I picked up this pin in August of 2017 after a few years of searching and watching. In that couple of years of ownership, my enthusiasm for the title really hasn’t faded.
Game Summary
Attack from Mars (1995) is a Brian Eddy designed game that has been recently remade by CGC/PPS.
For perspective.. a friend on the Panhandle picked up an AFM and a Champion Pub around 2014 for a combined price greater than both of our household vehicles, at the time. :) Granted, his games were top notch examples.
My Relationship with the Game
I recall seeing one in the wild as a kid but scantly recall having the opportunity to play one before playing it on Pinball Arcade on the iPad when I got into this hobby 6 years ago. Back then, they were sort of unobtanium in terms of price.
For years, I watched with interest for one but also typically let me my pinball-inclined friends talk me out of them with:
It will get old: Just shooting the center shot over and over.
Rules are too linear.
It is the same layout as Medieval Madness.
I bought the Stern Star Trek (Premium) instead thinking it would be a good stand in with similarities combined from AFM and STTNG. Ultimately, for me the conclusion was that Stern’s Star Trek was (still is) an excellent game in its own right but it didn’t adequately scratch the AFM itch.
I’ve played a few remakes and to my eye they played as well as the originals and looked great too, especially with the upgraded DMD. I know early Medieval Madness Remakes had some insert printing annoyances for super-OCD folks but PPS and CGC seem to stand behind the games. (The remake electronics do differ and I’ll talk about that in another post) For me the real benefit of the remakes is that they cap the used sale values on the original titles and put them in range for acquisition.
In another: {out with the new, in with the old} round of selling & buying (and loosing my ass each time) - I cycled the Sterns and JJPs out of the my game room to get the space (and cash) to start seeking Bally / Williams 90’s titles. This pin was part of the vanguard of that mental battle and so far I’m not sorry, (at all) for the.. downgrade(?)
You can read more about the acquisition of this specific game, list of additions, etc here: Attack from Mars!