Elvira and the Potty Monsters

• Design: Dennis Nordman
• Art: Greg Freres
• Sound: Chris Granner

Pluses

Art-Backglass (Translite) {7}: After we were given the MASTERPIECE
artwork of LOTR, we get a -dumbed down- version on Elvis? What gives?
When I found out Jerry Vandstelt was going to be doing the artwork I
really got excited, but after seeing said work, I was really let down.
After doing one of the best quality translites pinball had seen in a
long time, he completely drops the ball and slacks off with an "Austin
Powers feel" translite. While Stern made the correct decision out of
the 2 early possible translites, the quality is just a let-down.
Somebody dropped the ball on this one. The translite had SOOOO much
more potential. What is the deal with these "burnt cork" works on
translites?! ENOUGH! Crisp is good, blurry is bad. DON'T MAKE ME GO
CHECK MY VISION EVERY TIME I SEE A HAZY TRANSLITE!

Art-Playfield/Cabinet {8}: While I have a hard time accepting the
Elvis images on the playfield, the overall artwork of the playfield
and cabinet is simply gorgeous despite some of the color schemes and
lack of clarity quality. Looking at the cabinet sides from a short
distance is just breathtaking. I also like how the autograph is larger
on the side of the cabinet; this really gives it a personalized feel.
The BLUE lenses in the playfield really add to the machines beauty.

Sound {7.5}: I liked the sound of Elvis right from the start. It has
an old-school thing (raspy) going on with the songs. The Elvis quotes
are done well. (Wish there was more) the hound dog frenzy is starting
to get on my nerves. I don't know if I like associating a dog in heat
with collecting huge points with HBH stacked along with TCB running,
but o-well.

Rules {5}: The rules are extremely "dumbed down" in this game, which
is a bad thing. Games need to appeal to ALL people. While Elvis has
great front end "easy" things to get you started, you go from a simple
rule-set to a very hard wizard mode.

GIFT OF THE ELVES:

Better rules for the 5-bank drop targets. Weee, drop 5 drop targets
light a prize. Weeeee, drop 5 drop targets light another prize. Elvis
sure does give out the lousy gifts in this game. Somebody teach this
boy how to shop for presents!

Video Mode: Video modes can sometimes be fun, and this one MAY be more
entertaining than the wizard mode, so don't worry if you don't make it
to the trophy room. Too bad the video mode had to suck creative juices
from the wizard mode.

Gold Records: It is what it is…wish it was something else.

The King of Rock & Roll: Get TCB going, hit 4 king targets and collect
your 50M. WOW, creativity just slapped me in the face with this mode!

Light Extra Ball: It is what it is…

Encore Letter: It is what it is…

FEATURED HITS COMPLETED:

Hound DOH'G Frenzy: Another idea borrowed from a past game that could
have been better fine-tuned. Homer saying DOH a bunch of time is
funny, a dog in heat is just annoying.

Blue Suede Shoes: A pretty good mode if you can keep the loops going.

Heart Break Hotel: Mainly used to stack with DOH'G frenzy. Until you
stack HBH and DOH'G frenzy, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ANNOYING MEANS…

Jail House Rock: Not a bad multiball, but shooting that scoop is too
risky and kind of kills the mode. I simply shoot TCB or the far left
loop and try to "back-door" the jackpot shot.

All Shook Up: Nothing special here…

TOP 10 COUNTDOWN COMPLETED: Shooting for the blue notes is pretty
pointless considering you pretty much collect them all along the ride
without trying.

DISGRACELAND---(WIZARD MODE): It takes a lot to advance through the
wizard mode, and your only reward from what I can tell is that you get
to do it again and it is slightly more difficult. NO CONGRATS FOR
WINNING? WHAT GIVES? I was disappointed with the wizard mode
altogether. I was really looking forward to getting there and then
trying to beat it. IMHO, ENCORE SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED AS THE WIZARD
MODE COMPLETION REWARD. THE VICTORY ROUND COULD HAVE BEEN JUST
S-I-C-K!!!

DAMN IT! THE RULES IN THIS GAME COULD HAVE BEEN SOOO MUCH MORE FUN!

Playfield Design {8.5}: Where others continue to struggle, Ritchie
continues to improve. After a so-so effort on T-3, move over Elvis,
the real "KING" has entered the building!

5 bank drop targets: Who the heck doesn't LOVE drop targets!?

Left loop, spinner shot: YEAH BOY! Not only a spinner to drill during
"hound dog" for huge points which will also feed the bumpers, but a
gate at the top for a little Firepower Flava! You gotta love when you
can shoot either loop and collect a GFE at the saucer. I also like how
this shot sets up the upper-right flipper.

Left ramp, upper-left flipper, Heart Break Hotel shots: nice long
flowing ramp that is "back-hand-able" WAHOO! Great for raping points
during HBH MB. While putting the "JOG" in at the top of the ramp
really kills the speed of the game, it is a really nice and
"tolerable" consideration for less skilled players. The rubber along
the bottom of the upper playfield is an excellent decision to allow
for 2nd and 3rd shots. Making that HBH shot is VERY satisfying.

Hound Dog Shot: Whether you like the hound dog or not, you have just
got to love this shot. I absolutely LOVE the design of it. It is a
Scared Stiff leaper frog on steroids! The heavy spring loaded assembly
along with a rubber face totally attributes to the LIVELY feel of this
game. This isn't some –shoot a clunk- target, the design of this
assembly allows the ball to keep it's life. GREAT DESIGN!

Upper-Loop Shot: With great visibility to make consecutive Blue Suede
Shoes shots and SUPER SKILL SHOTS, a magnet perfectly placed for
newbie's that does not alienate the seasoned veteran, this shot takes
on a life of its own. It is great fun to NAIL this loop shot over and
over! You also have to appreciate that the magnet assists in keeping
control of the ball after screaming around the upper loop.

Taking Care of Business Targets: An excellent implementation of the
ring worn by Elvis turning it into a 2x scoring with a BLINGING
flasher. NICE!

K-I-N-G Targets: More targets is a good thing, especially when they
are near the TCB targets for 2Xing your King of Rock and Roll scores.

Scarf Shot: Seems to be the norm as of late to put a target in a game
that helps you along the way as well as add-a-balls throughout game
modes.

Jailhouse Rock Saucer: Note to Gimli, THIS IS HOW A SHOT IS SUPPOSED
TO STICK! A ROCKIN' GOOD TIME collecting jackpots and super jackpots
from the saucer shot during JHR MB. With a great feed to the right
flipper, shots can be cradled and then re-shot into the saucer.

Right Ramp Shot: Long flowing ramp that uses the upper-playfield as
part of the journey.

Right loop shot: HMMMM…a little LOTR action on this one. Hard shots up
the right loop have a tendency to not stick. Maybe it is time to use
rounded metal to help this issue that plagues a few of the stern
titles.

Replayability/Longevity {5}: Despite the EXCELLENT playfield layout
and the fun shots, the rules are slowly killing this game for me. It
lacks depth for the above average-seasoned player and is growing old
fast. With a lackluster rule set and an anti-climatic wizard mode I
find no joy in repetition. (still not sure if I beat the game yet,
considering once you complete the trophy room you just start back at
the beginning with no apparent climax) I find no joy in repetition.

PLUSES: THEME! Who would have ever thought stern would have another
Harley Davidson on their hands!

Rubber on out-lane posts! WHITE RUBBER! Please continue this trend.
OPS need to realize that white rubber keep their machines CLEANER!
True, black is more durable, but white rubber will keep them on their
toes.

Flippers have no problems making all shots. Wow, I can actually play
this game until I am sick of it and IT is not sick of me. I'll give
the game designer props for not creating a bunch of road blocks
prohibiting players from making shots.

The dancing Elvis figure is an EXCELLENT creation. It gives the game a
lot of life and is just cool altogether.

More metal ramps with cool designs, keep it up! While I really like
plastic because it lets the game really show off its colors and
lights, metal ramps with cool designs cut into them have their place
in pinball as well.

5-Bank drop target! Yes! Drop targets are so old-school that it is
cool. Wish we could have had more like the designer had planned.
(Sigh)

SUPER SECRET SKILL SHOT!

Minuses

MINUSES: Rule-set kills this game for me, lacks any depth and deeper
modes that really could have set this theme off! Sure, if I buy the
game I can change the settings and make them more challenging, but the
game is just too mundane for quarter deposits on location.

***Overall…the entire design team did the job. It "most importantly"
SOLD units, appealed to the Elvis fan, and wasn't the box office flop
that Ripleys was. Let me say that with the upcoming release of WPT
and seeing who will head the project, the current "KINGS of PINBALL
DESIGN" have me drowning myself in drool. I feel my hand digging into
my pocket on theme popularity alone, and with a solid design and fun
rule-set, it will make me pull out the green to add one to my game
room. GOOD LUCK WPT DESIGN TEAM, and here's hoping you deal us a royal
flush!

Pluses: Game offers a nice combination of simplistic ruleset with a tough wizard mode, hard shots and easy shots. Upper playfield just plain looks cool and can be fun wth all the rubber bouncing the ball around while actually getting the ball into the hotel can be tricky. Magnet above the upper right flipper is very useful but can also be annoying (See "Minuses") Drop targets rule the universe! And whats this... a Stern spinner that actually spins more than 2 revolutions!!!??? Not only that but it is coupled with a cool super spinner mode (Which is not explained very well in the game but knocking down all drops starts it. The only timer is the flasher above the spinner which pulses faster until time runs out. This timer can be reset by knocking down the targets again. Spinner is worth 5K plus 1K per spin which can be doubled with TCB for 10K plus 2K per spin up to a max of 600K per spin!) Gifts of elvis are nothing exciting if not for the extremely unbalanced KING OF ROCK mode which is worth WAYYYY to much. Video mode is fun to a point but lack of randomness likens it to Star Trek's vid mode. Cabinet artwork is VERY nice, it blends in well with the dark backglass which is also nice but could have been made to look better. Graceland mode is pretty fun but may in fact be TOO hard. Sound package while not great does a good job simulating listening to Elvis through a 50's television set which was probably not intended :) The random awards from the bumpers is an original touch. 5 count em FIVE skill shots: Lane, hands free lane, Super (Elvis targets), Secret (hold left flipper, shoot loop), Super Secret (Hold left flipper, shoot ball all the way around the hit Elvis targets from upper flipper)

Minuses: This game on factory settings is WAY to easy!!! Too bad there is no directors cut available to the avg Joe on the street like the tourny mode flipper code. The Upper Playfield: OK, here is my biggest peave on this game. you have an upper playfield which with the exception of Heartbreak Multiball does NOTHING. So that means during Jailbreak, Encore and Graceland the upper playfield is a waste of space and time. You are better off just letting the ball come down the ramp.The Magnet can get old quick! It should not always be active since it kills flow. What would shadow be like if the loop did that? Jailbreak: I dunno if its me but I like to earn my jackpots, not collect them from balls coming out of the jets. Also Gold records are not very well explained during the game. Would be nice to see "8 Gold Records. Graceland Jackpots at 800K" or something to that affect. Displays are not that great. Scarf target registers when it feels like it which seems to mostly be during Encore where it awards you "Ball Added" which is nothing since Encore is constantly shooting balls out. Which brings me to... The ball shooter! This thing is so inconsistant it boggles the mind. I have yet to find the perfect pitch to get this to work 100%. Overall a very solid effort from Steve Ritchie, despite a tough licsence it blends a good mixture of rock and pinball but his game is crippled somewhat from the higher powers at Stern that wants to attract 60 something flailers.

PROS:

Dancing Elvis unit is choreographed very well. The cabinet and backglass artwork really gives the game a classy, professional look. Etched ramps look to be the way of the future, but it looks cool. Unbalanced scoring for the King of Rock and Roll mode brings some meaning back to POINTS in a pinball game. All people care about today is getting to the end wizard mode . . . but I dare you to try and cradle out this mode with 2X scoring going on. All Top 10 hits (like Whitewater rafts) uses the whole playfield very well. Despite rather shallow rules, there are really some nice strategies available to the player (2X Scoring + Hound Dog + Heartbreak for big points). Inserts do a great job of letting players know their progress towards everything (unlike TSPP and LOTR). Gold Records act like artifacts and give players an incentive to play out modes.

CONS:

Loop shot from the upper flipper is inconsistent in terms of all good shots making it around. Other playfield inconsistencies like Jailhouse kickout hole not holding shots all the time, and the scarf target not registering can get annoying as well. Also, presentation during the rooms at Graceland lacks that “this is awesome” feeling (sort of like the way the different stages on Cirqus Voltaire’s wizard mode really got me excited). 2X scoring is over exposed . . . much rather have it as one of those big awards you can get once or twice a game. Makes it feel like half scoring versus 1X scoring in Elvis.

Pluses: 1st thing 1st....the Dancing Elvis may be a little corny...but I think it's cool. I think Stern did a pretty good job with all of the sounds/music. Fun game to crank the volume on.
Good rule set, Graceland is quite challenging to complete, but not too hard to get to.(Good for novices and experts). Upper pf is OK...not a 'TSPP upper pf' but not bad. Elvis is definately a pretty game...the colors go well together.

Minuses: Mostly Stern 'stuff': Flippers are still spongy. 1/2 of the games I've played have warped pfs'! (Just like T3) Display dots could of been a lot better. And most annoying: 'The Overheating Magnet'! Quite a surprise when you shoot the upper loop and the 'Ball of Fire' shoots towards the lower right flipper....Surprise!...
...And where is Quality Control......I've seen 12 Elvi in two seperate tourneys, and only a couple didn't have major problems with switches, dead flippers and other things within the 1st hours of play.....this has got to get better!

Overall: A fun game to play. I actually like the theme...even though Elvis had 'moved on' early in my life!