First Takes: Hot Wheels Pinball by American Pinball

Reviewer 12

With a streamlined, fast and flowy game layout, promising rules/code, Hot Wheels comes wrapped in an appealing, family-friendly theme with real brand recognition. Really spectacular lighting effects and a bright, eye-catching art package will ensure that customers will notice it in the corner of a dark and noisy bar/family game centre. Without question American Pinball's best game appears to be taking it up another gear.

Reviewer 200

Hot Wheels looks like a fun game to play but I worry that I would get tired of it quickly. Now, my kids think it looks like a blast and they are definitely more interested in it than I am. The bright colors of the artwork really has me wanting to see this game IRL. I think this will be a great game to have on locations where it could draw a younger crowd. American Pinball has a solid machine with Hot Wheels.

Reviewer 158

Joe Balcer made a more appealing shooters game with somewhat better open shots that are easily makeable. Game lacks any major toy features for ball interaction. The license inclusion of the hot wheels YouTube videos is a pleasant surprise for the LCD animations really like the claymation style animations. Voice work and sounds are actually really nice on this game, should be a decent game for the entry-level person looking to get into Pinball and a lesser priced model for the route people. I fear if American Pinball doesn’t grab a more strong theme license they may not survive they need something huge. With so many other choices out there, available money is tight and the best theme wins.

Reviewer 131

Best package they've come out with yet, as a whole, which isn't necessarily saying much. Rules easier to understand than the overly-heady first 2 games. Lightshows great in attract mode, pity that didn't translate to in-game. The triple-LED arrow inserts are cool. Some tight shots, probably still trying to cram too many onto the playfield. No real toys to speak of.

Reviewer 65

Very fast flow design! It fits the theme well with racing cars. Balcer designed a great game with awesome code by Kugler and Schober. I think the game will be great for competitons! When I heard the game was being based on a youtube show I wasn't sure what to expect, I must say it works very well! Hot Wheels is a great title by API!

Reviewer 88

This color scheme and the way the placings are spread around the playfield remind me of "Victory" by Gottlieb. Having the ramps look like a translucent version of Hot Wheels tracks is a nice touch. I did not know about the Hot Wheels YouTube show until this game, so in a small way, the license worked in reverse. I liked the way the animations from the Hot Wheels show were intermingled with the new game animations. At first glance, this game looks simpler and more straight-forward than Houdini and Oktoberfest, but I think I will have more fun with this game than those two.