Road Runner
This table was made by Atari back in 1979
and it is based on the classic cartoon series from Warner Brothers. The first
thing you will notice about the table is that it is very colorful, much like a
cartoon. It is also visually appealing. But one thing I will warn you about it
is that it is a very fast game. That ball can zoom around like a real
roadrunner, so you do not want to play distracted or your game will be over very
quickly.
What I like about the game is there is a decent amount of stuff to do. Once you knock down the targets, there are balls behind them that you can knock around. There is a few different places to hit your ball and gain some speed. About the only real drawback is that once you get going in the game, you can build up quite a bit of bonus and each and every ball it gives you the bonus points. While it is nice for your score, it can take quite awhile to get through all the bonus points by the time the fifth ball rolls around.
The sound is great with lots of classic sounds from the cartoons. From Wile E. Coyote talking at the beginning to the "beep beeps", it really captures the feeling of the cartoon. There are a few funny ones that pop up, especially after you lose a ball. You also get the whole theme song at that beginning, which is a blessing and curse. It is cool to hear the classic song, but it drowns out all the sound effects at the beginning of the game. What I usually do is wait for it to end before I begin playing. I use this as the time to grab a beverage or snack.
A few nice features is that it support up to four players at once. This is nice for some family battles and with the wacky bonus points, you really do not know who is the winner until the final ball. It also keeps high scores, which is always a big plus for me. I like a goal to strive for and with it, I know what the goal is. It shows the top four high scores.
All in all, it is a very fun and very colorful table. It plays great and has some major speed to it. There is enough to keep you busy and despite the few flaws, it is a nice table.
This is just a review of the pinball machine. If you are looking for the actual pinball machine, you may want to check out ebay. Click below to see if you can find this game.