The Lord of the Rings Comes to Pinball

This article comes from Highwaygames.com

Stern Pinball has announced they have released The Lord of the Rings pinball machine, which will begin shipping in November 2003. The Lord of the Rings pinball machine features exciting elements from New Line Cinema's box office hits, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, as well as the most anticipated instalment yet, The Return of the King, opening worldwide on December 17, 2003. The machine is suitable for players of all levels.

"The Lord of the Rings is the perfect title and theme for a pinball," Gary Stern said. "It lends itself to lots of Mechanical Action Pinball shots and toys for casual players, yet the story cries for deep rules to challenge the best players."

The goal of The Lord of the Rings pinball machine is to collect the Elf Rings, the Dwarf Rings, and the mortal men rings, thereby forming The One Ring. Players must then destroy The One Ring through collecting all three movies.

The Lord of the Rings pinball machine features;

A Balrog toy that pivots when hit by the ball, revealing the jump ramp that leads to The One Ring

A magnet in the centre of The One Ring, which pulls the ball in and then feeds another ramp shaped in the form of Aragorn's legendary Narsil sword

Four multi-ball modes, including one for each movie, as well as one for Gollum

The Orthanc and Barad-dur Towers - players can knock down Barad-dur, which also features the eye of Sauron

A small playfield in the upper left hand corner represents that of The Paths of the Dead

Twelve action figures from Play Along toys interspersed throughout the playfield.

"All those involved in the design of the pinball machine are true fans of The Lord of the Rings with intimate knowledge of it," Mr Stern said. "That is why this game is so great - the designers were into this title."

The pinball machine features original audio from Elijah Wood (Frodo), as well as John Rhys-Davies (Gimli the Dwarf). Back glass and cabinet artwork for The Lord of the Rings was created by artist Jerry Vanderstelt, while playfield art was designed by Kevin O'Connor. Chris Granner produced sounds and special effects. Rules are by Keith Johnson on his first outing since The Simpsons Pinball Party.

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is produced and directed by Peter Jackson. "This pinball will have a great response from the public worldwide. With its great playfield, art package and theme, I expect The Lord of the Rings will have the greatest resale value for the operator ever," Mr Stern said.

The Lord of the Rings is available UL, CUL and CE approved, as applicable.