1980 Bally SPACE INVADERS pinball machine

Here we have a 1980 Bally Space Invaders pinball machine in action. This video is significant to the ol' London Pinball youtube channel because it's the first one I've posted without me playing it. Thanks, James!

This machine is a wide body and it really feels like it. It's a big machine with a big playfield. Lots of stuff to shoot for with a satisfying spinner and captive ball shot. The little flippers add a neat bit of control to hit the outer shots like the single drop target to the shooter lane or the three bank on the left.

The game looks great (if you're into that sort of thing) and sounds very good for the period as well. It can play fast if it's set-up properly and has has strong flippers. Unfortunately, I've played some Space Invaders machines in the past that had weak flippers and not enough slope -- when that's the case the game feels sluggish and dull.

This game is all about getting the red and blue alien targets and rollovers. Hit those critters to build up the bonus and earn extra balls and whatnot.

Pretty cool game from Bally at a time when vids were chomping at the heels of pins for dominance in the arcade. And we all know how that battle ended.

Anyway, Space Invaders was designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Paul Faris (with a definite nod to HR Giger).

For more information on this game see here: http://ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2252