TX-Sector is a 1988 arcade pinball machine from Gottlieb, designed by John Trudeau with art by Constantino and Jeanine Mitchell. It features a vague Science Fiction Excuse Plot about Cool Gates; hit the various drop targets to build up the Energy Level, then shoot for one of the Transphazers and be teleported across the playield. For even more points, max out the Energy Levels, trigger a Teleporter Accident and replicate yourself, then enter the Infinity Zone to quickly build up your score.
Among pinheads, TX-Sector is an uncomplicated game infamous for two things: its eye-watering lavender and hot pink backglass, and its Awesome Eighties Chiptune soundtrack. Fortunately, the game itself doesn't disappoint — it's neither insultingly easy nor annoyingly difficult, but has enough of a challenge to give players a decent amount of playtime.
A digital version of TX-Sector is available for FarSight Studios' The Pinball Arcade.
TX-Sector demonstrates the following tropes:
- Alternate Self: Multiball begins by inducing a Teleporter Accident to duplicate your pinball.
- Cool Gate: The Transphazers.
- Excuse Plot: And calling it a "plot" is rather generous.
- Flashback... Back... Back...: "TX - TX - TX - TX - TX - TX..."
- Machine Monotone: The voice clips."Teleport sequence activated."
- Score Multiplier: Hitting the drop target starts a Hurry-Up of sorts where a the value of a Teleport shot will be multiplied if one is made. The multiplier starts at 9x but it will gradually decrease back down to 1x and bring up the drop target again.
- Space Clothes: The teleportation subject is a man wearing a blue jumpsuit with red and white shoulder pads.
- Techno Babble: The playfield is festooned with nonsense babble for the various targets, such as "Transphazers," an "Inter-Link Gate," "Nega Ports," and the "Infinity Zone".
- Warp Whistle: Technically, the Transphazers work like this, as they move the pinball from one fixed location to another.
- Word Salad Title: Good luck trying to figure out what a "TX-Sector" is.
