Well, after playing a dozen games or so, I had to chime in some more about this game, both for the game itself and for this simulation. Please excuse me if this is somewhat lengthy, as much as I might be an emotional eater, I'm also an emotional writer and at the moment, I'm somewhat on a "high" from the past hours gaming session on this pin.
First off, as I mentioned in my previous post in this thread, I was somewhat unfamiliar with this table. I might recall having played it briefly previously (
VP8 version or real, not sure) but it was obviously just one game as I didn't note just what I needed to do to get the most out of this pin.
So where do I start? Well, the art is certainly catchy, combining two themes (cowboys and sci-fi) that are genre favorites. Backglass is decent (and thanks for the
UVP too!) but the playfield art is certainly above average, with it hitting home somewhat more because of the level of detail provided by this outstanding recreation. Some might say "detail?" but I welcome the intentional simplicity with the focus on detail where it matters: on the characters, the armoured/robotic horses, the stone effect in the oulane area, etc. The sound is also not low key, with a good progressive beat akin to Firepower where it builds and builds. Being a fan and owning a firepower, I'm kind of a sucker for this stuff.
But where its a cut above the rest is the layout and gameplay. Now, I am certain there are probably other pins that have done this, maybe even better, but this game provides the ability to switch lanes via flipper taps (as Firepower pioneered) but it does this for 3 different areas! First, you have the "1-2-3" lanes at the top right (benefitting the "first contact" for the plunged ball) which can be adjusted by the right flipper, then the "X-Y" lanes at the top left, then finally the 3 bank targer at the middle-left of the playfield, which require BOTH flippers to be tapped to navigate an arrow multiplying the targets to a factor of 3. Then, you also have 3 sets of triple drop targets which all require sequential aiming a la Centaur's ORBS targets while also adding time to a "special" mode? This is depth and this game is 1982? Not enough you say? Well, the rewards for completing these "modes" is worth the efforts and a nice decision with the risk/reward is that the reward itself (say locking a ball) is not necessarily near the area that enabled said reward. This in turn forces you to not just limit your focus to one zone but rather bringing you to all corners of this masterpiece. And of course less we forget, 4 pop bumpers set up via a 3-1 configuation guarantees some good speed in the upper area and some nice unpredictability too.
And it doesn't end there. You can lock two balls (one of which provides a progressive path to bonuses, etc. But by far my favorite goal? The Cosmic Ball which provides additional ball(s) for a timed period at the end of the game (including multiple balls too) which I am not certain, but I suspect achieving the "cosmic ball" goal during this mode may reward you with even more extended time. I am trying to test this but... easier said than done!
So about that
VP simulation? Well, great attention has been given to the playability and in one grateful area: it's hard but a "good" hard. Continuing a trend I've noticed of late, I think improved flipper settings as resulted in both a higher random nature to the game, while keeping all shots doable yet providing a much larger challenge. Now, as mentioned, I'm a rookie so there's certainly some strategy to score higher than I'm achieving but on this
FS version, I'm hard pressed to hit 500K and the high score is 2,500,000? Wow! Anyway, near the end here, I have to get back to playing this baby but I had to chime in with my uneducated thoughts on this machine. I think not since I discovered the
VP/
FP version of Centaur did I not get gain an appreciation for a real pin. With Centaur, I am blessed to having played a real one of late which has been immaculately restored (Thanks for letting me play her Lee!) and playing the real Centaur just confirmed what a great game it is.
I think at the moment, my next holy grail of pins that I absolutely must play is indeed Cosmic Gunfight, it's a great pin, a shining example of modes/goals done during the silver age of pins that provides way more depth than expected and thanks to Koadic, OldSkoolGamer, ICPJuggla, and Rob046 (and Captain Neo and Plumb for the playfield!) we have ourselves a serious treat for this halloween.
Once more "thank you" guys, it sure as heck is appreciated from this fella. Thinking of this pin, all i can think of is Keanu hit me with a "Whoa!" please! Really, if you're a fan of SS's, then this ones a keeper, if you are unfamiliar with Cosmic Gunfight then what are you waiting for?
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