AC/DC Pinball Rocks!

I heard the news that Stern was planning to release an AC/DC pinball game with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Excitement because, like most white American males of my generation, I was exposed to AC/DC at an age when obvious sexual double entendre set to heavy rock music sounded like the highest form of artistic expression. Their vintage sound that maintains modern relevance is the perfect fit for pinball. I felt apprehension because, frankly, Stern mailed-in some recent games.

Stern released several games over the past few years that have similar design and gameplay. By the time I played Avatar, it felt like I had seen this game before when it was called Iron Man or Transformers or Rolling Stones. I’m sure it saves Stern money to make relatively minor changes for each new game. Unfortunately, the games aren’t interesting enough to justify encores and they’re designed in a way to ensure that even skilled players drain their balls quickly.

Thankfully, Stern held nothing back when they released AC/DC pinball. The focus on repetitive ramp and loop shots is similar to other games, but this time they included all the bells and whistles, literally. The nosiest feature is a bell that, when pounded, rings out with the same tone as the opening to Hells Bells.

Other music-themed games feature the band’s hits. AC/DC is the first I’ve seen that lets you pick the song you want to hear, and even tailors the game to your selection. For example, picking one of my favorites, Hell Aint a Bad Place to Be, awards more points when you shoot the right loop, which is a shot I have a hard time making consistently.



I’ll give one tip: picking You Shook Me All Night Long gives extra points for hitting the bumpers. I won a multi-ball after picking Shook Me and kept flicking balls up to the bumpers. That point explosion is how I got on the high score board at Delilah‘s. This strategy has the bonus of keeping your two bumping balls occupied while you use the third to make jackpot money shots.

The game isn’t too stingy with multi-balls either. I’m not used to having so many come at me at once.

I can’t neglect to mention the cannon, which should be fired as often as possible. Plus, great artwork and lots of other little features too numerous to mention. If I remember correctly, CP Pinball has the premium version with the lower mini-pinball and other extra features

I have to give Stern credit. This is their best release in years, and it’s already on my short list of favorite games. It's Stern's latest gift to ballroom notoriety. Players will come and come again. It's my belief that Stern's silver balls should be hit every night.