Aright... I do not think there has been a better in depth review of any game. You covered Houdini perfectly. Congratulations on another excellent show.
Zack and Greg WOW that was fun to watch. Thanks for the excellent footage and insight from the designer Joe . Good work on all fronts . Peace , Rob Knapp
Some of the things I love about Houdini. - Great back glass logo. - Tasteful use of lighting -- not excessive -- in part because of the big picture of Houdini on the play field. Ends up making the game look less cluttered. - During game play -- docking? -- all the lights go out. Cool. - The size of play field elements -- nothing feels too large or too small. Above all, it looks inviting to play (vs. chaotic).
I've played and followed pinball for just shy of 50 years, and this is -- on first impression -- the most beautiful and striking machine I've ever seen
Floyd Maxwell wow Floyd love that you’ve been in the hobby that long buddy! It balances many things well and and ton to play once you get the shots down but that’s the fun part. Thanks for the comments!
You guys are hilarious, I’ve jus ordered a houdini used with art blades and shaker motor for £4800.... I’ve only owned a stern world poker tour so I’m defo looking forward to getting this! 🇬🇧
Great video guys.. it is my absolute favorite machine to come out in a long time.. you can see the love the guys put in the game.. if you guys need someone to come by and make you guys look like pinball wizards let me know i would sacrifice myself to the pinball gods...for some free play action!
A stellar video of a great pinball machine. I was so impressed with this review last year. Has the focus of the channel changed this year? No Oktoberfest, Wonka or BK3 reviews yet. Are those still happening? I know the review vids are a lot of work and you might not be able to get together but I love them and hope they;re still a regular part of your content.
General comment: you guys are great. Your reviews are very thorough. Your grading seems exceptionally fair / well thought out. For people like me who own zero pins, I think we would like a shorter review -- maybe call it (in this case) Houdini game play or Playing Houdini. It might also be enough if you put some times in the description so we can jump. Maybe even just have one jump to a summary section. Just random thoughts...
well, so strange (but in fact really positive) to "only" check this video today, not only because i have a Houdini from monthes, but also lots of things have changed (in the good way, i'm talking about the code becoming really mature)... i like what i see & hear, even more some stories & easter eggs (tanx for the monkey, now i know)
Well now you're just spoiling us! The designer and the programmer walking us through the game? Very, very cool. I saw the run-time was over 2 hours and thought there's now way I'll be able to watch all of that. Nope, you guys had me the whole way. Great work as usual. and LOVE the Franchi logo design. I'll be grabbing one soon. do they go up to 4x or just 3x?
Joel Reeves thanks Joel! Yeah long episode but wanted the designers having all of the time they needed to explain their creation. We can figure out sizes I’m sure.
Straight Down The Middle: a pinball show I already played the game to see if I wanted to buy it, I didn’t know what those tricks were until this video, but yes I will.
Man, that was a great review. Hit that out of the park! Great shirt design, definitely going to get one, I'm partial to Franchi designs for some reason.
Ha, my wife and I bought the exact same magic trick from Disney that Greg did, after watching probably the exact same guy doing it. Same feeling of "wow we spent 30 bucks on this?", but how could we not?
great video. i have a hot wheels and want another AP next to it. love the whole Houdini package and can get a decent deal on a huo. do you still own the houdini and does it last in a collection? looking forward to AP #4!!
Ok, watched some gameplay of Houdini -- coming down out of the pops sewers a lot...I think the problem is that the opening to the pops area is like a chute -- fine when you go in, but when you come out, the chute points it pretty much right down the middle. Not sure why it is chute-like -- if there was less stuff there, balls would tend to come out more toward the left flipper.
You know a game this reminds me of? Jurassic Park. Data East burst onto the market with JP (in my mind). Very distinct music, unique theme, the T-Rex was a bit like the trunk on H. And then there was the Smart Missile. I imagine AmPin will do the same with this game...it is that good.
This just shows that Stern is full of shit when they give us so LITTLE in terms of toys, ramps, and flash for the money. Look at all you get with a Houdini for 7K. If Stern made this game it would be over 10k I bet!
Talking about ramp shot and narrow shot lanes -- you compared it to Demolition Man. FWIW, I don't think DM has tight lane shots. What it has are very _steep_ lane shots. It is a sewer machine because of this (yet it is in my top three pins). Also, the reason for a different feel to missed lane shots on Houdini, I would say, is due to a lack of posts. Posts reject hard, contact switches absorb and reduce ball energy.
Floyd Maxwell I wasn’t talking about demo man having tight shots. I was referring to the fact that the first few games I put on it I couldn’t get the flow going......I had to learn the shots to get it flowing. With Houdini you have to learn the shots after a few games to to hit the tight shots! Demo man shots are wide open for the most part ha ha
My "I have no right to grade it" report card: Art A+ Shots/Layout A (or better, haven't played it) Rules/code (haven't played) Toys/Innovation A to A+ Music/Call Outs (haven't played) Theme A+ Enjoyability A or better
I remember the first day Andrew was showing off his black Porsche to me... He picks me up in Merthyr Vale for work, turns the corner into the Welsh valley road between towns and suddenly starts tearing off as fast as he can accelerate, while I'm forced into the passenger seat, clenching the handrest and grimacing like I'm on a rollercoaster. Seeing my reaction he comes to a stop and goes, "What? This engine is built for racing", and I simply shout back "THESE ROADS AREN'T!"
Very cool interview with Joe. My only complaint is he keeps pointing out things on the play field as he’s describing things and the camera barely ever shows what he’s pointing to. Otherwise good job.
Fantastic review - except the camera work at American Pinball - when he is making a point and showing something on the machine we only see him and not what he is pointing at. Otherwise a fantastic review. Thanks And a very cool t-shirt as well 👍🏼
Jacob Lykke thanks man. Yeah we wanted to add more close ups of the playfield but ran out of shots. We tried to do additional shots afterwards but they just didn’t match up very well! This was our first attempt at running multiple cameras and editing this way and we learned a lot.
Zach and Greg - I REALLY appreciate the informative and complete review and coverage of the new Houdini pin. The addition of the interviews with the staff at American Pinball made the whole thing even the more special. I have a deposit on a machine and am trying to be patient waiting for the distributor to get it and ship it to me! (I am a first time buyer of my very own pinball machine - I have played them a lot since my youth but this one is for my personal home!) I have a question. You mentioned that there were bugs in the programming and the code designer admitted that some modes were not yet implemented. What I would like to know is HOW the bug fixes and new features are put into existing machines? What is the mechanism for doing fixes of that type? Thanks again/ (And, you can if you want respond to my personal eMail: rhett.bryson@furman.edu )
Rhett Bryson congrats on getting your first machine! Code updates will be released periodically when bugs are found and remedied. It’s super easy too. You would download the update file from a computer onto a usb then plug in the device to the USB port inside the coin door.
And maybe some of the first things it says to you are...ah...a bit cruel. If it drains without you moving your flippers, it tells you to move your flippers. Kinda funny, actually.
