As many of you on the site know, along with collecting classic video games and systems, I have a big interest in playing and working on pinball machines.  I bought my first machine on August 6, 2011, an electromechanical pin called Spanish Eyes (1972) and I've owned a total of 9 machines since.  Many of them I have fixed up, played for several months, and sold.  I recently picked up one of my favorite machines, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) and am currently restoring a favorite from my childhood, Taxi (1988), a machine I picked up in February earlier this year.  In April of next year, I will be driving up to Pittsburgh to attend, maybe play in, Pinburgh 2013. http://papa.org/pinburgh2013/

Anyway, while my Vectrex Interview Series #3 is in the works, I thought I might do a Top 10 list of my favorite pinball machines for those who might be interested.  I'm a member of Pinside.com, a great source for pinball collectors and enthusiasts, and through their rating system, I have been able to keep track of the pins that I have played (currently 112!)  Though I've rated the machines on this site, the categories for ranking don't necessarily reflect my favorite machines.  Though I recognize the flaws in some of my favorite machines, they are often not such that it takes away from my enjoyment of them.  Sure, the artwork might not be the greatest on some, but the features, the experience, or even the nostalgia may outweigh what others might see as imperfections.


Coming in at #10 is a machine I played quite a lot growing up, High Speed.  High Speed is an early alphanumeric solid state machine that was made by Williams in 1986.  The game was designed to simulate a high speed chase from the cops in which the ultimate objective is to escape their pursuit.  The game's designer, Steve Ritchie claims that the concept of the game is based on the true story in which he was once chased by the police in his 1979 Porsche 928 and charged with reckless driving.  What I really appreciate about High Speed is how the concept is well integrated into the design of the machine.  Ramps and loops are designated as freeways and when you plunge the ball, you hear the sound of an engine reving and a car peeling off.  The machine even has a red light topper that flashes during the pursuit and police call outs simulating a call into the station and instructing you to pull over.  High Speed also has a side ramp, which presents a greater challenge, since it can only be reached using the 3rd flipper located in the upper right playfield.


What makes High Speed especially attractive is the history of the machine.  It wasn't the first machine to have sound (Gorgar - 1979), but it was the first to have an original musical score.  High Speed was the first Williams pinball game to use alpha-numeric displays and was the first game that allowed players to enter their initials for a high score, which was very revolutionary since it gave players an incentive to pump in more quarters.  Over 17,080 units were produced, so it's a fairly common title to find; however, due to its popularity and age, they are typically in pretty poor condition.  High Speed was basically remade in 1992 as The Getaway: High Speed II and had the same basic playfield layout, but included a metal Supercharger centrifuge ramp to left center, an animated dot-matrix display, and ZZ Top's "La Grange" as the score.

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