I really dig pinball. It’s an itch that I don’t often get to scratch, and I figure that’s largely due to the lack of proper arcades in 2013. As a kid that grew up in the 1980s, I threw down more than my fair share of quarters in the dimly-lit confines of ALADDIN’S CASTLE. In fact, as an adult, I’ve always wanted to own a really killer pinball machine (not sure where I’d put one), but maybe I’m overdue. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that my love of pinball would be refueled – and I certainly had no intention of blogging about it. What happened this afternoon is that while taking the girls to Kristof’s Entertainment Center in Round Lake Beach, I accidentally came across the just-released METALLICA Pro Pinball Machine that Stern Pinball put out, and there was no way I could pass up the chance to sacrifice a few bucks to the pinball Gods. Give me Fuel… Give me Fire… Give me that which I desire…
The METALLICA Pro Pinball machine is one of three variants of METALLICA Pinball (the others are the Premium Edition, and the Limited-Edition MASTER OF PUPPETS version) released by Stern (local here in Chicagoland) this past April. It’s the latest in a series of music-related machines that have previously-featured artists such as ELVIS PRESLEY, THE ROLLING STONES, and most recently, AC/DC.
The ‘Tallica-themed board features nods to the entire 30+ year career of the band – MASTER OF PUPPETS grave markers; coffins from DEATH MAGNETIC; the mouth of a snake a la the BLACK ALBUM; and a guy just waiting to RIDE THE LIGHTNING in an electric chair – one I managed to give a couple of good zaps.
For $2 I bought 3 plays – and ended up scoring a free game. I got the multi-ball action going once – but am still not 100% sure how exactly I pulled that off. The soundtrack is vintage METALLICA, but was muffled by the sounds of the environment around us.
Oddly enough, the METALLICA pinball machine was next to SEGA’s SOUTH PARK pinball – a game I played constantly while my wife and I were on our honeymoon back in ’99. I’ve actually looked into buying one of those a few times, since it reminds me of that trip… and my wife.
One day…
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