Ultimate Spider-Man
Another fun table from Bob and like most of his tables, it is based
on a popular property. This time it is the webslinger himself, Spider-Man.
But this table differs from most of Bob's tables. It features some
differences that make it both exciting and frustrating at the same time.
Pinball has always been a game of skill. Learn to control those flippers and you can dominate a table. With a little practice, you can learn the subtle nuances of a table. Sure there is some luck involved, but skill has always been the dominant factor in pinball. Ultimate Spider-Man is not like this. Sure there is a good helping of skill involved, but there is more luck needed than in most pinball tables. While there are quite a few targets and lanes that you can hit or light up with your own skill, there is an equal number of them that takes alot of luck to light up. That is due to four strategically placed bumpers that are adorned with Spider-Man logos. These four bumpers keep you from reaching most of the letters in Spider-Man on a clean shot. Instead you need to get the ball up there and hope it bounces right on one of the bumpers in order to get one of these letters. This can be either an exciting challenge or a source of major frustration, depending on your state of mind and tolerance level.
At first, I found this table annoying. My scores were low and I hated to have luck play such a large part in my game. But as I played it more and more, I found the challenge to add to the game. Sure it was frustrating to need a few letters to go and not be able to get the break needed. But that kept me coming back. I wanted to earn those extra balls and most importantly, I wanted to get a good message. One of the best parts of this game is the little message and stats you get at the end of the game. Depending on what score you received, you get a special little message that pretty much either praises you or pokes fun at you. My personal favorite is "200 is a good score, for bowling". I lost it when I received that message and it made me want to play again to redeem myself. It reminds me of the old arcade game, Space Fury, that used to do the same thing.
The sound of the game is well done. The opening theme song is kept short which is good. Too many times VP table creators get carried away with the sound clips and music. This table only has a few sound clips and it keeps the table from getting bogged down. I think some appropriately low volume music and a few well placed clips is plenty. But when you start getting clips everywhere, they lose their uniqueness.
The table layout is very clean with enough targets to keep you interested. It is not as impressive visually as some of Bob's later tables, but it suits it well. There are little if any cheap shots, you know where you hit a target and the ball comes back and goes down the gutter. Nothing can kill a table like cheap shots. If you lose a ball in Ultimate Spidey, it is almost always your fault and that is the way it should be.
There will be fans and critics of this table. It is a risky design that works but will still not appeal to some pinball fans. I applaud Bob on his willingness to make a table like this and also admire his sense of humor that is prevalent in the ending messages. Overall it is an enjoyable table with enough challenge to keep you busy for quite awhile. Just be prepared to scream at your monitor because this table will have you doing that.