Jump to content

Judge Dredd (pinball)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Judge Dredd
ManufacturerWMS (trade name: Bally Manufacturing)
Release dateSeptember 1993
SystemWPC (DCS)
DesignJohn Trudeau
ProgrammingJeff Johnson
ArtworkKevin O'Connor
MechanicsErnie Pizarro
MusicPaul Heitsch, Vince Portarelli
SoundPaul Heitsch
VoicesTim Kitzrow (Judge Dredd), Rich Karstens
AnimationEugene Geer, Scott Slomiany
Production run6,990

Judge Dredd is a pinball machine produced by Bally Manufacturing in 1993, based on the British comic strip Judge Dredd in 2000 AD.[1]

Development

[edit]

The license of Judge Dredd was obtained by Roger Sharpe. Despite Judge Dredd being relatively unknown in the US, the designer, John Trudeau stated "you don't have to know him to play the game....if you don't, it is still fun".[2]

The original design of Judge Dredd used a patented[3] rotating mechanism called Deadworld, to lock three balls and release them with an arm containing a magnet. Due to concerns by some operators the physical lock mechanism was removed late in development, and Deadworld simplified. The first version of the software for the game used the original mechanism, but later versions of the ROM did not. In 2005 an unofficial modification was released to return the game to its original design.[4][5]

The game was shown at the 1993 AMOA Expo.[6] A second flyer for the game was produced reprinting the Judge Dredd short story "Pinboing Wizard" which was previously published in the 1981 Judge Dredd Annual written by Judge Dredd creator John Wagner (using the pseudonym John Howard) and illustrated by Mike McMahon.[7][8]

Gameplay

[edit]

Regulation game

[edit]

There are 2 types of games to choose from in Judge Dredd: A Regulation game for 1 Credit, or SUPERGAME for 2 Credits.[9] In a Regulation game, the player must resolve the 9 crimes/issues.

  • Bad Impersonator
  • Battle Tank
  • Blackout
  • Pursuit
  • Meltdown
  • Sniper Tower
  • Stakeout
  • Safe Cracker
  • Manhunt Millions

Completing these 9 modes will result the player entering the Ultimate Challenge, Being congratulated by Judge Death, Ultimate Challenge features all the normal Crime Scenes and modes to be twice the amount.

Supergame

[edit]

In SUPERGAME, a fictional host named Anita Mann will dispatch you to one of 4 Crime scenes, Mad Bomber, Deadworld Attack, Traffic Jam, and Prison Break. SUPERGAME uses 2 Balls and a Drain Shield with an Extended amount of time. Judge Dredd utilizes a 100,000,000 point super shot, this shot can only be achieved in SUPERGAME. To do so, you must advance the crime level from Warning, to Class X Felony. You will have 3 Seconds to make the shot, if you make the shot, 100,000,000 points will be scored. Classic modes are found in SUPERGAME but are doubled the value and marketed as Super.

To activate Multiball, shoot the drop targets to spell JUDGE. The planet Deadworld will begin spinning, and you must shoot the ball up the left ramp to lock a ball. If 3 balls are locked, they will be dropped onto the playfield and 3 extra balls will be ejected onto the playfield. This will result in Multiball. Players are greeted by Judge Death on the Dot Matrix display. You will be able to collect the Jackpot, collecting 4 Jackpots will result in Judge Death notifying you have entered the Ultimate Challenge.

Shoot the 5 JUDGE drop targets, Shoot the ball into the Subway tunnel, and begin the 6 ball Super Multiball. You will also have a chance to collect the Super Jackpot.[10][2][1]

The game includes a setting for operators to allow players to buy an extra ball.[11]: 1-30 

Reception

[edit]

In a review for The Flipside the game was initially found to be reasonably fun, but disappointing after it was realized parts of the game were worthless for scoring points; it was especially disappointing after the much better received Creature from the Black Lagoon from the same design team.[10]

Eddie Mole for Pinball Player found player responses to be mixed. Even with the changes to the planet it was still called still a good feature. The sound and animation were praised.[1]

Digital versions

[edit]

Farsight Studios released Judge Dredd in December 2015 as a licensed table of The Pinball Arcade for several platforms.[12] It was available until June 30, 2018, when all Williams tables were removed for purchase due to licensing issues.[13]

The pinball game will be released on October 22, 2026, by Zen Studios for Pinball FX.[14]

[edit]

Judge Dredd Pinball was released in 1998 for MS-DOS and Windows as the debut game of developer Pin-Ball Games.[15] Reviewers found the game to have realistic physics, and nice visuals. The game uses an angled top-down view with the display positioned just above the table.[16][17] The game is not based on the physical pinball table.

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 Mole, Eddie (August 2001). "Judge Dredd review and rules OK!". Pinball Player. Vol. 20, no. 5. pp. 6–13.
  2. 1 2 "I am the law... Bally's Judge Dredd". PinGame Journal. No. 27/28. January–February 1994. pp. 48–51.
  3. ↑ US 5358242, Trudeau, John T & Pizzarro, Ernie, "Ball storage device for pinball games", published 1993-11-12, issued 1994-10-25
  4. ↑ Gould, Adam (2005). "Judge Dredd Dead World Locking Project". Pinball News. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  5. ↑ Craig, Rob (October 2006). "Pinball Mods — Back to the Original Design". Gameroom. Vol. 18, no. 10. p. 30. ISSN 1049-3948.
  6. ↑ "AMOA Expo '93". Play Meter. Vol. 19, no. 13. December 1993. p. 129. ISSN 1048-8243.
  7. ↑ Judge Dredd Annual 1981. IPC Magazine Ltd. 1980. pp. 3–8.
  8. ↑ "Pinboing Wizard". ipdb.org. 1993. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  9. ↑ Shalhoub, Michael (2012). The Pinball Compendium, 1982 to present (Rev. and expanded 2nd ed.). Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Pub. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0-7643-4107-6.
  10. 1 2 Baumgarten, Steve (1993). "Playing the field - Judge Dredd" (PDF). The Flipside. Vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 6–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2025.
  11. ↑ Judge Dredd operations manual (PDF). Chicago: Bally. August 1993.
  12. ↑ Cunningham, James (2015-12-19). "The Pinball Arcade Adds Judge Dredd, Announces VR Support". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  13. ↑ Lawson, Aurich (2018-05-08). "The Pinball Arcade is losing its classic tables; grab them while you can". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  14. ↑ Pinball FX – Judge Dredd
  15. ↑ "Judge Dredd Pinball". GRY-Online.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  16. ↑ Stepnik, March (November 1998). "Reviews - Judge Dredd Pinball". PC PowerPlay. No. 30. p. 106. ISSN 1326-5644.
  17. ↑ "Kurztest - Judge Dredd Pinball". PC Joker (in German). June 1998. p. 94.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judge_Dredd_(pinball)&oldid=1377252946"