Judge Dredd should be safe. I'd say there'd be some licensing involved, but it would fall under the same umbrella as titles like both Elviras, BSD and Starship Troopers: It'd be cheap enough license that it's really not a thing. I believe each month they have kind of a budget to go for a license if it's required (such as the music in Getaway and Road Show, a single actor's likeness like BSD) so only the biggest licenses wouldn't fall under that umbrella.
At a guess:
The Shadow (Alec Baldwin could be tricky, may need a KS)
World Cup USA '94 (FIFA/World Cup licensing could be touchy)
Newish Sterns (I don't think we're far off from seeing Transformers, Spidey and the like in TPA, I don't think)
Jurassic Park
Guns n Roses (I think this could cover a KS easily. Maybe bundle it with something less likely to generate fanfare)
Dr. Who
Johnny Mnemonic
WWF Royal Rumble
Demolition Man
I was partially baiting, but more for the interest of instigating discussion. I love talking about all this stuff! I'll just edit your quote because I'm lazy:
So maybe there's not too much difference in what we'd go for, just initially seemed like there was. Anyway, I just love talking about pinball
I LOVE talking pinball, so I'm glad you elaborated!
I have heard a lot of bitching about TWD, but I didn't experience the SDTM issues everyone talks about. However, I'm not an amazing location player, and my drains were outlane drains. Fuck outlanes.
Southpark is one that I'd like to play again if it were minty. The one I played was bad and had no sound, so the experience was completely devoid of fun for me.
Played more location pinball tonight! I'm in Orlando for a work conference, and the hotel next door has a Star Trek Pro and an Avengers Pro at 2 tokens a play. After putting 6 games on Avengers and 3 on ST, I have some MORE pinball musings!
Star Trek Pro is a fun game. I think anyone who sees one should play one. After playing it, I realized I could have skipped the Premium and gone Pro when I had Star Trek. The game is basically the same thing. I like the plastic ramps, too. I played one game just shooting shots and treating it like a home game.
Completed 5 modes for level 1, but my outlane drains took me down. My second game was played with timing out modes to play KM multiball (first mini wizard). The free game score is set SUPER low, so just starting this mode basically guarantees a free game, ha. This is the game I managed to also start Klingon Battle multiball and Vengeance multiball. You learn quickly that when you're playing on location, it's scary to shoot dangerous shots (like the Vengeance, locks, etc).
My third game was played similarly to the first. Just sort of did my thing. I need to learn to jiggle balls out of the outlanes. Losing balls down the middle SUCKS, but outlanes are even worse.
Overall, the game was in great condition. The Away Team shot light was out, but as I've played this title extensively, I was able to make use of that to start modes. I prefer this way over the left lock shot since it's safer IMHO. I had to power the game down at one point because the trough didn't detect my ball draining. So I tried to tilt and get the game to give me my next ball, but it didn't...Thankfully I know how pinball machines work, haha.
Avengers Pro is a game that I REALLY think deserves a second look. First, condition wise, the location game was...Not great. I mean, it was OK, but the Hulk drops didn't work, some lights were out, and the left flipper would stick every once in a while. To be honest, it didn't make the game unplayable (except I don't know how to start Hulk, so it COULD make it unwinnable...).
Let's talk for a moment about this game. I think that poor players will HATE this game. Like despise it on every single level. Good+ players will make a much better assessment of the game...May still hate it, not as much as a poor player would. Since I have improved a lot from my real introduction to pinball, I can appreciate this game more than I could have even just a few months back when I played it at a friend's place. However...
I like this game enough to say I would honestly consider owning one for ~$2k. I wouldn't touch it for $3k like it goes for, but if one showed up for $2000 within a 2 hour drive, I'd consider it. It is a game that requires you to have pinpoint accuracy. It also requires you to have some pretty decent ball control. The modes, once you start them, aren't the worst thing in the world. I'm nearly positive you can carry modes into one another...I was working on Captain America and was getting Black Widow and Iron Man modes closer to starting.
But let's talk about the bullshit on this game.
Hulk arms will cause ball sticking issues regularly. Like, in my 6 games, it happened 4 times. Ball search releases it, which is fine, but it's a design flaw in every sense of the word. Also, my comment on pinpoint accuracy being a pro? It's also a major con. The Black Widow ramp is SUPER weird...A sharp 90 degree turn with a spinner on an upward metal ramp? Airball airball airball. Not a perfect shot? Ball stops halfway up the ramp and comes down.
The required accuracy of the player is so obscene that it actually wore me down after my 6 games to the point where I had to walk away and decide to come back tomorrow. I would LOVE to play a really dialed in one. I want to see a great player score on it, too. I feel very strongly that this game could be a lot of fun if I were a master marksman, ha. The fact of the matter is, the shots are a bit TOO tight. Maybe my goal should be to get good enough where I can walk up to a game like Avengers and combo my way to Hellicarrier. ;P
But quite frankly, pinball is pinball. Location pinball is always fun and can't be beat.
On the topic of Pinball Arcade, I had a pretty good game of High Speed on the plane. I think I write tables off that I don't know the rules on. Now that I'm understanding the way to play this game, it's more fun. I'll be putting more games on this for sure. I also understand how to play TAF now, and was one shot from touring the mansion. Of course I drained, but if you prioritize windows, you can tour the mansion relatively quickly in TAF. Like I said above, now that I understand the game, I am finding it a lot more enjoyable.
