STERN REVEALS NEW TRANSFORMERS GAME

Stern Pinball today announced their second cornerstone game of the year, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye!

This isn’t Stern’s first Transformers game. Back in 2011 they released a George Gomez design which was notable for introducing the use of QR codes to direct players to Stern’s microsite dedicated to the Transformers game for game rules, in-game music and behind-the-scenes information about the game’s development. That microsite was discontinued several years ago.

That 2011 model came in Pro and Limited Edition variants, with the Limited Edition split into three versions. One featured an Autobot-themed crimson paint package and backglass art, the second was Decepticon-themed in violet, while the third had a split with Decepticons on the left and Autobots on the right, with a split paint job on the lock bar.

Fifteen years later, the Autobots and Decepticons are back to battle in this new More Than Meets The Eye! model which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first Transformers movie.

This design is by Elliot Eismin with Elizabeth Gieske in charge of game software, and follows the traditional cornerstone model of having Pro, Premium and Limited Edition versions. Thankfully, this time there is only the one Limited Edition variant, although it repeats the split crimson/violet paint package of the 2011 model, albeit with the colours reversed.

Let’s take a look at the exterior of all three versions, starting with the Pro.

Pro Model

Premium Model

Limited Edition Model

Interestingly, and perhaps with a nod to the increased proportion of sales to new home buyers, all three backbox art designs now include warning text above the display panel’s keyhole warning of the presence of high voltages and advising how service should only be performed by service personnel.

And so we come to the playfield designs.

As usual, all three models have the same playfield shots and artwork, with only the mechanisms and decals installed varying. The Premium and Limited Edition have all the same playfield mechanisms, while the Pro removes some functionality or loses certain mechanisms entirely.

We’ll begin with the Limited Edition model as that contains the most, before seeing what gets removed as we pass through the Premium to the base Pro model.

Limited Edition model

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye! is a three-flippered six-ball game. The two regular flippers are enhanced by a third flipper half-way up on the right side. The playfield is split with the Autobots on the left side and the Decepticons on the right, matching the cabinet paintwork colour scheme.

The Limited Edition model has Expression dual-sided cabinet and speaker lighting pre-installed. Interior lighting and speaker lights are also available for the other models as add-ons, but only the Limited Edition has the laser-cut side rails needed for the exterior cabinet lighting.

There are four custom sculpts on the Limited Edition and Premium playfields. The leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively, are present and correct at the top of the playfield. On the right side is Soundwave, while the Grimlock Dinobot toy occupies an equivalent position on the left side.

The top part of Megaton can rotate left and right, while his right arm can move up and down. The arm carries a cannon through which a locked ball can be fired, allowing you to aim and shoot it at your desired shot.

In front of Megatron is a scoop which is fed by a short jump ramp, and has a three-bank of drop targets in front which need to be knocked down to access the scoop and the two standups either side.

To the left of Megatron is Optimus Prime which is a static bash toy. Hits are detected on his legs.

On the right side is the Soundwave ball lock.

A ball can be diverted from the ramp return into Soundwave and then released after enough hits on the wide controls standup target at the base of the toy.

Premium model

The Premium model doesn’t come with playfield or cabinet Expression lighting, nor does it have the interior cabinet art blades. Otherwise though, the playfield is functionally the same as the Limited Edition with the same artwork package and the same toys.

Finally, we come to the Pro variant’s playfield and see what’s missing from the cheapest model in the range.

Pro Model

The most immediate differences are the missing Grimlock and Soundwave models, both of which have been replace by flat artworked plastics. The two character’s respective targets remain, so they continue to feature in the rules.

To see what else has changed, let’s look at our Difference Map, which turns identical areas black so we can see what is different between the playfield images of the Pro and Premium models as provided by Stern.

The bottom aprons obviously have different artwork, so they appear highlighted, but the Grimock and Soundwave toys are missing in the Pro model, so they are highlighted too.

At the very top of the playfield you can see a ball guide coming out of the back panel which is highlighted along with a solenoid behind Megatron. That’s because the Megatron model in the Pro model is static, so it doesn’t turn and doesn’t have the moveable ball-shooting cannon. So, the feed to it isn’t installed, and the wireform ramp in the centre-left we showed earlier is missing too. You can also see that the Insider Connected scanner is in a slightly different position on the Pro.

Now you’ve seen the toys and features, here are the outline game rules from the instruction card:

Here’s the feature matrix comparing the features in each of the three Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye! models:

It has become a regular part of each new game’s launch for Stern to hold a Media Day, and they did this on Wednesday 20th May, the same day as the game reveal.

The introduction by Matthew Guyer, Stern’s VP of Marketing, was not allowed to be recorded but in the introduction they were keen to stress how themes such as Transformers and Pokémon appeal to 40-something adults who weren’t previously pinball fans but want all the themed merchandise.

They also said that the game is based on the 70+ episodes of the Transformers TV series but also includes a special mode related to the 1986 feature film, including the song The Touch from the movie.

You can see the trailer video Stern Pinball produced and which was shown at Media Day here:

Attendees were then invited to play the machines. Our correspondent, M. G. Brown recorded these three gameplay videos from Media Day.

Here’s how Stern announced their new game release:

Finally, flyers are available for all three models. Here they are:

We’ll be back with more updates to our coverage of Stern Pinball’s new Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye! game, right here at Pinball News.

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