Mountain Avengers!

This is not a review of the new Avengers Infinity Quest Pinball game from Stern. It’s more of the story of the obsessive “getting ready” process that happens every time I order a NIB game (review will come later). I’ve noticed that the process repeats itself, I learn something every time and enjoy it as much as the game itself. I thought I’d document it and share it.

I’ve got a nice mix of both old and new machines. Each purchase “type” follows a unique path. So far I’ve bought 10 “new in box” games. Each game was unique but the process during the wait was very much the same:

• Discovery
• Get excited, and fired up about the game
• Find a way to pay when your out of town
• Research the subject until you know it cold
• Buy some books on it as reference
• Find some autographed items to add
• Pre-order the mods to make it custom
• Endlessly watch the Twitch streams of gameplay

The very first thing that happens is finding out that there IS a game. Followed quickly by … “do I care”? I can usually remember where I was when I heard about the big title games. This was no exception.

So I was sitting in my home theater watching a movie when I got a text from my buddy – I heard the new Stern is awesome, and I’m getting an LE. You should too! At this point that game had not been announced but my friend knows pinball so I dropped a line to my distributor and asked to put my name on the list

I received a response back almost immediately (same night) with directions on how to make a deposit and was assured I was “on the list” – for what exactly I had no idea, but if it was good by gosh, I was going to get one. Talk about FOMO – I had it bad!

The following weekend, Tami and I planned a trip in the Carrera out to Highlands, NC. Man, if you haven’t been there, you’re missing out. It’s wonderful and one of our fav places to visit. Right in the middle of the mountains and away from all the bustle is this jewel of a town. Killer restaurants, stunning waterfalls, great hiking, amazing shopping. We love it and visit often – even though the trip takes us around 3 hours … the route brings us to Highlands via the infamous “Dragon”.

The huge benefit of getting there is the insane trip down both the Dragon (US 129) and the Moonshiner (US 28) both are what I would call a “roller coaster” built for cars. The Dragon has 318 curves in 11 miles … and to call them “curves” is a VAST understatement. Even to call them “hairpin curves” under describes the fact that some of them are even tighter – crap that road is fun to drive. Drifting the rear end of the Porsche and pulling “Gs” into the corners will get your pulse up and mind sharp.

The Dragon is populated by photographers on every weekend and our trip through it was no different. You can wave, smile or ignore them but your picture will be taken anyway. Later the next day, a trip to their website will reveal your image – ready for purchase and download. I buy one EVERY time. Support them and the images are a great memory.

On your way into Highlands, you will find amazing waterfalls and even more amazing roads and vistas. Just before getting to town there is a waterfall that you can literally drive your car under. Recently the road going under it has had a barrier installed but you can still pull over and walk under it if you wish.

Ahead of that (on route 28) you’ll find Dry Falls. This area has a large parking lot and is a highlight of any trip to Highlands. There is a dedicated walking path that directs you right UNDER a huge waterfall – it’s called Dry Falls but I’ve never seen it that way!

We arrived in Highlands, checked into our Hotel and started exploring the town. It’s beautiful with lots of high end shops (Rolex watches in the windows) but with a small mountain town feel (Ice cream shop on the corner). We walked a lot and enjoyed the cooler temperatures that the mountains provide

It’s September 2nd and within a few minutes my Facebook page lights up and I’m getting IM messages too. Here it is – official. It’s the new game and it’s called Avengers Infinity Quest. Holy cow it looks awesome. Perfect. Now my distro is going to (rightfully) want payment. ASAP. Especially because I wanted an LE. Sure enough, I start readying about them selling out is hours. I see posts on Pinside from folks that can’t find one. I’m in the middle of the mountains, 3 hours from home, it’s a holiday weekend and I couldn’t possible pay except by CC. Seems like every time a new game is announced the same thing happens – I’m out of town.

I heard back from my dsitrobutor and he assured me that I could pay when I got home (and the banks opened) on Tuesday. I’ve bought many games from him and I’m assuming he knew I was good for it

We returned from Highlands refreshed and on Tuesday I visited my local bank and got a cashiers check. Sent it via overnight FedEx and my distro confirmed he received it the next day. Boom – paid for.

It’s at this point there is a bit of a lull. A wait for the official reveal/gameplay stream. It was announced that this would take place on Sept 10th. When that day arrived, I made sure I was prepped and planned to get the Twitch stream by Deadflip up early. I checked on several of the Samsung Smart TVs we have only to find that Twitch was not available as an app – ugh. I could always stream it from my tablet but why not watch it on the big screen. I tried it in my home theater using Apple TV but struggled with buffering almost non-stop. After an hour – I gave up. When the stream was done, I downloaded the entire stream in HD (split into 5 parts due to size), dropped it on a USB hard drive and dragged it out to the OUTSIDE deck TV to watch. The inside (again SMART) TVs would not play the .MP4 files for some reason. The TV that sits outside is newer – worked like a champ. I sat there until midnight watching the stream in glorious – stutter free – HD!

OK – the gameplay looked KILLER. Keith Elwin had another winner on his hands and I was getting an LE – super excited now. But … I knew almost nothing about the Avengers storyline or history. Like most things I run into that I don’t know about I was determined to learn – quickly. I had heard that this game was based on the comics. It was also loosely based on the Infinity Gauntlet series (6 issues). This series was written by Jim Starlin and is revered by comic aficionados for it’s interesting and nuanced story line. I popped over to Amazon and bought the Kindle version. I read it it that night.

Key takeaways from the story is that the story is apocalyptic – so is the game “feel”. This was serious stuff and if not for Adam Worlock, Dr. Strange and the cast of the Avengers – the universe was going to “end”. Great story, easy and quick read. Highly recommend if you own the game

With a bit of knowledge under my belt, it was time to think about modding this new game. First, it was off to get the simple stuff. Like yellow T-molding. The LE game has bright yellow powder coat and needs something on the backbox to tie it together. $20 later and in a few days, I had my new T-molding in hand.

It’s no problem to switch out. Find the seam, use a small flat blade screwdriver to pop out one end and pull back at a sharp angle from the head. It will pull right out with a few bits/slivers of wood. I then save that old piece. Next I lay the old piece completely flat on the floor, then lay the new T molding next to it and cut go length. I use a sharp razor knife to cut the same angles into the new piece that allow it to fold around the head without binding. Now reinstall the new piece by starting where the old seam was and press fit it back in! 3/4″ is the size you need and the 20 foot minimum will be more than enough to do a game

Now it was on to what I would call the “peripherals” – things that are cool but are not critical to the game and can’t be called a mod either. In this case the very first thing I search out was something autographed by the original author of this Avengers story – The Infinity Gauntlet. I found the perfect item on Ebay and it will be displayed proudly next to the game when it arrives. A gauntlet coin bank signed by Jim Starlin. Perfect

I saw this goofy ring on Amazon and thought – why not. Ordered a large. Maybe I’ll mount it in the game. Maybe I’ll wear it to work and let everyone think I’m losing interest in being an adult.

After reading the Gauntlet back story, I ordered the Marvel Encyclopedia. I had wanted a copy for up in the loft (coffee table) for a while but didn’t have the deep interest to buy one. Now I wanted to more about the world that Stan Lee helped create. It’s a cool book – especially the visuals. It’s set up alphabetically so you can research any hero or villain that you stumble across without paging through its 448 pages and almost 6 pounds of heft!

We’ve arrived at the end of the story – at least the part that happens BEFORE I get the game. It plays out the same almost every time. Just before posting this to the blog, Stern announced that the LE versions of AIQ (Avengers Infinity Quest) were “on the line”, and I was the very first to post on their timeline – “looks like mine”. Soon it will be. Time to assemble!