Cosmic Gunfight (Williams 1982)

Disclaimer: part of my comments reflect a previous review from an older “Cosmic Gunfight” VP9 table.  These reflect the real table which I always find is important when reviewing a VPX version.  Some thoughts change over the years but others remain the same J

I often ask myself, what makes a pinball table “a classic”?  Some would say it’s the amount of units sold, reflecting a popularity amongst the pinheads of the world. Others would say, from an operators POV, the amount of coins it pulls on a daily basis.  Me? I look at the overall fun factor, the marriage of theme versus layout versus ruleset.  With Cosmic Gunfight, it kind of falls into the 3rd section (theme/layout) but you have to look at it from the lens of 1982, when it was released.

Real or sim, let’s look at what we have here.  The art is certainly catchy, combining two themes (cowboys and sci-fi) that are genre favorites. Backglass is well done, with the recommendation of Hauntfreaks’ version being EXCELLENT.  The playfield art is certainly above average, with it hitting home somewhat more because of the level of detail provided by this outstanding recreation. Some might say "detail?" but I welcome the intentional simplicity with the focus on detail where it matters: on the characters, the armored/robotic horses, the stone effect in the outlane areas, etc. The sound is also not low key, with a good progressive beat akin to Firepower where it builds and builds. As a previous owner of a Firepower (which I miss dearly), I'm kind of a sucker for this stuff.

But where it’s a cut above the rest is the layout, rules and gameplay, especially factoring in its year: 1982.  As with other pins of its era, this pinball table provides the ability to switch lanes via flipper taps (as Firepower pioneered) but it does this for 3 different areas! First, you have the "1-2-3" lanes at the top right (benefitting the "first contact" for the plunged ball) which can be adjusted by the right flipper, then the "X-Y" lanes at the top left changed via the left flipper, then finally the 3 bank targets at the middle-left of the playfield, which require BOTH flippers to be tapped to navigate an arrow multiplying the targets to a factor of 3. Then, you also have 3 sets of triple drop targets which all require sequential aiming a la Centaur's ORBS targets while also adding time to a "special" mode? This is depth way beyond the majority of other pins from 1982. That’s not enough for you?  The rewards for completing these "modes" is worth the efforts and a nice decision with the risk/reward is that the reward itself (say locking a ball) is not necessarily near the area that enabled said reward. This in turn forces you to not just limit your focus to one zone but rather bringing you to all corners of this masterpiece of a layout. And of course less we forget, 4 pop bumpers set up via a 3-1 configuration guarantees some good speed in the upper area and some nice unpredictability too.   And it doesn't end there. You can lock two balls (one of which provides a progressive path to bonuses, etc) but by far my favorite goal? The Cosmic Ball which releases additional ball(s) for a timed period at the end of the game.

So about this VPX simulation?  I was a fan of the VP9 version from 13 years ago, one of the first tables I can recall that had a “team” of sorts working to bring it to life.  I found that table to be in the upper echelon of realistic… well again for a VP9 table.  We then got a VPX version that was also well done with some nice aesthetics too. But this new version?  It excels in every facet it can:  its visual representation reaches great heights with a great light show and shadows; the options via the F12 key are plentiful with abilities to adjust GI lighting, VR options and an amazing and welcomed “instruction mode”??   Please table devs, take a page from Mecha_Enron and add this as a feature in your tables.  Although I was aware of this ruleset and the way to trigger lane changes, etc, it’s still a fantastic add to the F12 option screen. Well done ME!

That said, a table can look and sound fancy with great options but if it’s not fun to play, if it doesn’t play realistically especially for recreations, then it can be all for naught.  Well happy to report the nFozzy physics are so highly fine tuned that it crosses into “this feels real” territory.  As posted previously, I gravitate to tables that reflect the true intentions of the layouts:  punishing users for bad shots and rewarding good players who are accurate.  This new version does just that for all the right reasons.  Fans who find some of the super hard tables like “Eight Ball” too difficult, fear not, this doesn’t have a chasm of a drain monster so progress is more achievable here but it’s still no cake walk and so far, I imagine it’s going to take a while for me to be able to get anywhere close to the 2500000 default high score. That said, I’ve had some good games over 1 million and because of the stellar work from Mecha_Enron and other contributors, this has that “one more play” that can keep one up very late at night.

13 years ago, that VP9 table put me in the mindset to both find a real Cosmic Gunfight and buy it!  I was able to find one and enjoy it but never been able to purchase one that was in “good enough” shape.  That dream is likely gone but I’ve got the next best thing right here! Terrific job by Mecha_Enron, this more than scratches the itch.  I’m a sucker for great classic hard tables but also unknown gems which IMHO this is.  Give it a try people, enjoy this great gift!

awesome job guys!!... I have played 100's of machines in the wild, but i have never come across this machine.
I've always hope this would get a great VPX version, and HERE IT IS!!... looks great, smooth game play, all around cool table.... so thank you @Mecha_Enronand the guys over at VPW!!

J'adore cette table. Elle va vite faire partie de mon "Best of".
Excellente jouabilité. On en devient trés vite accro.
J'aime bien les bruitages trés chargés en basses.
Trés bon travail. MERCI

Love how this table looks,  great physics too.  Thanks.

This is a top tier effort here. A truly stellar recreation of a classic table. in fact, I can see this one being in my regular rotation for awhile. It's just that good. Thank you to everyone involved!

Beautiful VR pinball, truly incredible to watch and play, thank you for all your hard work !!!!!

Incredible! I was distracted by the beauty of the table and backglass, couldn't keep my head in the game! So much fun, 100% realistic. The instruction mode is excellent, I was able to get up and running quickly. That Cosmic Ball Mode ends the game on a very good note. I can't praise this enough,. Thanks very much to everyone involved in creating this. Sometimes I wonder what we did to deserve such nice things.

Wonderful, thank you so much 😁.

Table looks and feels so realistic, great job!

A very good version of this table, which I never came across in the early 80's in Brisbane, Australia (another relatively small production table of around 1000 units made by Williams).

Lots of fun to play, can get quite frantic - in some ways I like the simple 2-ball multiball on Cosmic Gunfight than some of the other machines crazy multiballs (looking at you Masters of the Universe!).

In VR, this machine seems so close to the real deal and is very smooth and seems faultless to me.

Thank you to Mecha_Enron and his team of compatriots.

Keep up the fine work; I'm sure everyone here appreciates it - I know I do!

Epic table, great sound effects. This is up there with Firepower as one of the best tables in the era, to me. Thank you for making this a reality in the vpin world.

I'm following the progress of the Mecha_Enron game library with GREAT interest. 😃 Kick ass machine choices, and they all look awesome and play amazingly well. Please keep it up, we are all very grateful! 🍻

Awesome table, thank you!

Great work.

great work, this table deserved this great update. thank you 👍

Fantastic work on what I think is a classic 80s table. The "in game instruction mode" was a very pleasant surprise, while the gameplay, visuals and sounds are top notch. Thanks to everyone who worked on this from the very beginning. Apophis hit the nail on the head with his comment 👍

Very fun table and great lighting!  I really like the innovative "Instruction Mode" in the table options.  I hope others follow doing that instead of the static instruction cards.  Thanks for producing another great table!

Thank you for the beautiful work and for sharing, it turned out fantastic!

This table plays just like a real pin to me and looks Amazing! I really like the sounds, and it is very fun to play. 

Thank you very much for All involved and your hard work on this! 😎