Posts Tagged ‘dune’

Pintastic NE 2026 Videos of the Day, Gameplay: King Kong, Dune, Yukon Yeti and Ace High Plus commentary on Beetlejuice, Pokémon and Harry Potter (Trailers Included)

Posted: April 18, 2026 by datechguy in business, fun, pinball, special events
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

The intrinsic part of every Pintastic is gameplay so lets take a look at the actual gameplay of three new machines and one old one:

First let’s start with the new King Kong Game from Stern

This game surprised me. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, there were plenty of nice design features and shots and the more I saw it the more it seemed playable. It’s definitely worth your time.

Here is the trailer:

Next let’s take Dune from Barrels of Fun:

I found the design odd, and frankly my gameplay didn’t improve on balls 2 & 3 as we played a three player game. It was usually full but it’s a ramp game and I’m not big on ramp games. If you’re into the movie it’s worth a view but it’s not my cup of tea

Here is the trailer:

Next here is a blast from the past, Ace High from 1957 from Gottlieb

These games get a lot of play on day three when you have every machine full. You don’t get to the current pinball without these old games like this: It’s fun and great as an intro for kids.

Finally let’s finish with what I thought was the best new game of Pintastic Yukon Yeti from Turner Pinball:

I mentioned how much I liked the artwork in a previous video and the gameplay is just as good as the artwork. A lot of interesting shots and features that get more interesting as you play. I would have liked to play more but there were two drawback.

  1. There was only one copy of the game at Pintastic
  2. As the next video shows everyone else liked this game as much as I did:

Bottom line this game is as good as people think and it’s worth a trip to Tycoon Pinball in Manchester NH to play it.

The Trailer:

I should point out that while I don’t have gameplay for the new Beetlejuice, Harry Potter or Pokemon machines I did play them here are my quick takes

First Beetlejuice from spooky pinball

Beetlejuice looks good & has the feel of the movie but for some reason it didn’t really ring my chimes. Can’t really say way I found myself passing up chances to play it. From what I saw of the response however I was clearly in the minority.

and it doesn’t get cooler than this:

Here is the official trailer

Pokémon

I had a chance to play this a few times, there were lines but also quite a few of the machine there. The design itself reminds me of the games of the 70’s it’s very retro and very simple as if the primary audience are young kids who are into Pokémon who might not be into pinball. Put simply the game plays like the TV show and is all about catching Pokémon. It’s simple, it’s clean and with the uploads allowing them to add more Pokémon to the game I suspect it will be selling for a long time.

Frankly it’s nice to have a game with a simple rule set. Well done.

Here is the promo

Finally Harry Potter from Jersey Jack

I was surprised there was no Harry Potter in the Extra Ball lounge and there didn’t seem to be as many as I expected in the place so I only got to play it once. This is a deep game a VERY deep game. I suspect I will need to play it a whole lot more to understand it better but from the time I did play it I can honestly say this. I really got the feel of the movies playing this game. It’s design fits the subject perfectly and it seems to have a deep mystery around it. I suspect when I go to Tycoon Pinball next month I’ll give it a lot more time and will have a solid video to show but I suspect fans of the series will adore it.

Here is the promo

Jersey Jack on the side is practically a guarantee of a great pinball machine.

Go see Dune, and see it in the theater

Posted: October 23, 2021 by ng36b in entertainment
Tags: , , , ,

Since the “2 weeks to stop the spread” back in March of 2020, I haven’t been inside a theater. Hollywood hasn’t exactly made me excited to go back either. Ooo, I can watch a mediocre Marvel film aimed at Chinese audiences? Or a homosexual adaptation of some previously great character? Or a film that will repeat “The Narrative?” My view on new Hollywood movies was pretty aligned with one of my favorite YouTube film critics, The Critical Drinker.

But then, the Dune trailer came out. And man, it looked cool. I had heard a lot about Dune, and I knew that it was probably one of the most influential science fiction novel series of all times, but I had never watched the movie (or TV mini-series). Since I had an extra Audible credit, I grabbed the predecessor book “The Butlerian Jihad,” a book written by Frank Herbet’s son Brian and Kevin J Anderson, who has written tons of science fiction books, including some in the Star Wars expanding universe (back before Star Wars was acquired by Disney).

Excited by the trailer, and even more so as I read through the books, I saw Dune last night with a group of friends in our local theater.

And it was awesome!

First, it was a movie that took itself seriously. The acting is great. The scenes are beautifully shot. The editing is really good, and there aren’t long moments of dead space for you to be bored.

Second, no woke BS. We have a diverse array of actors because that’s what the books had! The desert people of the planet Arrakis look, feel and act like people living in a desert. I immediately had Iraq/Afghanistan insurgency vibes when I saw them, and as people trying to fight off the control of the Emperor, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to feel. Female characters feel the same way. They aren’t made out to be super strong, take on everything without emotion monstrosities like Captain Marvel. Instead, we get an outstanding performance from Rebecca Ferguson (who plays Lady Jessica Atreides) that doesn’t look like she’s trying to outperform Timothee Chalamet (who plays Paul Atreides).

The movie is genuinely enjoyable to watch. Watching it in the theater was great because of the sound. The movie places big demands on low bass sound, especially when the giant sandworms of Arrakis make an entrance. The low rumblings as the sandworms approach genuinely fills you with dread, and the rest of the musical score is well composed.

The one issue with Dune is without understanding the lore, its hard to follow. Before you see it in theater, I’d recommend watching the Looper trailer that gives you much of the backstory of the main characters.

In a world full of dumb, woke, cringy movies, Dune is a bright spot of good story and good acting. It’s not the next Iron Man or Lord of the Rings, but if you have to pick a movie to watch, you can’t do wrong with Dune.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency.