Posted in: Games, Pinball, Video Games | Tagged: chicago, Metallica, Pinball Expo, Stern Pinball, x-men

We Played Stern Pinball's New X-Men & Metallica Tables In Chicago

We got a chance ot go check out the new X-Men and Metallica pinball tables from Stern Pinball, while also touring their Chicago offices

Sometimes, you get to go check out something and not realize how cool it is until you're there. This is the case with a recent trip to Chicago, where Stern Pinball showed off some of their new tables. The company was taking part in the annual Pinball Expo, with this year being the 40th Anniversary of the event. So they went all-out to have a cool display while giving attendees a chance to try out some of their newer titles.

First off, when we got to Chicago, we immediately headed over to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center to check out their booth. A lot was going on that day, but we were greeted and given a tour of their booth, which included the highly-anticipated physical reveal of their new cabinet for The Uncanny X-Men. This is basically a love letter to fans of the Marvel mutant comic book series, as they have gone out of their way to make as many references as possible. They had two versions on display for us, one with a slightly modern theme while the other harkened back to the '80s. Much of what is in this table is a mix of references from the classic Animated Series as well as a mesh of comic books from the golden era of the X-Men from the '70s-'90s.

One of the cool things to note is that you have a Choose Your Own Adventure option, as there will be a point where you can take on different enemies in a story format, told through hitting certain points and gaining a high enough score to complete the story. We also noticed that they have different customizations depending on the cabinet, as there were two different versions of a Wolverine figure in them. One is the classic brown and tan costume, and the other is the blue and yellow version. They also added a small minigame to the left in case your ball goes in that area, as you have one smaller flipper to try and get the ball back in the playing field before it goes down the shoot. I absolutely loved this game and wish I had a copy right now.

We were also given a look at the booth in general, as they were showing off many of the tables they had created in recent years. It's kind of cool to see them work with iconic IPs like James Bond, Jaws, John Wick, and Deadpool while also having their fair share of music-related cabinets, as they had some on display for Rush and the Foo Fighters. At the end of this small gallery, you'll see a cool display of a table taken apart in pieces, showing the different parts and how they all come together to form a table. Stern Pinball went all out to have a red-carpet display of their games for this show, and I think it was a pretty big hit with attendees.

The following day came a pretty awesome tour, as we were able to go over to the Stern Pinball factory and HQ to check out a few things. I've been to arcade companies before and seen some of their operations, but this is the first time stepping inside a pinball factory. On a map, the place is very easy to miss as it's part of a series of buildings in an industrial area that's pretty close to Chicago O'Hare International. But once you arrive and see the giant pinball out front, it's pretty hard to miss. Apparently, they have only been in this building just over a year, so it still looks a bit pristine.

We were taken to a lobby where they had several tables on display for people to check out, with 2-3 copies of games that they had released in the past few years so people knew what to expect from them when it comes to modern pinball design. Then we were taken to their private game room, where we saw this wall of table designs lit up to greet us, followed by a room with a bar and some food so people could just kick back and play some games at their leisure. It was a pretty snazzy place to hang out and talk shop with a lot of other people on the tour while also seeing some of the more high-end and exclusive tables that only people with a free $13K could afford to own. It was here we had an extended gameplay session with both the new Uncanny X-Men title as well as the new Metallica Remastered table, which we'll talk about in a moment.

From here, we were taken on a tour of the Stern Pinball factory, and depending on what kind of gaming nerd you are, this will either go over your head or be absolutely awesome to see. Stern has a complete setup for anyone who is fortunate enough to go tour the facility with all the info they'll ever need about what they see. We're not showing them to spoil things for people, but there are small information signs everywhere that describe what every department is doing as you walk around. They show you everything from how the tables are crafted and designed to how the wiring is put into place, how the parts are put into the tabletop, and how the cabinet is constructed, all the way to the final packaged product. It was pretty cool to see a bunch of boxes just labeled "Marvel" on the side.

What really made me smile is that very little of what Stern Pinball does is automated. Yes, there are elements that require machine work that you just can't duplicate with a human hand. However, for every single job they possibly could, they have people employed to make everything by hand to make sure it is done right and with care instead of on an assembly line with a bunch of robots doing the work. What's more, you can see that a lot of the people here take extra pride in their work. I watched someone painstakingly make sure the wiring went in a very specific direction so it didn't cover any lights. By the way, this place has so much wiring; whatever color you may need for whatever game they make, they have it!

After the factory tour, we got to go back to the game room and play Metallica Remastered. We didn't get a chance to earlier in the day because there was basically a line of people wanting to play it, and someone made the decision that people could only play one ball at a time. Most of the group had already left, so now we could actually sit down and deep-dive the game. I remember playing the original a couple of times in the past, and while I don't have a super vivid memory of it, I knew enough to know what to expect. For the most part, it's pretty much as I remember it, but it's definitely been given a few upgrades. The music is far more vibrant, and the screen at the top has better animations and live concert footage to match the song you choose to listen to as it plays.

It's not a complete catalog, but it's got a lot of favorites, as well as some odd choices. The song "King Nothing" is still here, and I have always wondered what the decision was behind keeping that one over other music. The animations are what really solidify the game this time around, as they take full advantage of having a proper LED screen to really bring the table to life. Plus, seeing some of the in-table items go off was fun, especially Sparky whenever the electric chair was activated. When I was finally able to play a few full games, I managed to get the top score on one of the tables, so that was a nice badge of honor to have for a moment before I'm sure it will be erased by an employee who is ten times better at the game.

I have a lot of fun checking out both of these games and seeing the Stern Pinball HQ in all of its glory. It isn't often you get this kind of access or even an opportunity to set foot in a building like this without a ton of security telling you where not to go. The people at Stern really wanted to show off everything they had to offer this year, and it showed.

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