Play Meter

drop targets , something foreign
manufacturers do with abandon.
GRAPHICS: Lots of yellow-
that's what vou'll find with Screech-
along with a backglass that shows
GOd -only -knows what ; maybe a
witch or fortune teller. The playfield
is blandly colored with no real
unifying theme, just splashes of
color.
PLAY: Screech offers some de-
cent scoring potential , but you may
want to try some realistic limits on
three -ball , free play of about
180 ,000 to start , followed by
360 ,000 and 500,000 points . Lower
this by about 30,000 to 50,000
points for extra ball play . And on
five-ball play go up by about 20 ,000
to 50 ,000 pOints for some reachable
limits .
RATING : ##1/4
Gottlieb's TOTEM
The newest from Gottlieb features
a new and different sound system
and some interesting features and
play , as well as a motif of a truly
native American.
PLAYFIELD : Totem is something
borrowed and modified from other
Gottlieb machines with a top four
lane set (A-B-C-D) and a three
rollover button right side lane that
conjures up memories of Dragon .
Two thumper bumpers are at the
middle of the field just below the top
lanes and are almost enclosed with a
right side bull's-eye target, gate to or
from the bumper area to the rollover
lane (a la Solar Ride) .
Move down to three sets of two
drop targets each that have some
openings in between that may mean
a drain for some players. The targets
are keyed into the top lanes for extra
bonus values and multipliers as well
as bull's-eye targets behind the drop
targets (remember the Inder game?) .
The left side is a long varl-target shot
for bonus multiplier, while on the
right side sits a difficult to reach
kick-out hole . The bottom is a
change of pace , with a kicker and
flipper at the right and a double lane
set at the left .
ANAL YSIS: This is a game that
has come under some adverse
comments from a variety of sources,
but don't write the machine off if it
starts a bit slow. There are some
good shots to be made and high
scoring to be had with some good
bonus multipliers and a countdown
feature at a 20 ,000 point out-hole
bonus level in the right side kick-out
hole .
Most of the problems stem from
the fact that there may be too many
possible drains on the game : from
the right side rollover lane if the ball
bounces a bit at the bottom before
PLAY METER, August, 1979
Zaccaria's FUTURE WORLD
Inder's SCREECH
Zaccaria 's QUEEN'S CASTLE
Gottlieb's TOTEM
65