Sunday 24 March 2013

Gottlieb's Black Hole from 1981

Ah, good old Gottlieb System 80.



Cant say I've had the "Pleasure" of working on one of these, but from what I understand, once you take care of the necessary ground mods etc, they are just as reliable as anything else out there. In saying that, there's always the option of aftermarket "all in one" boards which is a great thing.

Now on to Black Hole.  To me this is a better game than Haunted House which came out the following year.  Don't get me wrong, I do like HH but find it a little "clunky" to play with all those flippers, and it feels a little slow and plodding compared to BH.

Black Hole is an awesome package.  Spinning disk in the back box surrounded by infinity chase lights which look stunning in a dark room.  Great looking playfield with some super tight shots, and lower playfield that messes with your mind as it's upside down. Then you have the challenge of achieving multiball which will take some time to master.

The sounds and lights are also fitting to the theme. The export models miss out on the spinning disk and speech.  But from what I understand, these can be retrofitted.  I know for a fact the spinning disk definitely can, as the game in the video has it.