Life Finds A Way: Stern Jurassic Park Pro Enters The Barncade

At the end of my previous post about obtaining an Iron Maiden Premium, I mentioned that the number of games in my collection has gone up to 13 with a new acquisition. When I mentioned to a friend that I had been thinking about getting a Jurassic Park someday, they made me an offer that I spent about 10 seconds thinking about and then jumped on. That's right, a Stern Jurassic Park Pro has entered the Barncade! Yet another new Keith Elwin-designed addition to my lineup has generated even more excitement for me. There was a Jurassic Park Pro on location in a brewery about 15 minutes from my house, so why did I buy one? Well, let me explain... 

I can remember seeing the first Jurassic Park in the theater back in 1993, and it was an amazing experience. The special effects of that movie, and those of its sequels, still hold up today. We've been inundated with so many IPs over the years that contain amazing special effects - Star Wars, Marvel, and Harry Potter just to name a few - that it's easy to forget (or if you're younger, not even realize) that there was something magical about seeing and hearing dinosaurs on the big screen, at a time when the standard home TV was 26 inches, while larger screens on projection TVs were 40-50 inches but at a cost of several thousand dollars (and the resolution was not great), plus there was no 5.1 surround sound - home theaters weren't a thing yet. What I'm getting at is that seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen in 1993 was an impressionable experience, and one that has stayed with me all these years. I also took a trip to Universal Studios in 2001 and absolutely loved the Jurassic Park ride, as well as being able to pet an animatronic triceratops that looked and felt real (that exhibit no longer exists). From a theme perspective, Jurassic Park is as good as it gets. C'mon, who doesn't love dinosaurs?

So why the purchase? Well, let me list out the reasons:

1. First of all there's no guarantee that the Jurassic Park Pro on location near me will always be there; in fact I expect it to move on within the next year, and if it leaves I won't have one near me anymore.
2. Playing that game on location is a subpar experience - I can't hear the callouts, music and effects, which isn't a problem in a home environment.
3. Playing the game on location did help me decide whether I actually liked the layout or not - and although it took some time for me to warm up to it, and some shots are really difficult, I found that I did like it. In fact, I ended up liking it a lot!
4. The code was great but I think it got even better with the addition of a co-op mode. I'm looking forward to teaming up with friends to try to conquer the game.
5. In the past I never wanted Pro versions of machines because I thought they were missing too much and left the game too barren. But the Pro model of Jurassic Park might be the better experience, with the Premium having issues with the T-Rex (doesn't grab the ball, rejects SDTM, slows the game down), and the gate in the Raptor Pen is take it or leave it. And there are options for the spinning helicopter blade on the Pro. In essence, this is the second game in a row I acquired without any toys or major mechs (just like Iron Maiden). Time will tell if I end up feeling differently, but for now I'm having a blast trying to hit shots, learning the rules, and not worrying about toys.
6. For reasons I'll get into in my 2023 Year In Review post that is forthcoming, I now need to be a lot more discerning about how I allocate my funds, and the deal I got on this machine was fantastic. It's probably the best bang for the buck I could get at that price point.

This is Keith Elwin's second game, which I sometimes have a hard time remembering since it is new to me and I've had Godzilla a lot longer. When I walk into the Barncade, this is the game I want to play the most...more than Godzilla, Iron Maiden, Rush, The Hobbit, Creature...it's really got that one more game appeal. The left ramp and the spinner next to it that feeds into the pops are the two best shots in the game. The Tower and loop that are accessible from the upper flipper are more challenging but feel good when you hit them. The Control Room and Heliopad shots, which are hit from the end of the bottom flippers, can be tough. The right ramp feels pretty difficult, almost like it's the same ramp in Iron Maiden.

That is a crazy tight shot!

However, the right orbit next to the ramp? That is an insanely difficult shot! It's even tighter than the shot through the bumpers to the left ramp in Iron Maiden. I measured the opening, and it's less than 1 and 1/2 inches. The entrance to the pops next to the jeep is even worse if the orbiting ball is on the right side - clearance there is 1 and 1/16 inches, although at least you can widen the shot by moving the ball...but you can't widen the orbit shot. A standard pinball is 1 and 1/8 inches in diameter, which means you only have 3/8 of an inch clearance, or 3/16 inches of clearance on each side if the ball is dead center in the orbit. That's pretty ridiculous! I think the design team made a mistake there...you are often required to hit the shot to progress through the game. It seems like the shot was made for high level players, which is fine, but mode advancement should not depend on that shot. I've only been able to hit it once so far. I have gotten the Double Super Skill Shot multiple times, which is pretty fun. They game does feel clunky at times, mainly the 180 degree wireform off of the plunger which rejects about 10% of the time, and some of the ramps which occasionally reject.

The code seems pretty robust, although I'm still in the early stages of owning the game and have only taken a quick peek at the rules, so I still have a lot to learn. What I really enjoy is being able to play the Escape Nublar wizard mode from the main menu; in fact, I think I've played that a lot more than I've played a standard game. One thing I may not like over time is the linear aspect of the rules, although there are side "missions" you can achieve. So far I've only gotten to T-Rex multiball and in Escape Nublar I've gotten to the Navigate phase, so I have a long way to go, but I've only played about 20 games at the time of this writing.

The quality of the game seems really good, and I've had no issues so far, although again it's early, but it's a used game so it already has over 1000 plays on it. The call outs and sound effects are just okay, but the music is so iconic, I think I will add a subwoofer. I just wish there were more assets in the game (doesn't everybody?), it seems like the only assets obtained are the music, the logo, Nedry, and the DNA animation. The visuals and art are okay, maybe a little too cartoony. It could use some photo-realistic, Christopher Franchi level of greatness, but at least it's not 2000s era with hideous photoshopping. The animations range between good and poor, but for the most part are fine to me.

Ripe for mods

I thought  JP might end up being my least modded game because at first I wasn't really impressed with most of the mods out there, which were primarily signs, toy dinosaurs and light effects. I also haven't found a topper I like. But as I kept digging I kept finding things I liked: the Lookout Tower and Raptor Pen from Mezel Mods, Stern amber shooter rod (sold out, found 2nd hand), amber bumper caps, and rotating helicopter blades. I'm leaning towards the PowerBladez and the animated Pro T-Rex, and I will definitely obtain a shaker motor. Additionally, I'm thinking about making my own mods and topper, but add that to an ever-growing list of projects I am working on or have an interest in.

At the time of this writing, Stern's Jurassic Park is sitting at #3 on Pinside's Top 100, just below Godzilla and Venom, and above Medieval Madness. I've said in the past that Medieval Madness is grossly overrated, and Venom is new so it will sink eventually. I also think that Jurassic Park might be better than Godzilla, but that could just be the honeymoon phase talking. I think with the full assets from 1 or all of the Jurassic Park movies (or even Jurassic World), this game would easily be #1 on Pinside. Hanging at #3 is still a great position to be in, though.

Like the other recent Sterns I've acquired, I'm not going to post the ruleset here, because the rules are far too deep and complicated for this post. Tilt Forums always does a great job so here's the link to the rules on their site. I doubt I will see most of the features of this game as it is a very challenging shooter.

That sums up the arrival of Jurassic Park Pro. Hopefully more games will be leaving the collection soon and get me closer to my target number of 10 games. For my next post, I'll be doing my 2023 Year In Review...