Monopoly   -  Bourbon Street/Taco Ninja, 3/.50   -   Three Stars

Too much metal and dull paint for my tastes, but the fun of the game carries it past the lame aesthetics.  There are some neat integrations of the theme, like having a continuously revolving flipper to suggest a dice-rolling "random chance" element.  You also seem to be advancing around a game board, but I can't tell if you ever really get into property ownership, ruthless overdevelopment, or ripping off other players by appointing yourself “banker” and slipping yourself choice notes under the table.  The game does fulfill Monopoly’s spirit of ruthless capitalism, though: the ballsave is practically nonexistent and the outlanes are very hungry.  Considering that three balls for fifty cents is a ripoff already, you'll end up needing to mortgage a few properties if you get hooked on this one.  To some extent the viciously high challenge level makes this a good machine on which to hone your skills; you can't afford to screw up very much given how often the game is going to just dunk the ball straight out of play before you even touch it.  Mostly it just means frustration - but on the plus side, the replay value is within the reach of a dedicated amateur.  So if you're already comfortable in yourself as a pinballer, this is a really decent way to kill some time waiting for your turn at Sunday night karaoke.

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