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SDTM: a pinball show Episode 20: Rob Zombie Review

Straight Down the Middle·video·33m 49s·analyzed·Jun 5, 2017
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Rob Zombie's Spookshow International reviewed as average: great build/art but dark playfield, tough shots, and buggy code undermine gameplay.

Summary

Zach Sharpe and Greg review Rob Zombie's Spookshow International by Spooky Pinball, praising its build quality, back glass, cabinet art, and music but criticizing the dark playfield art, difficult shot layouts, problematic flipper response, glitchy code, and overall gameplay experience. Despite recognizing innovative design choices and upcoming code updates, they rate the game as average (C+ to B range) and note it's struggling to sell in the secondary market despite high asking prices.

Key Claims

  • The playfield art is too dark and negatively impacts gameplay and appeal compared to brighter games like Star Trek

    high confidence · Zach and Greg both emphasize that the dark playfield is a major problem; non-pinball visitors immediately comment on the darkness even with the machine off; dark playfield on an already dark game hurts on route placement

  • Standard flipper rubbers on the machine make the left orbit nearly impossible to hit; upgrading to Titan rubbers significantly improves gameplay

    high confidence · Greg states he couldn't hit the left orbit even when the ball was on the tip of his flipper; recommends pulling off regular rubbers and installing Titans as a game-changer; Zach notes flipper alignment may be an issue

  • The code/rules feel glitchy and unreliable; shots don't produce consistent results despite following the same inputs

    high confidence · Greg describes the code as 'glitchy' and 'sloppy in the details'; Zach notes that despite the rules skeleton being solid, inconsistent behavior makes it feel unreliable

  • A major code update is coming with competition/link-up features and mode changes that could significantly improve the game

    high confidence · Zach mentions checking Pinside threads where the designer regularly posts updates listing planned improvements; expects this could elevate the game's rating considerably

  • The game is difficult to hit in a way that frustrates players; cheap shot design combined with unavoidable bumper outcomes creates unfair difficulty

    high confidence · Greg criticizes the diverter/bumper interaction where balls trickling from the inner lane go down the middle unpredictably; complains this requires machine manipulation to play fairly

  • Spooky Pinball's build quality is excellent and better than Stern machines; their internal construction is honest and hardware-based without hidden screws or glue

    high confidence · Both hosts push back against perception that boutique builds are inferior; Zach compares it favorably to Sam Stern; Greg praises the hardware construction and internal design

  • The secondary market for Rob Zombie's Spookshow International is weak; machines are not selling despite asking prices of $6,500-$7,000

Notable Quotes

  • “The playfield's shit. Yeah, the art is just not good... the rest of the play field is so dark. Stop it. It picks up lint. Yeah. It doesn't look good.”

    Greg@ 8:35 — Core criticism of the game's primary visual interface; establishes the dark playfield as the central aesthetic complaint

  • “I don't like a game that you have to beat you literally have to shift the machine to play it regardless... I don't like a design flaw that literally takes it down the middle out of pops because pops are unavoidable”

    Greg@ 14:36 — Articulates frustration with unfair difficulty design where bumper outcomes are unpredictable and uncontrollable

  • “For Rob Zombie's Spookshow International, it's just evil from the beginning to the end. Just nasty evilness.”

    Greg@ 17:51 — Summarizes the overall difficulty/frustration arc; indicates the game is not fun despite technical competence

  • “Nobody wants this damn game. Nobody wants it.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 25:06 — Market signal: secondary market demand is weak despite asking prices near $6,500-7,000

  • “The build quality feels awesome. The cabinet on this solid it feels better than a Sam Stern... much better”

    Greg@ 25:42 — Directly contradicts perception that boutique manufacturers have inferior build quality vs major manufacturers

  • “The skeleton of these rules are fantastic... Straightforward game. I love that.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 16:22 — Acknowledges that rule design framework is strong despite execution/code quality issues

Entities

Zach SharpepersonGregpersonRob Zombie's Spookshow InternationalgameSpooky PinballcompanyBack Alley CreationscompanyRob ZombiepersonSterncompany

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Spooky Pinball building positive reputation for build quality and manufacturing that rivals/exceeds major manufacturers like Stern

    high · Both hosts push back against boutique quality perception; Greg compares favorably to Stern machines; praises honest hardware construction; notes amplifier/subwoofer quality

  • ?

    community_signal: Designer actively engaging with community through Pinside thread to transparently communicate rule update roadmap

    high · Zach praises transparency of rule update announcements on Pinside; notes players know exactly what changes are coming vs surprise code updates

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Community optimism about pending code updates; expectations that major rules/competition features could significantly improve game reception

    high · Zach mentions designer regularly posts update plans on Pinside; states 'I think this game shoots up once this code update. A lot of people are expecting it to'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Diverter/bumper interaction design flaw causes unpredictable ball routing where balls exit unpredictably, requiring machine manipulation to play fairly

    high · Greg criticizes diverter behavior: 'when that diverter goes up in the back... when it trickles out the inner lane, it goes down the middle... you can't do anything'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Game theme emphasizes chaos/hectic gameplay through multiple slings and bumpers; however, execution creates unfair difficulty rather than fun challenge

    high · Greg acknowledges theme calls for chaos but criticizes that bumper/diverter interaction creates unavoidable bad outcomes requiring machine manipulation

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.101

0:01
You hit it off with a bumper, now you're straight down the middle again You had a fling with a slingshot, you're rolling out the island again I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain Baby, baby, baby, why are you doing me wrong? Don't you remember the good days when we used to get along?
0:30
We'd make those four wheels spin all night Then we'd be singing our song Hey guys, this is straight down the middle of Pinball Show. Welcome back. Thanks for watching our videos. My name is Zach. What the hell is your name? Greg. This is Greg. Yeah, welcome. Thank you. What are we doing today, Gregory? We are going to review... My favorite game ever. Rob Zombie! That's right. Spook Show International. Yeah. Ellie. Oh, Ellie. It's an Ellie. We're going to dig through the dishes and burn through the witches and slam in the back of my what does he say? Make it out!
1:08
Do it baby! I love the music. You didn't think I knew Rob Zombie, did you? No, you didn't know Metallica. Sure as hell don't know Rob Zombie. I knew Metallica, I just didn't know. Who is this Metallica character? I did not Google. You can check my Google search. Oh, the rock band! Why did I turn British?
1:29
Yes! Alright, so Rob Zombie's Spook Show International is what we're going to review today. I'm excited to review it. It's a newer game by Spooky Pinball. It seemed like a lot of viewers were kind of pumped about it. Yeah. I was actually very pumped about it, just because I just wasn't familiar with the game. And Spooky, I think their games are good, but I don't think... Well, that sounded really assuring. Well, no, this is what I'm saying, though. I just don't know if they've been around enough that a lot of guys, at least in our area, don't have them on route. They're not... You don't find them a lot to play. No, so... So you go to the shows, you play them. Yes. You come over to my house, play the Rob Zombie. Yes, and that's why I was excited for you to get it when you said that you were like, oh, you know, I really want to pick this up for the show and everything. I was like... And you know what? I picked it up only for the show. Yeah, and I was excited about that just because, like I said, I just never got my hands on one. I was very curious of build quality. I was curious of the gameplay. So I was... And we'll get into that because that is an interesting change for me. Yes, it is different. Our opinion. Yeah. So we're going to shoot, we're going to go to the video where I show you guys the overview of the machine, the different shots, the layout, the modes, the art package, et cetera. Then we'll come back. Mr. Greg and I will talk about reviewing this thing. All right, guys. Rob, Zombie Spook Show International.

high confidence · Zach states 'Nobody wants this damn game. Nobody wants it' and notes the price drop from near-new asking prices; he's trying to sell one with difficulty

  • Rob Zombie performed at a concert Greg attended with general admission floor seating, surrounded by security despite being physically small

    medium confidence · Greg describes a Rob Zombie concert experience with general admission, noting the performer's small physical stature but energetic stage presence

  • The toys on the machine are beautiful but non-interactive and don't serve functional gameplay purposes

    high confidence · Both hosts note the Captain toy and Living Dead Girl are well-made but only the Captain moves in limited capacity during one mode; designed by Back Alley Creations

  • The music/audio system is a highlight with factory amplifier and subwoofer allowing treble/bass tuning instead of volume buttons

    high confidence · Both rate music A-minus to A-plus; Zach notes minor issue with loop cuts before ball shots; Greg appreciates the full song playthrough and per-ball song rotation without mode start requirement

  • “I think this game shoots up once this code update. A lot of people are expecting it to.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 18:58 — Suggests significant improvement potential from announced code updates; signals community optimism for redemption

  • “I think it's easily a $6,000 game still, and I don't understand the dive.”

    Greg@ 27:18 — Indicates secondary market pricing is declining from new/listing prices; suggests fair value is $6k despite current struggle to sell

  • “If you guys have a Rob Zombie's Spookshow International, and it has the regular rubbers on it, pull them things off and throw some Titans on there. It changed, seriously, changed the gameplay experience where it was actually somewhat enjoyable.”

    Greg@ 12:36 — Identifies simple but critical hardware fix that can substantially improve playability; suggests factory default config is suboptimal

  • “I hope everything pulls together for Spooky Pinball, and that's what pushes them over the edge.”

    Greg@ 26:43 — Expresses hope despite critical review; signals Spooky Pinball has potential if they can improve game design execution

    • Jersey Jack Pinball
    company
    Straight Down the Middle: a pinball showorganization
    Pinsideorganization
    Walking Deadgame
    Star Trekgame
    Alice Coopergame
    Ghostbustersgame
    Transformers Limited Editiongame
    Metallicagame
    AC/DC Premiumgame
    Aerosmithgame
    Tee'd Offgame
    Batman 66game
    Blind Robinvenue
    Dick Whiteperson
    Titan Rubberproduct
    Charlie Emeryperson
  • $

    market_signal: Secondary market for Rob Zombie's Spookshow International is weak; machines struggling to sell at $6,500-7,000 asking prices

    high · Zach states 'Nobody wants this damn game' and is actively trying to sell a machine; notes price drop from near-new asking prices; estimates fair value at $6,000

  • ?

    community_signal: Rob Zombie hand-picked artist for cabinet/back glass design; indicates strong personal involvement in licensed IP game production

    high · Zach mentions 'Rob Zombie hand picked the person' to do the art; discusses theme licensing/artist approval dynamic

  • $

    market_signal: Secondary market pricing struggling despite boutique manufacturing quality; new machines listed at $6,500-7,000 not attracting buyers

    high · Zach trying to sell machine with difficulty; notes price slippage from initial asking; estimates should still command $6,000+ given build quality

  • ?

    product_strategy: Flipper rubbers shipped with machines are suboptimal; Titan aftermarket rubber upgrade significantly improves playability

    high · Greg explicitly recommends replacing factory rubbers with Titans as game-changer; states this resolved left orbit hitting issues

  • ?

    product_concern: Code implementation is glitchy with inconsistent shot outcomes despite identical inputs; rules structure is sound but execution is unreliable

    high · Greg describes code as 'glitchy' and 'sloppy in the details'; notes inconsistent behavior makes shots unpredictable; Zach acknowledges structure is solid but details need work

  • ?

    product_concern: Dark playfield art negatively impacts both aesthetics and route placement viability; hosts note bright games like Star Trek have better operator appeal

    high · Both hosts emphasize darkness repeatedly; Greg notes 'non-pinball people' immediately comment on it; Zach states dark playfield hurts on-route performance vs bright competitors

  • ?

    product_strategy: Rob Zombie's Spookshow International has announced significant code updates including competition/link-up features and mode revisions in development

    high · Zach references Pinside thread where designer lists planned changes; mentions competition link-up feature similar to NBA; describes code update as 'huge'

    • 2:49
    Nice art package on the side of the cabinet here. How badass is that? Alright, let's whip around to the playfield here. It's pretty with the lights on. You turn the lights off and it gets a bit dark. does have rgb strips behind the back glass there
    3:27
    what do you guys need to know about Rob Zombie here? the purpose of the game is to get to hell bound or get to hell bound by starting all of the song modes here some of the song modes are started hitting that left orbit some of them are obtained by hitting different things on the playfield such as living dead girl i believe uh... house of a thousand corpses alright so you have basic layout uh... down the bottom here illuminated apron which is kinda cool and this is where it gets funky so the layout is very unique on this game very unique, you have that center ramp shot that is becoming a hallmark in Spooky's different layouts it is a satisfying shot, it's nice left orbit stand up target the nearly picture as if you did it really cool drop target back there once you hit down that's where you walk your and it does a word around there's a diverter basically an inner orbit when you have an exterior orbit couple stand-ups ramp and that's it so just at times it doesn't feel like you have a lot of different shots
    5:18
    the skill shot in this game is really really terrific where you try to hit it or plunge it to hit that slingshot skill shot one then it's got a bounce hit the skill shot two which is another slingshot and then it's going to bounce again and hit skillshot three. I can do it, I've done it a handful of times but that's about it. It's really satisfying. I'd say that's probably the most satisfying thing in this entire game. Yeah. And that's not to say it's horrible, it's just to say that is a really cool skillshot. Alright, that's it. Let's go back to the table and Greg and I are going to review this. So you guys got a chance to see the overview of Rob Zombie Spook Show International. I always stumble on the name. Yeah. It's just Rob Zombie, right? Yeah. It's just Rob Zombie. Aussie. So what do you think, buddy?
    6:12
    First off, do you like Rob Zombie? The performer? Yeah. Yeah, I do. I saw one of his shows. It was a really good show. What do you mean one of his shows? One of his concerts. Really? Yeah. You went to a concert? I go to a lot of concerts. Well, I used to in my younger days before kids. In my younger years? Three young years before to be in. Before the scraggly Yeah. He looked like Rob Zombie. He put on a hell of a show. He seems like a really cool guy like every interview and stuff I see. So yeah man I like him a lot. House of a Thousand Corpses I didn't care for. His Halloween remake was really good. Devil's Rejects I thought that was pretty good. Look at you. You really know Rob Zombie. I'm a big film buff so I definitely know him. Sorry guys. Where did you see Rob Zombie at? Novel. Really? Yeah. Just describe the concert experience at a Rob Zombie show. It's just like any rock concert. I know you don't know this. He won't understand. Sure I do. But it's just like any rock concert. It was good. The nice thing about it was there was no seating. It was like a general admission, but you don't see much anymore. So everybody can just be in everybody's personal space and touch one another. Yeah, but concert-wise, that's good. Oh, yeah, great. For a good show like that. I like restricted concerts where I got my own little booth. Stay away from people. Like that Dancing with the Stars show I went to a couple months ago. I didn't go see that, Greg. That kept us confined. I didn't go see that. The music was well. But no, I mean, it was. And he was cool as hell. Like, one of the things that I just, I like it when people venture out. But it was cool as fuck because he went running around through the, you know, the crowd and stuff. Yeah, he obviously was surrounded by security. Oh, really? Yeah. But he's a little bitty guy. What? He's a little guy. Yeah, he's not big. Like, yeah, he's kind of a small. Looks scary to me. Yeah, but, yeah, he seems like a big guy. He does. He's small. He's like a big biker. Yeah, I like him. I think he's a cool guy. So, no about that. Well, let's get into the art of the machine. What do you think about the art? I actually. It's hand drawn. Man, it's a. By Rob Zombie. Rob Zombie hand picked the person. Yes. To my understanding. It's.
    8:14
    There's two things about it. Okay. Cabinet art, I think, is stellar, dude. That is cool. That's cool. That is some amazing art. I love the cabinet art. I love it Bag glass is not bad You guys let show some shots here You guys can see for yourselves I like the back glass I love the back glass is my favorite Yes it nice but what kills it is the main thing you look at and that the play field Play field's shit. Yeah, the art is just not good. Now, his face down there is cool. I like that. It stands out. It's very neat. Plus, they got the spotlights that kind of shoot around. It's on there, yeah. But the rest of the play field is so dark. You guys, I don't know why pinball machines or pinball manufacturers ever make a black play field. Stop it. It picks up lint. Yeah. It doesn't look good. And then already dark game. And then ball charts and everything. Already dark game. You can't put a dark play field on there like that. Yeah, stop doing that. Yeah. That doesn't make any sense. And you don't know who to throw that on. You don't know whether to throw it on Zombie himself or Spooky. Because Spooky's the limitations. They want to make the artist happy. That's right. Who's allowing, you know, especially if you're licensing them. Well, whoever's in charge of them damn decisions. Yeah, you've got to brighten it up a little bit. Yeah. And hopefully they, I don't think they're going to like that amount. My other complaint about the art package is, because I'm throwing in the plastics. Yeah. As art, too. They're bare. Yeah. They have a couple bats on each of them. Yeah. And they just, they don't shine. And maybe it was the theme they were going for. I mean, maybe it's just like a cohesive theme. we're just so used to things like Ghostbusters and stuff that Aerosmith is just overdone. Not overdone. I'm not saying overdone in a negative way, but it's just full of art and everything. And maybe they were just looking for that dark cave, kind of like that just drawn-in feeling. I don't know. It looks like a watercolor or something. Yeah, it's not real distinctive in a sense. But, I mean, like I said, Cabinet is, I think, fantastic. Backglass is great. It's just that play field art. So that's what, because, so. I'm at a B. I'm at a B plus. I get the art. It's beautiful. Yeah. It's just dark. Yeah. And, like, from a distance, it's gorgeous. Yeah. Because it's got the oranges and the blacks. Yeah. And it's got that hand-drawn art. I love that cabinet. But boy, oh boy, even non-pinball people that come over to play mine, the first damn thing they say, even with the machine not on, is, this thing's really dark. Yeah. And I think that really tells you right there. It's just too dark. And then you turn the damn thing on and it's really dark. Well, and then on the route, too. I mean, to me, from what I've heard from a couple guys talking about routing games, is things like Star Trek. Yeah. Star Trek stands out because it's so bright. Especially the new pinball people. That's what they flock to is that brightness, that shininess. It's like, ooh. And you know what? The LEDs in this system are super bright. Like, the LEDs that they use are super bright. Yeah. But it's like a dark room. Like, a room looks big. It looks nice. It depends on your paint color and what you're going to do. And I think that's what kills it is it, no matter how bright it is, it just darkens the room so much just because that dark play show, it kills it. That's very true. So I'm going to B. You're going to B+. Okay, let's move on to shots and layout. Go ahead. You start this one. All right, so shots and layout for me, I commend, is it Charlie Emery? I think the designer. I don't know who he is. He's a spooky guy. Yeah. He's the CEO. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
    11:30
    I commend him for, this is a cool layout. It's different. He does that traditional spooky middle ramp, which is the most satisfying shot in the whole game. Agreed. It's the easiest shot in the whole game. Agreed. It's metal. It feels good. It comes right back to your left flipper. It's very repeatable. Yes. I love that. Yes. Here's the problem.
    11:51
    Why don't we just go to the negatives here? What else do I like? I like the lock shot. There's a drop target. You hit that down, and then you can lock balls. Love that. Yeah. And whenever the diverter doesn't catch it in the back to lock that ball and it lets it pass all the way through. Smooth. Yeah. Right orbit, smooth as butter. Real big right orbit. When you hit the orbit. That's the problem. Yes. I don't think it's the flipper rubbers. Maybe it was the flipper alignment on the one I had or have. But I can't get any of the orbit shots in that left orbit you have to hit to start modes. And I swear to God, man, it's on the tip of my flipper and I still really just can't hit. Your angles seem right on there? I mean, I know you check it. I know how you are, and it looks right. Now, I will tell you, here's my tip for the day. If you guys have a Rob Zombie, and it has the regular rubbers on it, pull them things off and throw some Titans on there. It changed, seriously, changed the gameplay experience where it was actually somewhat enjoyable. Yeah. Because before it sucked. It was just horrible. So it's got a unique layout. It was hard to control in an already hard-to-control game. That's exactly right. The other thing that really stands out for Rob Zombie is all the slings in it. Yeah. Four. Yeah, it's not just your two flipper sling by the flippers. You've got a sling up top and then a sling to the right, and then you've got three pop bumpers. Yeah. So anytime you hit it away from the flippers, I mean, it's just. It's like what's the number one thing you want to keep a ball out of? Your sling. Yeah. But if you've got slings up top, it's hard. But do you commend them? Okay, what do you feel? do you think that you commend them on their innovation that they tried that?
    13:30
    Do you think that it could have been a success in any way, or it's just a failure from the beginning? The theme calls for chaos and being hectic, and it fulfills that. Okay. The problem is, I'm okay with it being hectic, but then we'll talk about code in a little bit that I'm not okay with. and then the shot layouts, them orbits, maybe it's me, but those orbits are damn near impossible to hit. And whenever that diverter goes up in the back, and maybe this is adjustment stuff, I don't know, but I've played a crap load of games on it, and when you lock a ball and that diverter comes up in the back, you can't see it, but when it trickles out the inner lane, it goes straight down the middle a lot. Those blisters pop bumper issues. Kind of like that. And you can't do anything. You really can't do anything. same with yeah because we were talking about this I don't like a game that you have to you have to beat you literally have to shift the machine to play it regardless it is and that frustrates me a little bit on that but I don't like that I don't like a design flaw that literally takes it down the middle out of pops because pops are unavoidable it's one of those things that don't matter how good of a player you're going to be in the pops you can't that's true you're going to be in the pops so something that comes out of the pops wrong is not just like, well, you should be a good player and you can avoid that shot, keep it out of the sling type deal. You literally have to yank the machine. One of the nice shots to the left of the right orbit, there's like this little alleyway and there's a diverter that comes up. It's almost like the ACDC bell shot where you hit it and you get reverberation. It's almost like a captive ball. That's a nice shot. But again, if you don't hit it, and you don't control it, if you just hit it up there and it comes back down, it hits that little bumper. it's like walking dead I think you just gotta fine tune it yeah well that's one of those things of having a machine for quite a while and you learn little things or you listen to people I don't have Ghostbusters but when you have so many different things at the end of the day you're like okay yeah that's a great it's no excuse I'm gonna be minus for shots and layout I was at a C just cause they were tough like it's tough shots I mean it's not they can be tough but satisfying yeah for me these aren't that satisfying no other than the ramp yeah so let's move on to rules here's where i have the issue the rules the the skeleton the blueprint of these rules are fantastic yes i really appreciate it really like the rules it's a mode-based game but then there's other modes within the game that you start without just doing the modes there's add a ball features uh there's a video mode the skeleton is an a coded game. It's straightforward. You don't have to worry about all this complexity of stacking and multiplying. You don't have to worry about that. Straightforward game. I love that. I found the one I had and I think it's pretty basic. They're glitchy. I feel like the code is glitchy. There's so much stuff that happens. I'm like, wait a minute. I'm not the smartest person in the world but I know when I do that shot this is what should happen every time but it doesn't. I don't know what it is but it's kind of glitchy. The call outs you set once and then so they doing fine but then they change the call outs and then i don know it just doesn feel solid i played it but i i haven put that much time on there yeah yeah i don know what it is about the code i just it doesn feel solid I played it but I haven put that much time on there Yeah I don know what it is about the code I just it doesn feel it so weird The structure feels complete. Yeah. But the details. But what do you think about the. It's still sloppy. The only thing that got me on it with code was, and I like this, but I don't like this, is that you have to complete a mode before it will give it to you. and I like that on certain games but when a game is already hard to shoot a loop or something else then you it already hinders you and it's already hard so you're putting a complexity on top of a complexity that's what pisses you off about it again I've used this example before Walking Dead will piss me off but I want to play another game and I'm enjoying it I don't enjoy it but it's just so satisfactory But you know everything's achievable. Yes, I know exactly what to do. But you know everything is achievable. For Rob Zombie, it's just evil from the beginning to the end.
    17:55
    Just nasty evilness. I think you have to be a saint. Like, what was it? What is the people get beat and they like it? Oh, like a... Yeah, you out there. They're like, me, me, that's me. Oh, shit, the bondage. The nose. The mask.
    18:11
    You can tell we're softies. We're not them. But yeah, that's what it feels like. It feels like you're just getting your ass whooped the whole time, and I didn't enjoy it. Yeah. No, I agree. I'm a C on rules. I was at a B. I mean, just because you said the structure is kind of good, and I'm going to toss up on completing the modes. You know what they're doing with the rules at Fawza?
    18:36
    I don't know what his name is. He regularly updates in the Rob Zombie pin side thread. So check that out. and he lists out all the stuff that's going to be done. They're going to have a competition where you can link the games up.
    18:49
    How cool is that? Just like the NBA. Because, see, I read that code update, most of it. It's so long. It's going to be a huge update.
    18:58
    I think this game shoots up once this code update. A lot of people are expecting it to. And the nice thing is you sort of know what you're getting in the code. It's like, hey, there's going to be a code release. We have no idea what it is. It's kind of spelled out like you know what you're going to get with it. So there's good reason to be excited. And then the rules, the different modes are cool.
    19:15
    It's got an upper play field that's kind of cool. We didn't mention island shots and layout. I like the house of a thousand corpses, you have to hit a thousand switch shots. Some innovative stuff, but it just doesn't cohesively come together the way I'd like it to. Yeah, I disagree. Because you've got, damn, this could be a really good machine. You've got the Rob Zombie theme, great, and all this darkness. And then you've got this code, the skeleton, great, but then you've got all these little glitches. And then they get the shots and layout. Oh, shots and layout are terrific. But then you get these cheap little shots that are hard to hit. Yeah. That are detrimental to the game. Yeah, nothing fully comes together in an Apex. Okay, so rules. I was at B.
    19:54
    Rules? Oh, yeah. You're at C. Toys and Innovation, my friend. I went with a B-. That's where I'm at. B-. And the reason I went with a B- is because I like that they do. We're still being serious on this. It is very serious. I know. Damn. Yes. But something compels it to be serious. just because the game is such an asshole I know I think so because I'm pissed off because I remember playing it last night it is yeah there's nothing light hearted joke about it and I think a lot of us got to do with it too you want it to be a good game so you're kind of mad that it's not so you can't just throw it under the bus like Batman 66 you just can't be like you know what screw it because it's just whatever you want it to be good so you're still just kind of angry when you're interviewing it sorry for the seriousness but I gave it a B- The reason I gave it a B- with the Toys and Innovations is because I like the initiative that they took to try the two slings up there, whether they work or not. Well, not that they physically work, but whether it works within the gameplay.
    20:49
    And the toys that are there are beautiful, but there's nothing new. You don't touch them. It's not like a bash toy. You don't do anything. But the toys that are on there. Captain's folding up top. he's only, maybe they fixed this in code, but only one mode I think does he move to get out of the way to hit the hole back there. The fried chicken. I think Back Alley Creations did the toys. They're beautiful. They're beautiful toys, but and the robot kind of... Yeah, but it's nothing real new. You don't interact with them. They're just pretty. I like the living dead girl in the back. So what did you give toys, did you say? I meant B-. It's fine. We're the same on that. It's fine. Let's go to music and call-outs. Like A-plus, man. A-plus? Yeah, it's Rob Zombie. I love the call-outs. I thought they were cool. Now, the LED that I got, I think it's factory, but it comes with like an amplifier and a subwoofer in it. Yeah. And instead of doing the, like the Bally Williams where you do the button to do the volume, you actually tune in the treble and the bass. That's awesome. Yeah, it's nice. That's awesome. It's fantastic on that. I'm an A-minus. I like the music. It's good. It sounds good. Yeah. If I have to nitpick, whenever, right before you shoot the ball, it does this, it loops, and it's got a hard cut where you can hear it. Ah. It goes ding, ding, ding, ding, click, ding, ding, ding, ding, click, ding, ding. Where it'd be nice and smooth. It's, give me the whole song. Yeah. Give me the whole song. I like that you don't have to start a mode to hear that song. It's going to go through different songs per ball. Yeah. I do like that. Aerosmith does that too, correct?
    22:21
    Yeah, Aerosmith plays the whole song. Yeah, the music's awesome. Yeah. Agreed. That is the highlight of Rob Zombie's Spook Show. So A plus, A minus. Cool. So theme.
    22:32
    Do you want a Rob Zombie pinball machine? How much of a fan are you of that theme to want that? What did you give it? I gave it a B plus. I mean, I'm not mad. You went to a show, so I can see. No, but I mean, that's just, I mean, it was popular in the day. I still like his music. It's not like I'm going to go buy a CD or something. It's the same reason you have in his den, he's got a Hanson poster. The same reason. Oh, no, there's no Hanson poster. No. He's just mad over the Nickelbacks. Not only is there a Hanson poster, he's only got two of the three guys that signed it. He can't get over it. He's still waiting for the last guy. You're at every concert. No Hanson poster. Sign it for me. No Hanson poster. This is the man who don't know Metallica. But no. Didn't know. Am I going to go seek it out like I would in ACDC and buy it with a majority based on theme? No. Okay. But would I put it in my house? Yes.
    23:27
    Would you? It's pretty raunchy looking. Yeah, but I don't mind that. Half-naked women. Yeah, I don't mind that. And ghouls on the front. I don't mind that. It's a nice one. I'm surprised more bars don't put it in, really, a lot of the bar caves. It seems very fitting. Again, I think it's kind of tough to route these games. They can be finicky. Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, but theme-wise. Theme, I'm going to C. Really? He's fine. Yeah, I can see that. For me? I can see that. That's an F because I didn't know who he was. I like Rob Zombie music. Yeah, I do too. I actually listened to Rob Zombie, to be fair, in all my softness. I'm like Charmin. I listened to Rob Zombie before I listened to Metallica. I can see that. When I was younger. But Rob Zombie I came with. I listened to White Zombie too. Oh yeah, definitely. But I mean, yeah. It's a C for me. it's not on my top 10 list it's not on my top 50 list I don't hate it, I'm not mad about the theme I'm not mad that it was made it's cool so composite, if we compile them all together my friend, all together I am at a C+, a 2.68 and I'm going to be a 3.05 and Zach was kind of mad that I gave it a B he's like, why did you rank it that much I don't think it's an average game I definitely don't think It's below average. So a B. I think a B. I think right now it's at best it's average. At best. Yeah, really. Yeah, I hate that, man. You know why I hate that? Because I'm trying to freaking sell one. Let's hope by the time you watch this, I've got a bad case of the round zombies. And I can't get rid of them right now. Nobody wants this damn game. Nobody wants it. Let's talk about price right now. Because I thought this LE that I currently own these things sell for nearly new Yeah Nearly seven new And I thought You starting to hit mid to upper fives Yeah and nobody wants the damn thing For Nelly. And the thing, this is the thing, gets me, that we didn't really talk about. Build quality. Okay. So before, everybody said this is spookies or boutique pins, they don't feel good. Yes. The build quality just is not there. Yeah. That's total bullshit. I think so too. The build quality feels awesome. The cabinet on this solid it feels better than a stern yeah much better but they're the biggest pinball compared to jjp though win quality close close see it yeah that's good uh so spooky i don't know who does their cabinets but if you open up a spooky it looks like grandpa built one like you see the screw where they do the um the the end i don't i'm not a mechanic i'm not a carpenter but you see the holes where they actually put the screws in. Nothing's hidden. Nothing's glued, really. It all looks like it's put together with good old hardware. I agree with the amplifier, like you said they have, the subwoofer. They have so much cool stuff that they're doing that nobody else is doing. It's standard. Yeah, and I like that, honestly, quite a bit.
    26:36
    That's why I hope that Alice Cooper's... I hope everything pulls together for Spooky, and that's what pushes them over the edge. We know the artwork based on the back glass is going to be great. Yes.
    26:51
    The layout. I just really want a little bit more focus on the layout and the shots. And quality and everything else. I don't think it's a terrible game. I mean, you're getting into, there's still Transformer LEs that are still trying to fetch five. I mean, you're not far off from a Transformer LE. That's fair. Do you think that it's a worse game than Transformers? It's better than Transformers. See? And that's what I'm saying. Yeah, but what are you saying there, though? That's not saying a whole hell of a lot. No, but I'm saying price-wise. I'm just gauging a price. I think it's easily a $6,000 game still, and I don't understand the dive.
    27:24
    I don't know, man. I could name 15 pros, sterns, that like more than this game. Oh, yeah, but I'm just talking about it. That's $4,000 or $5,000. I'm just talking about it as an LAS. You're talking about the build. The build, everything. The back glass. You guys, if you ever get a chance, feel the back glass on this thing. It is a thick-ass piece of glass. It's no Translight. I mean, it is thick. The RGB colors in the back of the back glass, behind the backboard in the game. Just the entire, the build of the head, the inside of the cabinet, even the apron. The apron, they did a really nice job. They did it clear plastic. They put flashers under it. They go above and beyond. I really, because of this game, I'm more of a fan of spooky build. Yes. I believe in them now. Yes. I would not mind buying a spooky game at all. No, I agree. I don't know why they put the switches in the trough, though. I've got one that's acting up, and that bugs me. Like an old daddy beast or something. Did I think that they were doing away with that and going to Optos? That's what most of them do now. Yeah. Spooky still has the switches. Like seven of the damn things. I don't like that. But I feel good about the spooky build. Yeah, I agree. Pros and cons of this game. You're getting a Rob Zombie. If you like Rob Zombie, and you are a dark-themed kind of person, You're going to love this. Yes.
    28:43
    If you're looking for a family pin, this isn't it. Agreed. At all. If you're looking for a pin that just doesn't piss you off all the time, this isn't it. So what's pros? Above build quality, what's pros? Original art. Okay. Music is kick-ass. Yes. And if that's your theme, boy oh boy. Do you consider the low price on it now? Do you still think that it's too high? Or do you consider, for what you honestly get, do you consider that a pro? It's not a pro. No. It's a little better than a pro. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying it's a pro or a con. Is it a pro? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Price-wise, is it a plus at the price that you can get it at now? I think they're where they need to be. Okay. I think they're where they need to be. I can agree with that. On the secondary market, maybe. I don't know if I would ever even become close to buy brand new. This particular theme and stuff like that. if I was into Rob Zombie I don't think they're far off I think that's good anything else you want to talk about Rob Zombie? no there's just not much more to it I hate to say that it's kind of a boring review but it's what it is like we said it was angry go out and play one guys send us some comments let us know what you think about Rob Zombie Spookshow International or Spooky Pinball Machines all together. This is our first spooky pinball machine that we reviewed. And I was impressed. Don't take the review as that it was bad. It's just the game itself, just whatever. But spooky, like you said, I felt a lot better about spooky. I'm not going to beat up this game because you can tell what this company is doing. You can tell what they're building. And I'm going to fully support that.
    30:27
    They just need to work on it a little bit more. Yeah, it'll come together. Making pinball machines is hard. That's what they say. Yeah, we hear that a lot. So what are we doing next week? I don't know what we're doing next week. We might have, let's see, this is a review. We might have this month of Pennside. We might have a couple of cool things, right? Yeah, we're all over the place right now. That's right. Thanks for checking us out. Continue to check us out on YouTube. We're really focusing on our YouTube and Facebook pages right now. Yeah, go to Facebook. Like us. Yeah, look for our, what's our image look like? It's got SDTM playing, one of our backs playing it. Yeah, I think we got the dialed in. Yeah, because I think there's a couple like SDTM things out there. So just make sure that it's us. If you go there, like our page because we're really driving that Facebook. And subscribe to our YouTube. We would love that. Yeah. We appreciate everybody's support that's been there. You guys are freaking awesome. Yeah. The good and the bad. The critique. Bring it, yeah. We're grown men. We're good. We can take it. Don't beat us up too much. We can take it. And we take your criticism. We talk about it all the time. We do talk about it all the time. It hurts our feelings.
    31:28
    Makes you cry with your hands. See you guys later. Bop-a-dop-a-boop. Da-da-ba-da-da. You hit it off with a bumper, now you're straight down the middle again. Middle again. You had a fling with a fling shot, you're rolling out the alley dog. Yeah.
    31:46
    I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain. It was all in vain. Baby. No time. All right.
    31:59
    Hey, guys. Welcome back to Straight Down the Middle, a pinball show. What are you laughing about already? We just now started and you're laughing. I'm coking my beard. Everything gets caught up in that damn rat's nest. I'm Zach. This is my companion Greg. Companion.
    32:18
    Compadre, damn it! Yeah, thanks for doing that. Now I'm going to edit it and it's going to spike. Alright, we're starting over.
    32:27
    You're one hairy bastard. I told you. I feel like I'm sitting next to like a prepubescent Sasquatch. It's good, man. It's like when Sasquatch was seven. It's good, man. That's what you look like.
    32:46
    What are you doing with this? Just letting it go. I had to grow it out for that TV show, and then I just... You went for the gold. Then shave it off. I said I'm shaving it off. Five years later.
    32:59
    How did I get the part? Alright Elsa. Alright Zach, get pumped up. Unbelievable that we do this. What do you do before I start it? You're just sitting in there smiling.
    33:25
    I stay prepped. I'd be kind of scared of that beard. I'd be laughing in the face of danger. I'd be afraid a baby bird's going to jump out of it.
    33:35
    That's not a bird. That's a fucking hawk condor. A condor. No, it's not. I don't know what it is. It's a badass bird, though. No, it was a loud bird.
    33:45
    Which is a badass bird.