Pluses:

     Rudy: game has some fun moments.  Even find the crane a somewhat
respectable toy.

     8Ball: Great dot animation when you hit the Lt Deckker spinner and
smoke shoots out his ears

     Drac: Smart Missile feature is cool even though borrowed from JP
(and WMS Defender pin) and a much better game than X-Piles

     Buzz: Decent ruleset once you get past the ugly art and bad theme.

Minuses:

     Rudy: could they have made Arnold's head any bigger on the BG?

     8Ball: Super Crane is junk and seems to never work. This pin is as bad
as the movie. Horrible art. 

     Drac: The only time I saw a Crane that worked properly was at a
tournament.

     Buzz: Game has no flow. UGLY backglass

Rudy:

plus: One of the better licenses for a pin. Game does well in incorporating the three movies into the shots and rules. Cool looking LED lights under the playfield. Nice trim on the backbox. Volume amplification during multiballs really gets the blood pumping. Trying to set the game up to get an 84X jackpot is extremely difficult since you have to do so many things strategically right and then execute the jackpot shot sequences.

minus: (based on 4.1) I really wanted to like this game but there's a bunch of things which keep it in the 'Good' category. Among the problems I saw are: Flippers become a little sluggish after a lot of heated play. Had multiple instances of flippers collapsing when shooting a ball coming at it at high speed. This makes the ring shot very difficult as well. Decent flow is built into some of the shots but it's tough to hit them with the inconsistent flippers. Center loop shot feeds the right flipper with varying results. Playfield lights don't always tell you what to shoot at the beginning of some of the modes/multiballs. This results in a ball feeding a flipper and you must make a shot somewhere without knowing if you would get a reward or you just wasted a shot. Speech patterns are repetitive. After locking 1 ball towards TTT multiball the speech ends with something that sounds a lot like Zegema Beach (from SST). It's funny hearing the grace period jackpots at half volume after multiball has ended. POTD could abort the soul value display on the DMD after the first couple of attempts. Even using the dual flip abort takes too much time to get the ball back into play. I think this game is fine for the home environment if you take the time to tweak the Balrog light and somehow can solidify the feel of the flippers, but without a caring operator I'm not sure how well it will hold up on location for an experienced player. Both the average and novice will probably get a little more satisfaction because you can have fun playing it, but don't expect to finish off the modes and easily start new ones due to making the ring shot. Who knows, maybe that was Stern's intent...

Jimbo:

Pluses:
Awesome bg art. A truely great anf fun game to play. Lots of great sounds,
lighting, speech and FLOW! Combos are truely enjoyable on this game!
Great rules....up there with TSPP. Lots of little rule quirks that make the
game interesting and challenging every time I play it. Another game with a
tough to get final mode...awesome!
Many good sound and speech calls....clearer sounding than any other Stern!
Finally a game that gives MM a run for its' money!

Minuses

Well, let me think................................ok, here's a
couple, I'm not too crazy about the way the ball exits the Path of the
Dead...so I fixed it(with a 5 cent divertor)
The pf art is great except for the character portraits....these aren't so
hot.
The Ring shot will get real tough on many games, especially ones that are
steep and/or have a tweaked spinner. Also, flippers still are not nearly as
consistent as WMS.(This will make the ring shot tough too!)

Overall: Don't buy one........BUY 2!!

Doc:

Pluses

Another great software effort from KEF.
Good interpretation of LOTR theme into rule set.
Some nice toys.
Collecting of locks from bottom inlanes/outlanes a nice touch.
Add-a-ball multiballs!
Deep wizard modes, makes you want to come back to play some more.

Minuses

Clunky saucer shot on right that doesn't stick.
Improperly set up game on location will be brutal (i.e. misaligned
spinner killing ring shot, non-leveled game effecting upper
playfield and soul collecting, etc.).
Balrog?

Drac:

Pluses

Add-a-ball during multiball is always a welcome feature (Palantir), nice sound package. Combining Gollem multiball w/ other multiballs (only Gollem plus one other multiball seems possible) is fun.

Minuses:

Balrog doesn't always register for a clean shot. After several minutes of play the center spinner shot becomes somewhat difficult. Good effort from Stern, but one gets the feeling they were playing it safe by sticking to the formula (which is OK given the state of affairs).

Worm:

PLUSES:

THEME. THEME. THEME. AN EXCELLENT "IT SELLS ITSELF" KINDA THEME.

The BEST -translite- artwork in the history of Stern, maybe all-time. If there were only seperate bulbs behind this translite, ahh well, one can dream...

The code, like TSPP, is some of the best ever. Mad props to KEF and his sick skillz on the keyboard. With a couple updates due out, LOTR will be SOLID! EXCELLENT WORK!

*****THERE AND BACK AGAIN IS PINBALL BLISS! EXCELLENT! the music, the sound the ring makes when you hit the ring shot is catchy... DING! Frodo telling all the tales, THE DOTS! SWEET points! EASILY THE BEST MODE OF THE GAME! AWESOME!!!

STACKING GOLLUM, 2X ELF GIFT, FOTR MB, AND HAVING TTT AND ROTK MB'S READY CAN BE MASSIVE POINTS! SUPER JACKPOTS AND VICTORY LAPS!!! MULTIBALL ADD-A-BALLS!!!!!

Modes are well thought out with great quotes, dots, and required shots.

Speech, sounds, and music all well done.

VALINOR WIZARD MODE is worth the effort. Huge points are possible... with *MULTIPLE* add-a-balls, great lighting, e-n-c-h-a-n-t-i-n-g music, and EXCELLENT dmd annimations.

MINUSES:

Plays like a whitewood with finished code.

Once you become a name-taker and a heart-breaker on this machine and get good enough to start having long killer games, the game goes into shut-down mode with flippers that lose their power, and rewards all your hard work and efforts with two wet noodles that can't make ring shots. NOTE TO STERN: (for players) The most important part of a pinball machine is the FLIPPERS! Thanks for putting in the FPDF (flipper power drain feature) for when people start having too good of games with long ball times. This ensures that the ops keep making money on crappy players since the good ones will walk away from the machine in total disgust. Please, NEW FLIPPERS ALREADY!!!

One of my favorite things in this game is when you try to start a mode before starting FOTR mb. The idea here is to shoot the ring, start the mode, then shoot the pippen shot to start the mb and stack it with the mode. But, ahh, this great ring design just pukes the ball out, not starting my mode, and deflects it into the saucer hole starting my mb and screwing me out of the mode stack. thanks! EVEN BETTER WHEN YOU HAVE AN ELF GIFT YOU DON'T WANT TO COLLECT LIT AND THE RING PUKES YOUR BALL INTO THE HOLE TO AWARD YOU BIG POINTS.

Stern stand up targets are HORRIBLE! Add a ball, random awards, changing elf gifts, at the top of the right ramp to rigister hits during witch-king mode, as well as spotting rings and none of these targets register with consistancy. Changing your elf gifts can make or break your game and with a faulty target controlling my your is just a bad situation for any pinball player.

...AND THE AWARD FOR DUMBEST MODE IN PINBALL GOES TO...

BASH THE BALROG. WTF is this anyway? Completely worthless and an absolute pathetic attempt at trying to pimp the balrog toy. Hopefully there is a factory setting to turn this mode off, it is COMPLETELY pointless. Do yourself a favor and let it time out. CAN SOMEONE TELL THIS OVERGROWN ORC FART THAT WAS LIT AFIRE TO STOP BLOCKING MY -START MODE- SHOT PLEASE, YOU ARE KILLING THE FLOW OF THE GAME!!!

Destroy ring should only be lit when you have all your elf gifts, finished all 3 mb's, and modes completed. Makes no sense to destroy multiple rings in one game before getting Valinor wizard mode.

Stern games need to do a better job laying out objectives in the pf artwork and utilize pf lenses to best describe those goals.

*********THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE DINGS*********

It seems that each shot on LOTD's has a minor-major problem. Let's overview the entire playfield and list some gripes from a players standpoint fanning the playfield left to right...

JAM shot (Sam, mystery shot, big pit of nothing, think catapult in MM, but with MASSIVE clunk.) Where to begin, where to begin...well, let's start with when a ball is releasing off the POTD. Where will the ball end up? Well, sometimes it ends up in the JAM shot. If this is the case, be ready for a wild bounce to who knows where...I really don't like the design of this shot at all. Balls dropping from the POTD can go just about anywhere when releasing and will eventually start chipping and destroying the PF in the catch area. Another thing to consider is how ofter the VUK has to fire when balls land in there. It is totally unneccesary. (see POTD) The Stern stand up targets are not 100% reliable when hitting them in the first place, and with the difficulty of the JAM shot(hitting the target), it is almost impossible to have control over the selection of your elf gifts when you have one lit and want to pick your poison. The VUK just slows down the action and really doesn't serve a purpose. A dead end target would have been better and move the mystery to the RIM-ME shot.(makes perfect sense since he is the one awarding it, not SAM)

GYP-PIN shot (Pippin, far left loop)- Really only 2 complaints here...1.) When the ball is fed the return lane from the right ramp, the ball should not be diverted into the tower during mb unless the ENTS mode is running. Balls being served into the POTD during MB's serve no purpose and slows the game down immensely as well as blocks your way to lighting BANTER shot during MB to set up your add-a-ball feature. 2.) the saucer shot(BARAD-DUR) that the GYP-PIN shot feeds will spit the ball out a decent amount of the time if you send one screaming up there(especially if you really need that shot). Other pins through history have had this problem as well, namely T2, so you think someone would have come up with a solution for it by now.

MEGA-LOSS shot (Legolas, left ramp)- The major problem with this shot is that the metal gate that registers the shot becomes dislodged and then it becomes almost impossible to make any shots count(because the wireform does not come all the way off, the shot will register maybe 1 out of 7 shots). Maybe the code should be changed to have the switch on the pf rgister the shot. Something!

PATHS OF THE DEAD (MINI PF, otherwise referred to as SOTD (switches of the dead), since it seems one on every game shipped does not register.)- Balls falling off the back of the pf to the right of the VUK, a lack of rubbers replaced with metal wire guides, and no controlled feed to the wireform make this mini-pf a players nightmare. The POTD needs to be disabled during multiballs when you trigger the right return lane switch to increase flow and allow players to be able to light the planitir spot target easier. When playing TTT MB, balls going into the POTD are basically no help and just lost for 5-10 seconds from play and make it harder to build to JACKPOT 7! Not to mention if you get a couple balls up there during mb, it sprays them everywhere when they release from potd. SOMETIMES YOU ARE DEAD WHEN THE POTD RELEASES A BALL THAT SOMEHOW BOUNCES STRAIGHT DOWN THE OUTLANE. THANKS POTD, YOU JUST KILLED ME!! The path of the dead needs to have a rail installed to make all balls go to the wireform and not go into the pit of pot-luck (because you never know where the ball is going to bounce to...)
...Note on the skillshot, always take path of the dead. it is the safest skill-shot (maxes out at 500K) and also helps build towards the rotk mb. with no ball saver, it is not smart at all to try for the super skill shot...dare i say even stupid?

GAND-OFF shot (Gandalf, center loop)- a small issue of the shot not flowing all the way around the orbit. slightly clunky, but at least the shot registers off the front switch and not off the back end.

Clunk shot (Orthanc, left tower)- one of my favorite screw-jobs in LOTD is when you have the ENTS mode going and you shoot a shot at the tower and it just deflects away from the hole and screws you out of a legit try(since every shot is so important during that mode, not to mention it also screws you out of a visit to the POTD). I really think the code should allow for the diverter to close when you lock a ball and you have the chance for a skill shot into the tower instead of leaving the diverter open and adding more clunk to the game.

THREE HORRIBLE SHOTS RULED BY ONE...

ALL-WRONG shot (Balrog)- what can i say that hasn't already been said? MAJOR issues on location and in the home. One op even chose to remove the whole assembly. wow! Some of the problems are lights that won't stay on, the ALL-WRONG will stop taking hits, a ball can get jammed behind it during multiball ruining the multiball expirience. this device upon inspection seems very spring heavy and unbalanced. BASH A ALL-WRONG mode is just plain STUPID! TAKE IT OUT! It successfully interrupts the flow of the game and isn't worth jack-crap in points. A very bad way to try and exploit a toy. If you have a game that has an ALL-WRONG that won't register hits, you are going to have a very boring round of FOTR MB and will never be able to make a serious effort towards beating the game. A very cool toy that has massive issues.

REJECTION shot (Spinner)- some out of the box, some after abuse, the spinner just won't stay in an upright position, thus becoming the REJECTION shot. IT eventually ends up on a 45 degree angle blocking the ring. IS IT MAGIC POWERS? I don't know if it is the skinny metal frame or the spinner flap is just not balanced, but it is just a poor design AND IS YET ANOTHER PROBLEM IN THE FLOW OF THE GAME.

QUARTER-PIPE FROM HELL (Ring Ramp, center ramp that you can't make after 10 minutes of play due to steepness and horrible flippers)- either due to weak flippers, to steep of a quarter pipe, or an evil spinner, trying to get a ball to the ring can sometimes be an exercise in "why even try anymore"? The best is when you think you hit a powerful shot up the quarter-pipe to get some serious air, only to have it come screaming sdtm on you. LOVE THAT! Missed shots on the ring happen all the time and are a part of the game. get used to it.

THE EVIL shot (Ring, big brass anus in the middle of the pf)- protected by such evil as a faulty ALL-WRONG, REJECTION, and QUARTER-PIPE FROM HELL, THE EVIL is a most unpredictable invention. Unless you dead-nut this shot or hit the ball just deep enough to trigger the sensor, you are going to miss the shot entirely. What you will grow to admire is how the EVIL will catch 2 balls during DESTROY THE RING MODE and taunt you until it is ready to release your balls (pun intended) and let you try yet again to defeat it's evilness. while i appreciate the intention of how this mode was SUPPOSED to work, it is failing miserably all across middle earth (the world) PLESE change the mode to correct this fault.

The "I'LL REGISTER WHEN I WANT TARGET"(Palintir, white stand up target in front of crystal ball with the big screw in the middle holding it in place)- yet another awesome feature of LOTD is the "I'LL REGISTER WHEN I WANT TARGET". This target is really helpful when you are in multiball and you save your "add-a-ball" for when you drain out of mb, and you fire your remaining ball at the target to restart the mb. BUT due to the target not registering, this does not happen. OHH! I ALMOST FORGOT! As an added bonus, you may be lucky enough to drain sdtm after the "I'LL REGISTER WHEN I WANT TARGET" decides NOT to register, not only ending your mb play, but ending that ball as well. SPECTACULAR FEATURE!!

...AND THE AWARD FOR WORST DESIGNED SHOT IN PINBALL HISTORY GOES TO...

THE PIMP-ME shot (Gimli, where mysery should have been, the saucer in the middle of the playfield) (ALSO KNOW AS THE "R" SHOT---because if you dead-nut this shot it will fly through the hole right up into the "R" rollover in orc) (hell, i have even made the tower saucer shot from the left flipper!)- Let me be clear about this, with the importance of this saucer hole with lighting gimli for fotrmb, playing modes, stacking gollum mb, starting certain movie mb's, and collecting lit extra balls and specials...THIS IS EASILY THE MOST IMPORTANT SHOT IN THE GAME AND AT THE SAME TIME THE WORST DESIGNED SHOT IN PINBALL HISTORY! The ring i can somehow live with, but this shot is the center of the universe on this game and it just pimps you over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again! the best you can hope for is that you try a backhand shot to get it to stick a little better. With a success rate of under 25% on all machines i have played, this thing just kills the game period. Forget about stacking gollum at the end of any mb, do it BEFORE YOU START ONE. You can't afford to use it as an add a ball and continue mb's like the planitir target, it is WAY more unreliable than a "i'll register when i want target". It is just too bad that this shot was not designed better because it really can affect the overall performance of your game. God forbid you have a SPECIAL or EB lit on your last ball. After umpteen successful shots, you may drain still not collecting either. A REALLY FUN TIME CAN BE HAD WHEN A BALL GETS REAL LIVELY IN THE POPS AND COMES FLYING THROUGH THAT OPENING AND GOES SDTM. *FUN!* Even though i am reall being hard on this shot in this piece, it by no means symbolizes just how much I hate this shot. Seriously, it can ruin a good game at any given ill-timed shot.

MY BALL IS ARA-BORNE! shot (Aragorn, right ramp)-well, i won't be to tough on this shot even though i think it lines up kinda odd from a left flipper shot and there is a ball trap to be had on the entrance gate. It seems sometimes, be it by speed of balls on the ramp or bounces off the plastic post confusing switches, that you will get an occational air-ball off the right ramp. It is backhandable and you should utilize this during normal gameplay as well as during FOTR mb while trapping balls on the left flipper.

MERRY shot (right loop)- besides some rattle and not registering a switch once in a great while, not too bad.

Here is another goodie i noticed on some of the lotr's in my area...the metal rail with the blue rubber on it to the right side of the pippen shot starts to bend from balls going off the right side of it closeing down the pippen shot and also starts digging the metal into the playfield. This happens because the metal post on the rail is set back to far and leaves the end of the rail "out in the wind" to get jacked up.

Is it me, or do these new coin doors NOT want to take my quarters? You need to slam dunk your money into them so they don't spit them out onto the floor.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall the game is extremely fun to play thanks to superior code.

BUT,,,

Due to weak flippers that get even weaker the longer you play, a very poor playfield design with very clunky shots and unreliable hardware such as targets, balrog, ring, gates, spinner, and that pathetic PIMP-ME shot(gimli). LOTR is a game that could have been an all-time-great instead of an all-time-what could have been...

Buzz:

Pluses: Some of the best sound to come out of a Stern game since Orbitor! Fellowship multiball is just plain awesome! I really miss the days of having to do multiple tasks to complete ONE jackpot (i.e. dracula, dr. who, IJ) typical deep ruleset from KEF should keep you coming back for more. A working Balrog light is not only rare, but looks good! So is the ring catch when it decides to work. Combine 2X playfield with there and back again for huge points. Lots of multiballs and other tasks to complete for Elf Gifts which is a nice touch.

Minuses: Yay, another T2 playfield clone! Of course with the exception of the clunky-ass shots which rarely work as designed. I am soooo tired of the "every shot is lit for some measley jackpot" multiball which seems to be a trend since AFM. POTD is the most idiotic waste of space seen in pinball in decades! Balrog toy is not used very often so when it breaks (out of box generally) its no big deal. Ring shot hardly works, inner loop rarely works, left ramp is to tight. Clank! Thats the sound of the skill-shot plunge hitting whatever it hits and comes down the right loop. Random-register standup targets are back, woohoo. Did I mention the flippers suck? "But yes Buzz, but all Stern flippers suck." Yes mr. anouncer, but when you have a tight up the middle shot and the flippers are to weak it kind of RUINS THE GAME! Ok, lets talk about the Golum VUK. Did Stern not want to spend the 30 cents to put a gate in there??? The lamest toy award goes to the drooping tower. I really like The Lord of the Rings movies, and I kinda like pinball too, but this game just seems wrong. Stern should have trashed this playfield design in the whitewood stage.

Pluses:

     Rudy:

     8Ball:

     Drac: There's hardly any on location any more

     Buzz: Decent flow for a SEGA game

Minuses:

     Rudy: (SRSS) Sega repetitive sound syndrome

     8Ball: The "Snagger" multiball lock and T-rex egg look like they came
out of a Cracker Jack box. Shoot raptor targets to end game quicker!

     Drac: I may have to see it at a show

     Buzz: Id rather shop out a Demolition Man than play this

Game: Lost in space Designer: MFG: Sega

Pluses: they didn't make too many of them
        Fighter Multiball is cool

Minuses: how many times can you hear R-O-B-O-T