GUNS N ROSES PINBALL

If you really want to rock out your game room or man cave, this new Guns N' Roses Pinball Game from Jersey Jack Pinball would be sure to give you the bragging rights on the block. At $6,700 dollars for the standard edition it isn't cheap but this amazing arcade quality cabinet would absolutely earn you to title of Pinball Wizard among your friends. If my wife would let me raid the kids college fund this pinball machine would be so in my basement!

Guns ‘N’ Roses ‘Not In This Lifetime’ is meant to mimic the experience of sitting in the front row of one of the band's concerts. The game is designed around playing through the Guns N’ Roses entire 21-song setlist with a concert stage and moving spotlights. Live footage and concert screen animations from the Not In This Lifetime World Tour are showcased on a 27” backbox display. Players need to get fans to cheer and get more pyrotechnics!

It comes set in Family Friendly default mode, but there is a switch to turn on Adult Only content which adds explicit songs, video content, and voice work. Speaking of vocals, the game includes voice recordings by Axl Rose, Slash, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, Dizzy Reed and GNR announcer MC Bob. Plus, full-length Studio Master Recordings of Guns N’ Roses songs are featured in this pinball game.

An avid pinball collector and longtime player, SLASH worked hands-on with Jersey Jack Pinball designer Eric Meunier for over two years, to develop the Guns N’ Roses ‘Not In This Lifetime’ game. As co-designer, SLASH crafted specific game plays and actions, recorded guitar riffs, music, voice, and video for the new game as well as, four unique guitar features for four playable modes in the game. Pinball designer Eric Meunier is widely known as the designer of one of the best-selling pinball games of all time, Pirates of The Caribbean, which currently sells for $5-7,000.00 over its original asking price. 

Hundreds of interactive LED lights and multiple LCD displays complimented by a 2.1 stereo sound system give players a front row seat to custom animations and hours of 'Not In This Lifetime' tour footage. The kinetic game brings together the band’s powerhouse live performance, signature sound and wild stage elements. Plus it adds some special touches like sculptures of Slash’s Iconic Top Hat, Screaming Axl Rose, and a Concert Speaker Stack. There is also a Drumstick Ramp featuring two Real Frank Ferrer Thunderchucker Vater Drumsticks as well as two Guitar Pick-shaped RGB Lit Spinners inside the game. Sweet!

Can't afford one of these to toss in your basement, home office or den? You can still plug getting one of these to the pub you hangout with your buddies at or the arcade you spend time at with your kids. You know you want to play this pinball game! I sure would be geeked to!

New Star Wars Video Game Pinball Tables Launched in Time for May the Fourth

Zen Studios has launched four new Star Wars video game pinball tables just in time for Star Wars Day (May the Fourth).  The four new tables themes are Han Solo, Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars Pinball: Droids, and Masters of the Force.  The tables can be purchased individually or combined as a pack called "Heroes Within" that provides all 4 games bundled together for the price of 3.  Star Wars Pinball can be played on Play Station 4, Play Station 3 and PS Vita, Xbox 360, Steam, IOS, Google Play, Kindle tablets and Fire TV, and the Mac App Store.

The new HAN SOLO table looks to be my favorite of the new pinball tables.  The Star Wars' Cantina  Band sets the stage for this game providing the theme music for what looks to be a fun game with highlights that include a wookiee rage multi-ball sequence and shooting down tie-fighter pinballs.  Zen Studios has done a nice job of incorporating 3D visual effects and video game style action while maintaining a traditional pinball theme to their Star Wars tables.

The Episode IV: A New Hope table does a nice job of bringing the feel of the real life Star Wars pinball table to a video game.  It expands on the original pinball machine with 3D images that provide mini skits of scenes from the movie.  The game also features a fun bonus sequence games where your pinball is trapped in the Death Star garbage disposal and you need to hunt down the monster that lurks within or make the Death Star trench run in an X-wing fighter.  Special effects that include the Death Star laser shooting at you and Ben Kenobi swiping at pinballs with his lightsaber make this game superb!

If you are a fan of R2D2 & C3PO you'll enjoy the new DROIDS table which also has an interesting jawa theme going on:

The final game has more of a Clone Wars/Prequel Movie vibe to it compared to original Star Wars movie feel of the three others, but if you are into those aspects of the franchise and like Yoda & Darth Vader check out MASTERS OF THE FORCE:

I've downloaded Zen Studios Star Wars pinball games to my iPad & iPhone and find them "impressive, most impressive"  (to quote Darth Vader).  The one gripe I have about Zen Studios and their pinball games, ,and you should be aware of it if you juggle apps between an iPad & iPhone like I do, is that the tables aren't compatible between the two apps.  So if you have an iPad you can't use the pinball tables you buy on it for your iPhone, similarly if you download a table onto your iPhone you can't use it on your iPad.  So if you want all your tables playable on both your iPad and iPhone you need to buy them separately for each device.  That is really annoying and I find Zen Studios is being just a little greedy dipping into consumers pockets with that move.

For more information visit:  starwarspinball.com

Are you a Pinball Wizard?

When was the last time you played a game of Pinball, not a video game, on a real machine that squawked and rocked as a silver metal ball bounced around a board lit up by a multitude of colored lights?  I was a kid in the 70's/80's when pinball machines went from being the "hot" thing to do in the early to mid 70s to pushed aside  during the  "Golden Age" of video game arcades (1978-1986).  As a kid and teen, my friends and I skipped instead of competing to get the highest score on pinball machines gave our attention, and quarters, to the new "high tech" video games like Atari's Astroids, Namco's Pacman, Nintendo's Donkey Kong, and Konami's Frogger.   So I can easily relate to the famous Frogger storyline from that classic Seinfield episode:

I fell in love with pinball machines during my college years.  There was a Star Wars one in the rec room next door to my dorm's laundry room that ate up a lot of my time, and quarters that should have been used for washing and drying my clothes. I developed an appreciation for the "mechanical" nature of the beast when it comes to pinball machines that just isn't there in a video game.  The feel of the the flippers, the ball bouncing against bumpers, the vibrations from the game play, the colors and sounds that envelope you when you are in the zone focusing on a silver sphere and getting just the right tilt to beat your previous high score provides a sensational element that is lacking from video games.  I have found memories of epic battles for high score on that "Star Wars" pinball machine against my buddies from the 5th floor.  You'll always find a few quarters in my pocket and I'll take a timeout for some pinball if I stumble across a machine.

This weekend there is a great annual event that is hosted at a college down the street from my house called the MICHIGAN PINBALL EXPO.  The event features more than 100 pinball machines ranging from classic models to brand new ones with cool high tech features.  They are all set to FREE PLAY, so you don't need to bring quarters, you just pay $20 adults/$15 kids for unlimited play while you are there.  Children 4 and under are FREE too!  This free play option is nice especially if you aren't a pinball wizard but enjoy playing the games.  In addition to the general game play, the Michigan Pinball Expo has sessions for children with tips on playing called "Wizards in Training", speakers, vendors who sell and/or repair machines for home and business uses, and tournaments ranging in skill and age from rookie children to adults competing for the "Michigan Pinball Champion" trophy.  If you are in the Metro Detroit area this weekend, whether you have a love of pinball or are just looking for a family outing to check out something new, swing by the Michigan Pinball Expo for a fun time.

If you aren't in the area and the MICHIGAN PINBALL EXPO peaked your interest there are a variety of similar events taking place across the country that you may want to attend:

APRIL 24-26 PINBALL @ THE 'ZOO (KALAMAZOO MICHIGAN) 2014 will be this event's 15th year.  Enjoy the free play gallery or participate in a tournament.

MAY 2-3 ALLENTOWN PINFEST (PENNSYLVANIA) features over 200 pinball machines at the Agri-plex Expo Center.

MAY 16-18 PIN-A-GO-GO PINBALL SHOW (CALIFORNIA) in its 18th year features more than 250 pinball machines includes "pinball celebrity" demonstrations, pinball school to help you become a better player, tournaments and a free play gallery.  Proceeds from this event benefit local youth charities. 

MAY 16-18 ANN ARBOR PINBALL SHOW CASE (MICHIGAN) I had no clue that pinball was still so popular in Michigan but in addition to the pinball expos in Oakland County and Kalamazoo there is a pinball museum just outside Ann Arbor (home of the University of Michigan).  The Ann Arbor Pinball Museum called VINTAGE FLIPPER WORLD (located in Green Oaks Township which is about 8 miles north of Ann Arbor) is hosting their first ever showcase event in 2014 which will feature 200 machines.  There will be free play and tournament opportunities at this event.

SEPTEMBER 26-28 FRASER VALLEY FLIPOUT (BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA) is the largest pinball tournament in Canada.  All skill levels are welcome! 

OCTOBER 15-19 PINBALL EXPO 2014 (CHICAGO ILLINOIS) this is the premiere pinball event of the year hosting its 30th annual show in 2014.  Attendees can register for a group tour of the STERN pinball machine factory.  Open to the general public but this show also has huge turnout of industry manufacturers, sales, and service companies and an emphasis to appeal to pinball collectors and enthusiasts.  The event includes autograph sessions with pinball design artists, seminars, pinball-related merchandise, free play gallery, and tournaments.

If you haven't played Pinball lately...why not?  If you know of a pinball expo that you'd like to add to this list please leave a post with the info or email: thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com.