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worst Intellivision games


Gernot

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Maybe that true nowadays, but back in the 80s I had lots of fun playing Baseball and Sea Battle with my brother in law.

I as well , my brother is a couple of years younger than I and that meant I would win most games against him.. So that always was fun..lol especially when he would run to my parents crying that I beat him again.. lmao

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But even back than its something you have to criticize. Especially if you consider that some of the games got an update which had AI. Multiplayer only is a bad system in a world without online support to be able to play 24/7.

 

So yeah, if you had a friend/brother to play with you probably hat the most exciting hours back then. But that does not really cover the fact that its unfinished without a single player mode.

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But even back than its something you have to criticize. Especially if you consider that some of the games got an update which had AI. Multiplayer only is a bad system in a world without online support to be able to play 24/7.

 

So yeah, if you had a friend/brother to play with you probably hat the most exciting hours back then. But that does not really cover the fact that its unfinished without a single player mode.

I agree, it did suck when no one else was around and you would try to play a game alone but I think they had a board game mentality when the started to program games.. Family Time/get together/parties ..

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I developed an appreciation for Donkey Kong when I started out collecting in the late '90s. Intellivision was one of my very first retro systems, and Donkey Kong was one of the few games I had for it. I'd bring the system along when my family would go to our cottage up north for the weekend (that place was straight out of the '80s anyway! :P ), and when we were done with the typical up northy stuff for the evening, entertainment options essentially consisted of cribbage (or other card games), one of the three or four movies we had on VHS, and the Intellivision...and if you can believe it, Donkey Kong was one of my favorites of the dozen games I had, thanks to its not requiring two players like most of the other ones did (my brother and sister wouldn't be bothered since they had Game Boy Colors with Pokemon). So it got played quite a bit until I started getting more games. I knew it wasn't good--I at least had stuff like Space Battle and Stampede for comparison--but I still had a lot of fun with Donkey Kong. I still revisit it when I have an Intellivision hooked up. :)

 

I don't give a f@#$ about the arcade version of Zaxxon anyway, so the Intellivision version doesn't bother me. I think it's a functional enough title that basically does everything you'd expect a Zaxxon game to do, only without the gimmicky isometry. Likewise for the Atari version. The only gripe I would have is that its graphics are a tad on the primitive side, not very detailed, and generally not much better than the Atari version. I think it's not too bad a game overall.

 

Every time one of these threads comes up, I kick up a dust storm of incredulity, indignation, ruffled feathers, and questions regarding my sanity when I say.........Space Armada. And I still stand by it. Every time I try to give this game another chance, I am almost immediately reminded of all the reasons I dislike it. Except for the pain in my firing thumb; that usually takes a few minutes to set it. :P Space Armada is one of the remarkably few games--for ANY system--that actually causes me physical discomfort. Even apart from that, it's clunky, choppy, and derivative. Derivative alone would be perfectly fine (because who doesn't love a good Space Invaders game?) if the game was at least well done, but this one is barely even playable IMO.

 

It's sort of like Predator 2; every once in a while I'll rewatch it to see if it's really as bad as I remember, and it's always worse. Well, to be fair, Space Armada doesn't actually get worse, but stays the same level of bad I remember. I guess that's something. And I do feel like taking Danny Glover out of Predator 2 and putting him into Space Armada would make both things better. :P :-D (Hey, Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack had Wayne Newton, after all!)

 

So Space Armada is the big one for me. My other least-favorite Intellivision games:

 

-Space Hawk: The Space Armada of Asteroids knockoffs. Yawn.

 

-Vectron: This game doesn't inspire me to make even the most minimal effort to figure it out.

 

-Locomotion: This is actually a really well-done game that I can't objectively find much fault with--it's just not my kind of game. *shrug*

 

-Blockade Runner: You blew it, Interphase.

 

-Donkey Kong Jr.: Leave it to Coleco to crap out a version of this game that's somehow worse than the already-terrible Atari 2600 port.

 

-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: So disappointing. This game is the poster child for every "Intellivision can't do arcade games" argument (an argument I don't personally subscribe to, BTW). Like with Space Armada, every now and then I'll try to force myself to like it (because Star Wars! And the Atari version is awesome, so...) only to have my initial misgivings validated. The Yoda quote from the movie comes to mind: "Control, control! You must learn control!"

 

-Bomb Squad: Another objectively very good game that just doesn't interest me in the slightest.

 

-Any Tron game not called "Deadly Discs": This may be another controversial opinion, but Maze-A-Tron? Solar Sailor? Nothing more than shelf filler.

 

-Carnival: This game is lame on any platform.

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Donkey Kong Jr What do you think they should have done differently with that game. Personally, I enjoy that game and regard it as the best game Coleco made for the Intellivision. That said, there are other folks who also dislike Jr.

 

Donkey Kong I have mixed feelings on this game. Back in the day, I knew it was short of the arcade version but my brother and I loved playing it anyways. I think the two reasons other people don't like this game is either 1) initial disappointment of playing the game themselves or 2) annoyance at friends who held Donkey Kong as an example of why the "Intellivision can't do arcade games" (which is a BS argument). I play Donkey Kong out of nostalgia sometimes but there are several small changes they could have made even in 1982 to improve it.

 

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back This game plays almost identically to the Atari 2600 version. As a kid, the Atari version wasn't fun to play.

 

Space Hawk I enjoyed this as a kid, but man this game does not hold up over time.

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I have a feeling I already wrote this but I have a comment about space hawk. When I was a kid I borrowed the space hawk cartridge from a friend. My expectations were that it would be an Asteroids knockoff and I was disappointed. I never thought much of it until recently I gave it another chance. I really enjoy stalking the space hawks; I ignore the bubbles. I play the game nothing like Asteroids. It's not my favourite cartridge but I rate it higher than Astrosmash and Armada.

 

A lot of games are a matter of personal taste but sometimes games are misunderstood. Intellivision Donkey Kong was like Atari2600 Pacman; the bigger the hype and expectation, the bigger the disappointment.

Edited by mr_me
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Donkey Kong Jr What do you think they should have done differently with that game. Personally, I enjoy that game and regard it as the best game Coleco made for the Intellivision. That said, there are other folks who also dislike Jr.

 

Donkey Kong I have mixed feelings on this game. Back in the day, I knew it was short of the arcade version but my brother and I loved playing it anyways. I think the two reasons other people don't like this game is either 1) initial disappointment of playing the game themselves or 2) annoyance at friends who held Donkey Kong as an example of why the "Intellivision can't do arcade games" (which is a BS argument). I play Donkey Kong out of nostalgia sometimes but there are several small changes they could have made even in 1982 to improve it.

 

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back This game plays almost identically to the Atari 2600 version. As a kid, the Atari version wasn't fun to play.

 

Space Hawk I enjoyed this as a kid, but man this game does not hold up over time.

 

DKjr.: Where to start? How about the sprites for Junior, Mario, and Donkey Kong--they look janky as hell. The physics are also janky as hell, and the control is stiff and only quasi-responsive. Best Coleco game for the Intellivision would be Venture for me, by a considerable margin. Hands down. I don't even like Venture that much, but it's a quality title.

 

SW:ESB: No, it absolutely does not. The look, concept, and basic idea of the game are the same, but that's about the extent of their practical similarities. They have extremely different feels of gameplay. The Atari version is crisp and polished overall, with tight, responsive control, smooth object and background motion, a comparatively rapid rate of fire, and trying to slow or stop your snowspeeder doesn't result in you being flung, equidistant, in the opposite direction. The Intellivision version has none of that. I could forgive most of its other faults, but the lack of precision in speed control and movement is what really buries it for me. It's like there are only three or four speeds, with nothing in between, and trying to slow down often results in overshooting and jarringly zipping backwards. I hate to overuse the word "clunky," but it perfectly describes Empire Strikes Back for Intellivision.

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I have a feeling I already wrote this but I have a comment about space hawk. When I was a kid I borrowed the space hawk cartridge from a friend. My expectations were that it would be an Asteroids knockoff and I was disappointed. I never thought much of it until recently I gave it another chance. I really enjoy stalking the space hawks; I ignore the bubbles. I play the game nothing like Asteroids. It's not my favourite cartridge but I rate it higher than Astrosmash and Armada.

 

A lot of games are a matter of personal taste but sometimes games are misunderstood. Intellivision Donkey Kong was like Atari2600 Pacman; the bigger the hype and expectation, the bigger the disappointment.

 

Many years ago, I started a thread on getting back into Space Hawk. I played it a ton as a kid. But the controller is a horrible fit for the game. If you have an adapter, you should give it another chance with an arcade stick or five-button Asteroids-type controller.

 

Here's a thread I created on this revelation: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224118-intellivision-space-hawk-can-be-fun/?

 

Does it make Space Hawk into a classic? No, but it breathes some new life into an overlooked game.

Edited by boxpressed
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DKjr.: Where to start? How about the sprites for Junior, Mario, and Donkey Kong--they look janky as hell. The physics are also janky as hell, and the control is stiff and only quasi-responsive. Best Coleco game for the Intellivision would be Venture for me, by a considerable margin. Hands down. I don't even like Venture that much, but it's a quality title.

 

SW:ESB: No, it absolutely does not. The look, concept, and basic idea of the game are the same, but that's about the extent of their practical similarities. They have extremely different feels of gameplay. The Atari version is crisp and polished overall, with tight, responsive control, smooth object and background motion, a comparatively rapid rate of fire, and trying to slow or stop your snowspeeder doesn't result in you being flung, equidistant, in the opposite direction. The Intellivision version has none of that. I could forgive most of its other faults, but the lack of precision in speed control and movement is what really buries it for me. It's like there are only three or four speeds, with nothing in between, and trying to slow down often results in overshooting and jarringly zipping backwards. I hate to overuse the word "clunky," but it perfectly describes Empire Strikes Back for Intellivision.

 

Donkey Kong looks like giant snowman. Mario looks looks like a naked smurf with no arms.

 

donkey-kong-jr-i2.png

Edited by Atari PAC-MAN Fan
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  • 4 weeks later...

I'll put in a vote for Auto Racing. Of all of the racing games on any consoles out there at the time, it was the most excruciating from a frustration standpoint. It was a neat concept with the overhead view but controls were beyond difficult.

The original release had poor controls but most blue label cartridges have the fixed rom. I think the controls are excellent. The concept is simular to atari super bug in the arcade. Racing against the clock by yourself isn't ideal, neither is the two player mode.
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Auto racing is a very good game. I think the controls are as good as you can get.

 

Allows for drifting etc.

 

Yes, the 2 player mode was bad. However, Motocross did a pretty good job correcting this.

 

I wish the game was faster. a super pro version would have been nice.

 

Monster truck... whatever it is called, has the worst control of maybe any game I have ever played.

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Just remembered.. Stadium Mud Buggies.

I wanted to like this game. I just hate the controls.

 

I also liked Sub Hunt, which is getting beat up. LOL. Hmmm, both one player games..

 

Bump n jump, Loco-Motion, Burgertime to me, are excellent arcade conversions. I also put some time into Mission-X.

 

Yes, the system has some dogs. Not just Deadly Dogs!

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Royal Dealer. A game about playing Rummy. ZZZZzzzzZZzzzz.

 

At least BlackJack and Poker had some sense of winning money/ gambling Vegas style.

 

What were they thinking at the time when RD came out. If you don't agree... just watch this player shuffle his cards... a little better than counting sheep if you have trouble sleeping.

 

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