UPDATE: Stern has posted a press release, which I’ve added at the end of the post. You can also download a PDF file of the full features matrix here.
Yesterday was the teaser on Stern’s new Black Knight game, which means that today is the full course. Let’s get to it.
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, Black Knight: Sword of Rage is the third in a series of pinball machines that have been created by Steve Ritchie. The first was in 1980, the second 1989, this one coming in 30 years later. If you aren’t familiar with the original, here’s gameplay of the ’80 model; here’s BK2K.
As they have done several times in the past, Stern has revealed the game through gaming news site IGN. You can read the full article here with an action video, full pics of the 3 models, and an interview with Steve Ritchie at that link.
To sum it up: this new game does hearken back to the originals, while adding modern tech and features to elevate for today’s audience. Scott Ian of Anthrax composed and performed the music, although for fans of the original BK2K music, there is a “special retro mode” where you can hear that in all of it’s 80’s glory. Ed Robertson of the band Bare Naked Ladies also contributes his voice to the game. Kevin O’Connor created the artwork, who has an impressive resume of pinball machine art starting with Galaxy Ranger in 1978.
As you can see, the playfield art and some of the layout does hearken back to Sword of Rages predecessors (LE playfield shown)
This is the first time time that players will battle “the Black Knight and his minions,” with an interactive 3D toy setup in the middle of the playfield. The Black Knight has two mechanisms – an impressive looking
