Gottlieb’s Mars God of War, released in 1981 and designed by John Buras, charges into battle with a Roman-mythology-meets-sci-fi theme on a busy, four-flipper solid-state playfield. With four pop bumpers, twin four-bank drop targets, a spinner, and genuine speech, it’s an ambitious early-80s machine built around a rewarding multiball and the kind of aggressive, target-driven play that suits its warlike subject.

The path to glory runs through the “war bases.” You complete the drop-target banks to light the locks, then shoot up the ramp to start the multiball — a clear, satisfying progression that gives the game real momentum. A standout feature is the operator-optional “Last Chance,” which releases your locked balls back into play when your final ball drains via either outlane rollover, a dramatic reprieve that can resurrect a dying game. The right inlane drops a ramp for a tidy 50K combo, rewarding a player who learns the table’s flow.

Loud, fast, and dripping with mythological menace, Mars God of War is an underrated entry from Gottlieb’s System 80 era — a machine whose speech, multiball, and that clutch Last Chance feature give it real personality. For collectors who love a strong theme and a rewarding lock-and-multiball ruleset from the dawn of the 1980s, it’s an engaging and characterful classic. Answer the call to battle and unleash the god of war.