lorry if you hit the middle ramp enough to get the lorry. Yes thing going you go You got rip the spin rip the spin. Yeah, you gotta keep hitting those spinners in that upper playfield Again, it's utilizing. You get a multi-ball. You get stacked with things. You got pumpkin multi-ball where you don't fear the reaper. I haven't. I know. It feels good when you play it. But, yeah, you got hedge multi-ball. Like, the code is not lacking. Like, I want some more stuff. Like, I want to use. You complained about the, oh, shit, the mom. The mom. Judith. Judith Meyer shot over there. Yeah, come on. They're working on. Use that drop target. In this new code, I think they're working on utilizing. Guardians orb that thing. Come on. Because it is a waste. It is a waste. Except for skill shot. Skill shot, you come around, and you go, oh, that's a good skill shot. You knock it, and you get the little two-ball multi-ball if you want it. Yes. You've got to hold it. Wait until it's started to move. And you might accidentally hit it, and then you're just like, damn! Yes. Why did that happen? Or it acts like a ball save, because if you don't hit that ball, then it'll come out when you drink. I like that. Again, the code is great on this game. Anybody that knocks the code on this game, get the fuck out of here. I don't know if it's balanced. I don't know if it's balanced yet. I don't know. Like score? Yeah, score. Oh, score. But see I've never really looked at a score on this game. We're just trying to get through the journey Yes, the journey of this game. It's not a points game to me. So I never look at it from a points game So maybe maybe I am wrong in that aspect. Fuck that Love that's close. Have you even have you even gotten close to beating this game? Yeah, probably got four or five modes cleared out. Really? Yeah, what do you got to get you get two or three for pumpkin? Multi-ball, I think what confused me on this game Progression to that wizard mode. Is it really the main modes? it's like jackpots during multi-ball and it's these different things. Oh really? I need to read on it. I'm just, like you said, I've just been enthralled by the journey there and the different modes. You're an A. I like it. Okay. All right. I'm going to be, I'm going to be minus. Um, I just think that there's so much missing still. I think that it's sloppy in some ways. You got overlaid uh audio of the same character at times Haddenfield Oh I get some of hadn feel Get that but that more of a Santa Claus issue Don be I mean it coding but it not don throw it in there No, don't dock it for that. Sometimes I feel like you get stuck in modes. You can get a little stuck in modes I'm like, all right. I I'm Lori I'm running. I'm right worried about that. Oh, I still ain't like I got I worried about that too when I first got it And and I was like fuck I hate that I'm trapped in this mode Yeah, I kind of like being trapped in because as long as I'm keeping my ball like 15 shot But I don't have to start back over That's true. So like it keeps me in there and I'm glad that a timer doesn't run out like I made 10 of the 15 shots now. I gotta go back and make all 15 again Yeah, like I don't man it grows on you. He's just gotta fucking play. It's so good. I like it I like it, but the things that I like I really like, the things that I don't I think need work and it doesn't have moments, like you take something oh it's got a ton of moments I think it's got a lot of moments lighting? I misspoke on moments, what I'm saying though is it doesn't have that real big builder like how we've talked about things like Deadpool once you start going but the game doesn't really call for that no it's not the theme it's slow pacing until big finish yes yes the staff yes the jumpscare let's talk about lighting that's in the code too the lighting is fantastic it's fantastic the only thing i would give them uh i would say is find a frosted lens in front of the that's in toys and max we'll get to that but just frost that out we don't need to see bare leds but the lighting is phenomenal it's not too dark i wish it was darker at times i want to be scary spooky but newer code it gives you little flashes of red and stuff yes It is a theme enhancer, that lighting. And I like the additional, the purple up top on that top ramp when it lights up some stuff purple. Like, everything is just utilized very well. The glowing of the pumpkin, that might be on toys. But that's still light. I would still say inserts, if you're ever going to use RGB, any manufacturers out there, always use clear or don't use an RGB insert. We don't need red blood spots that you're trying to shine green. It just doesn't make sense. I don't think that looks terrible. It's not great. But I'm not mad at it. Yeah, I'm going to B minus on rules. Let's talk about something fun like toys and innovation. Oh your name minus. Yeah a minus for toys and innovation I'm gonna be plus so we're close. Okay, we're close on there. There's a lot of stuff in here There's lots of anytime you have to play field. It's gonna be hard to bring it low. It is it's hard to balance You got moving Mike Nice around the hedge. I think those are fun. Yeah, I don't care what People who was there three because there's three holes. That's why there's three. I do like the butt pretzel up top I like the path love that little balance II thing. It's got a knife in there. It's got a it's got a pumpkin
    26:53
    Mechanisms why that fits around the sanatorium all that stuff I like all that stuff and I'll tell you call me fucking crazy man everybody everybody will know I'm called crazy anyway So you know what I can go full crazy Oh because I get told that I don't speak my mind, but I fucking obviously speak my mind cuz everybody rips my ass So stay on things one of my favorite things is the fucking hidden subways that pop up in the fucking the in lanes I think innovation-wise, technology-wise, it's different, it's unique, it's new. Yeah, it works for me. Once you get used to it. It works. It's not a good location thing. I don't think because people are going to be pissed. Like, where the fuck did that come from? But once you get used to it, like, I like it. They can now say that they know how to do that. Yes, it's a smooth, quick return. It's fun. It's not lacking. I like it. It adds that surprise. Like, Michael Myers is fucking showing up. I don't. Boom, there he is. I don't hate it. I don't need it. No. I don't need that. I don't need it, but I like it. Pop me back out of the scoop, and I'm good. Twilight Zone me. Don't need it, but I like it.
    27:54
    So I think a lot of the toys and mechs, it's got a lot of stuff in it. The risers, I do give them credit.
    28:02
    Mech-wise, getting into new lanes like that is unique. It is. It's different. It is. All right. What about the free topper that moved? Oh, an outstanding topper. and you have to take into account the speaker grill with the pumpkin cutouts to me that's part of it same thing with the cutouts on the armor with the pumpkins, that's freaking amazing you got the knife shooter rod, that's freaking amazing I didn't get mine yet you got the knife that's in over the shooter lane there's a lot, even the Judith Myers gravestone looks phenomenal that's a shout out to Back Alley Creations for a lot of these moments the pumpkin looks amazing, it's such an old school 70s feeling pumpkin that lights up. You didn't have to put that there. I've got to give a shout out though. I get that one mod. It's like $180 with the little TV thing and it looks like the house. It goes in front of all that plastic. That's a must have. You've got to have that. I think what Spooky does that I appreciate is they do pay attention to detail. They try to put a lot of little things in there. A topper. You get a lot of stuff. They lack attention to detail on other things. Whether it's the build some of the build stuff. It still feels a little boutique-y at times, but they do put a lot of stuff in there. I'll give them credit. Well, and that's what I was saying.
    29:21
    I know that there's been some complaints and some people get a little upset about some of the, I won't even say the quality, but just some of the how it's put together or assembled or some different things. So, again, I guess maybe I got a little lucky, so I can't really comment. I know what it is. It's still a spooky game. But like you said, this one, I feel, at least for the most part, has overcome so much of the geometry issues they had early on. So much of that clunky. Again, like you said, it still feels a little boutique-y, but it's nowhere near even coming off of something like Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper was so well done, but it still felt boutique-y. It shot boutique-y. This one, I think they're getting the shots down. I think that they're making progress with every game that they make. I would agree with that. However, I would say the differentiation between the steps should be greater. It's not large enough for me to really give them that much credit. They're progressing. Yes. But they're not giant leaps in my opinion. In my opinion. I agree. Finally, we get to talk about the one thing I love in this game. It's better than most anything else. It's the music and the call-outs. Yeah. You're at a B.
    30:32
    How? I don't know. Because I'm an A. Well. an A I so I was I didn't know how I felt about it because I'm still very I'm not mixed I like it a lot but I feel like behind the darkest eye yes I don't know where so here it is so this is sort of like when I got Dr. Loomis is just oh it's phenomenal so good yes well when I first got it you brought it to me and stuff and it sat down here and I went and set it up real late at night oh were you scared I put a few games on it, but it was real late, and I was just tired. I was like, oh, why did I buy this? I had one of those moments. Did I make a mistake? Because I've always been in love with it. That's your theme. And it's just beautiful. Everything about it was just mesmerizing. And I was like, this is the boringest shit I've ever seen. I'm like, 1.03 code.
    31:31
    Just the music, everything. But then the next morning I got up and I was fucking had some sleep. Mm-hmm cup of coffee Fucking phenomenal like the call us everything it fits the tone. You don't want too much more I could I could just use maybe a few more call outs or something else going on
    31:48
    Women's call outs the tone we were talking I was like it almost feels that the music is super repetitive But it never gets old like that's a whole like like judge dread like judge dread got so repetitive with that shit music to me and all the modes have different kind of musics different scores i like that when you start the multi-ball boom yes yes that's a moment yes boom and then you get that's when you get that high pace makes you anxious a lot of this music makes me anxious when i'm playing it is it is and it's a hard shooting game so i'm always like yeah god i like that and then don't fear the reaper come on we're gonna give him credit for licensing that thing i But the call outs the call outs are so court, but they're they're so good Yeah, I could listen and I repeat every time I'm playing this game. I talking to it Yes, I'm repeating those lumens and you walk away from it and you'll sit down and do it again I just love the green ones
    32:47
    Get away from the body get your ass away from that I love it sticks in your head that's an A I'll fight somebody for that when people were dogging about the comments when it came out about Loomis I was like this is all great man the music and everything it fits the game I will say whenever I spoke right when it came out I spoke to Spooky Luke and Spooky Bug and I said you guys want to know my favorite thing of this game There's a call-outs me like giggle. They're like for real. Yeah, I'm like Absolutely lean into that because yeah, that's awesome. Even what's her name a blondie Blondie and in the first couple I think in the first I can't she does custom costs for this day, which is good. It's awesome So see the reason it's still in my collection There's a handful reasons great. One of them is the music the columns. Hmm. What about the display and animation? This is the category that's getting dog pretty hard. Yeah so much so that you gave it a C plus. Yeah, did you go lower than that? I Gave you B minus. Oh really? So I'm gonna order you wanna why though? Why mine is a balancing act we do this on straight out of middle where there's something so freakin good That and something so really not good that I balance it out. Okay, and for me The cut sequences you got all of Michael's some of his greatest deaths in the first couple films there I just honestly cut sequences. Wow. You give me that that's an a you give me some of this animation that Policky like he's a nice dude, but it's not up to par. That's like C minus it turns into a B minus for me Let's see. So so I I guess the reason that I'm a little because I didn't mind like things on like Houdini Mm-hmm, but I thought it fit Houdini more With the way that we are, you know, it's almost the same sort of style in a sense I'm not I think some of the animations are very well. They're not Antimated some of those like when they try a 3d thing. I'm like, oh no. No, that's what I'm saying. They're not there But like wrong well, they're animated well, they're not animated Yeah, but like when they have like something it looks like Lori like the Edmondson artwork. That's cool Yeah, they just moved that little bit. I'm saying like that's really awesome But some of the other stuff and some of the cut sequence like when he goes into the hedge and it shows Lori and then walking down the side No, but it's glitchy at the first, and it's not just my game. It has almost a pixely thing, and then it clears up. So it's just like, again, that's part of it. That's part of it. You give me movie clips. I'm happy that there are so many movie clips. Yes. There's probably going to be more. I'm happy with that. So displaying animation. But again, they're rectifying this.
    35:30
    Supposedly. Point your knife at them. Sorry. Yes. This is something that even though they've sold out of these games, everybody, they just hired on another coder. Programming to work through this in Ultraman. And again, that's why I love this company. That's why I think they're great. There's not a lot of people. No, they do not have to do that. They already sold them all. Is it really going to make a difference if they come out with a really cool theme on the next game? They see butt. They're in it for the long run. Exactly. They see bigger picture. They want people to respect everything they've done. Yes. Not just be like well wait for the next one Yes But wait for the next one Yes Theme You an A I going to solid A Quintessential There nothing more you can say about. If you like the genre horror, you will. It's Halloween. It's in the top three maybe of all time. Yes. It's one of the greats. Exactly. It is like the original Boogeyman. Yes. Is it not? Yes. Halloween. There's nothing you can say. But if people don't like that theme, they're going to have a Oh, they won't like it. No. No, the theme. You're not going to respect the music. If you don't like the theme, you're not going to like the music. You're not going to like the cause. You're not going to like anything that's in the game. What about enjoyability, though? You enjoy this. You're an A-. Yeah. You're rocking this thing out sometimes more than your other games in your lineup here. Yeah, I won't even say. Really? You play this a lot. I play it a lot. Wow. I want you to beat it. What's the... I'm not very... The night he came home. Yeah. I wonder if it's COVID. I'll get to it. So this game this game won't I won't get to it. This game is nasty mean this game won't leave No, it surprises me because I'm lower rating on this one overall than I am a lot of my machines at home But I'm getting rid of other machines and this one's thing. Oh, yeah Yeah, I could see that happen because like I said, but again I had explained to somebody because I was knocking about like why do you get rid of the game if you like it so much? And I'm like, well, I like a lot of games and talking about high rated games and yes, and I told him I was like listen Fucking Lethal Weapon 3 sitting over there that'll never leave. Isn't that weird how we can't quantify that? Yeah. It's kind of like an analogy would be like, I have a sweet, gorgeous, just beautiful, wonderful wife. Mm-hmm. But at nighttime, I still sneak over to Mrs. Bone's house. Your mom. That's still... Definitely Lethal Weapon 3. I still need the darkest holes, if you know what I mean. Oh, no, no, no, no.
    37:58
    She got a bleach. There's a bleaching. There's a bleaching thing. There is nothing about this. I know when I get a game in, I play the shit out of it. And I enjoy it. Especially if I do overplay it. Even if I really like it at first, I know when I overplay it. There's just nothing about this game that I would... Your name might as... For me, enjoyability, I'm going to be solid B. That's nice. I like it more. It just makes me mad. That scoop makes me mad. That rant makes me mad. that there's a lot of things that just make me mad. Maybe if I tweak it, maybe it would take some substantial stuff, but maybe that's it. But, man, it makes me angry. And do they still not have a hold the start button to restart this game? Oh, I do miss that because I do that a lot. What the hell? Because I just open the coin door and start the game. Come on, Sprokey. Yeah, definitely code that in, please, because I'm bad about that. Because I know, listen, if I've had a shit two balls at the first or I have a really shit ball, I know I'm probably not going to get through. The game's too tough. I'm at home. Leave me alone. I'm going to start calling them American Spooky. Let me save my time. Let me restart it.
    39:04
    Cumulatively speaking, this comes out pretty high for you, Greg. You're at a B+. But it's a high B+, fuckers. It's about as high as you can go on a B+. Yes. Three points. I was close to an A-, so close.
    39:18
    I like that you're a fill-up. You're a snarky Mike Myers. Yeah. You need to go change some oil or something. That's literally what Lily goes. You're like a janitor. You're scaring. Like a lot of janitors here. Sorry, janitors out there. Is there a creepy-ass elementary school janitor? Hello, kids. She came in with a broom. That's right.
    39:38
    Cumulatively speaking, I'm at a 2.875. That's pretty good. It's technically still a B-. It's almost a C+. But you were just real rough on something else, and you shouldn't have been. I was rough on something, that's for sure. You know what it all comes down to? The darkest holes. What it all comes down to. What does it come down to as you're waving? Is look at these grades individually. I think I got something. Do you know what the most important thing is to me? Enjoyability. Is it? For me, this game is all about the theme. It's about the lighting. It's about the effects. It's about the call-outs. It's about the moments for me. I can see past some of the things that are super important to me, Greg, which are code and rules, or code and layout. But. It's still awesome code. It still has to outweigh so much so to do. No, the code's good. I'm not saying the code's bad. There's enough in it, and it's hard, so it makes me want to try to progress. This isn't a perfect game by any means. No, it's not. It's got glaring issues in it. It doesn't have glaring issues. Even if these are my friends that made this damn thing. It does have glaring issues. But I even tell them whenever I've played it. I'm like, here's the things I love, here's the things I hate. I'll do so with respect, but there's something that keeps this here. It's something that keeps it. I don't know how to quantify it. That's what I'm saying. There's no overshadowing issues that we discussed. But there is overshadowing. That's scoop. Because things make up for it. That's scoop. You can't make up for the scoop, Greg. You can't. Play better.
    41:08
    Even you were like, I can't use that. But I can fix mine. I guess I have a little bit different of an issue. Your hole's bigger, I guess. Yeah. I got a tight little hole. Yeah. Mine just hasn't been planted that much. It's a bouncy hole. That's right. I did have a couple tech issues on mine. If we're talking about cost, these things are around $9,000. $9,500.
    41:29
    I got mine right at over $10,000 because I had the butter cab. This game calls for a butter cab. If anything. The only problem is I have a couple dingers in my butter cabinet. So when Spooky tells you those butter cabs are very fragile, they're not lying. It doesn't take much to scuff that and you can't fix that shit. So I do like the plastic come on this thing there's so much stuff that comes loaded on these things right now in secondary market they're like they're low oh they're they're not a bad deal it's the greatest deal on the pinball market right it's pretty good like because it's like when i got mine i was like oh somebody added a knife to it now because i didn't know what's fucking i wouldn't around the game and you're like no that's standard i'm like oh that comes on this is this is another game that i think uh just like the stranger things and stuff like that we're trying to speak how we really feel about a game and it gets hated on by a lot of people or it gets negativity by a lot of people before they actually play it. They might play it, set up shitty in a show once or twice. This game put 25 to 30 games on this. And I think some people that even own it and then go to sell it really low I think that they just thought that it was going to resonate with them maybe a little more. Maybe have a few of those issues that we talked about that kind of kills it for them. I can't speak for all of them but for the most part a lot of people there was a lot of people that reached out to me after i got mine and asked me how i liked it and i was like you know give me a minute to play it so i played and i wrote them back because they were getting their games they were like terrified they were like man it's just getting such a bad rap like like what i do and i wrote i was like man i'm not gonna tell you what to do but i'm gonna give you my honest opinion about i was like i love it i love this and this and like three or four of those guys had gotten their games now and they were like that's amazing like i love it but i also think though dude there's something that affects this hobby mentally, and you're a doctor. It's group think. It's psychology. You don't want to be on the losing team, man. You don't want to be made fun of. To where it's like these same people that are selling these games for super low price or are just like complaining about getting rid of it real quick. They're not necessarily talking hate about it, but I think they feel ashamed. There's a bad shame in this hobby. You almost need to be in the cool kid group to feel good about a game. About owning it. Whereas I don't give a shit. You've never been a cool kid. No. But now you are. No. I am cool as fuck now. I'm not. But what I'm saying, though, is I don't go against what I like. And that's why people can talk shit all they want. Yeah. That's why I keep Lethal Weapon 3. I love Lethal Weapon 3. The same for the people that truly do hate this and have reasons that they don't like this and they dislike it. I won't argue against them because it's the people that don't give it a chance and they just jump on the bandwagon. Yeah. Those are the people I don't like. There's still a preference. Like you said, if you're not a fan of the thing, and it's just not going to resonate with you, no matter how cool you think it looks and you get it, it's still not going to resonate with you because it's so well done encompassing the movie. It's Halloween. So it speaks to it. So if you're just like, oh, it looks cool, or it's Halloween, and you're just not a real big fan of the franchise. I think the rumor was that they made, like, this was John Wick just for fun. It's not like they were pursuing the license, but they kind of made it after John Wick, and then they made it into Ultraman and Halloween. I can't say much about Ultraman as we're closing out the show here, Greg, because it's the same layout, same rules-ish. I just don't care about Ultraman. We probably won't review it. Me neither. If I was to play Ultraman, this is what we're talking about by theme. If I was to play Ultraman, I wouldn't like it as much. I know I wouldn't. I just don't like the theme, and so I probably wouldn't own it. No, I wouldn't own Ultraman. This is a good testament to why there are so many different categories in pinball that you can fall in love with. Anybody that loves Halloween or loves the horror genre, I can almost guarantee you, you're going to love this game. Yes. Period. And if you don't like the game, and you've played it, you've tried it, you give it a chance, that's your opinion. Go play Gottlieb's Freddy, you bitch. That's fine. And if you love this game, that's fine. I still want Freddy. I want a Freddy, too. I want a Freddy. What do you think Spooky's next scary one's going to be? Truly horrifying. Do you think they go into Freddy Krueger? Do you think they make it? Please, somebody make it. It's my favorite. What's your favorite? Ah. That really hurt. What's your favorite horror series? Mine is Stephen King's It. I like the new one. Man, I'm still like a big Friday the 13th. Really? Yeah. I grew up on Jason and Nightmare on Elm Street. But I love, I love, I love the horror. Any of the new stuff that really conjures up something special in you?
    45:55
    There's a conjuring? Yeah. No. New stuff don't really. What? Yeah. I'm stuck on that 80s cheesy horror. Midnight Mass and Flanagan. Yeah, that stuff's really good. But it's not like, it's not, it doesn't. Hill House? It doesn't, yeah. It doesn't, I mean, I like it a lot. It just doesn't do what those folks do. We need to go hang out with Spooky Crew. They'll give us some recommendations. Yeah. After this review, they'll invite you and not me. Do it again! You hit it off with a bumper, now you're straight down the metal again. Metal again. You had a fling with a fling shot, you're rolling out the alley dog again. He's claimed another victim Haddonfield will know what evil is Haddonfield Will fuck you up Hey You couldn't die This is not okay. What the fuck is this?
    47:04
    Flap in shots to help us find Michael. Find him. Buttery smooth. Just like your mama's nipples. Thank you for helping us contain the evil that is Michael Myers.
    47:25
    The evil. You're too close to me, Mike. Am I even in the shot? Did you just growl or groan? My trench coat is a cheap piece of shit. Why is it flapping?
    47:46
    I know what Chelsea feels like now. Is that what you do? It's pure evil. That thing is horrendous. What? Your hair looks good, though, afterwards. You can't fucking breathe.