Free Intellivoice

[Denicio]

Greetings Fellow Inty Folks,

 

Anyone else here old enough to remember the Mattel promotion of getting a free Intellivoice?  I was one of those lucky blokes who jumped through the hoops (I forget what you had to do), mail in your forms and wait.....

 

...and wait....

 

.... and wait......

 

And wait i did. Seemed like years (in reality several weeks to a couple of months).

 

Then the late summer of 1982 (possibly 1983) when i came back from summer camp....there it was waiting on me! It was glorious! That is until i plugged in B-17 thinking there would be more game play action. 

 

B-17 provided to be as much fun for me as Space Hawk (both stinkers, IMO). 

Solar Sailer was fun-ish while being totally confusing.

Space Spartans was just a speaking Space Battle (as you know) but the voice game i had the most fun with was Bomb Squad.

 

I remember the first time i beat it and the fireworks appeared on the screen. I left that screen on for hours till my dad got home so i could show him my life's biggest accomplishment, HA! 

 

Ahhh, but the sheer excitement each day of going to the mailbox waiting for my Intellivoice to arrive. To be young again with those endless summers on the back of my Redline BMX bike with nothing to worry about but playing games and waiting on a voice module.....

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Denicio

[Sinjinhawke]

I played Bomb Squad a lot but B17 Bomber was amazing to me.  I loved making it deep into enemy territory, unloading my bombs and then barely making it back to jolly old England with little fuel and no gun turrets left.  

[Denicio]

16 minutes ago, Sinjinhawke said:

I played Bomb Squad a lot but B17 Bomber was amazing to me.  I loved making it deep into enemy territory, unloading my bombs and then barely making it back to jolly old England with little fuel and no gun turrets left.  

 

B-17 required more patience than my 11 year old brain could muster.  I loved the action of games like Astro Smash and the tension of Cloudy Mountain. B-17 just took too long for my short attention span.

 

Probably should revisit it as an old fart with tons of patience (and whisky)

[+DZ-Jay]

I love Bomb Squad, it's one of my favorite games to play.  I also enjoy very much B-17 Bomber, but mostly because my dad was a WWII buff, and used to play it with me, excitedly describing bits and pieces of the air war aspects in its history.

Still, I love the ending on Bomb Squad.  Those fireworks, and the voice proclaiming you a hero, that is a great way to celebrate victory, and a great motivator for replaying.

 

    dZ.

[IMBerzerk]

5 hours ago, Denicio said:

Greetings Fellow Inty Folks,

 

Anyone else here old enough to remember the Mattel promotion of getting a free Intellivoice?  I was one of those lucky blokes who jumped through the hoops (I forget what you had to do), mail in your forms and wait.....

 

...and wait....

 

.... and wait......

 

And wait i did. Seemed like years (in reality several weeks to a couple of months).

 

Then the late summer of 1982 (possibly 1983) when i came back from summer camp....there it was waiting on me! It was glorious! That is until i plugged in B-17 thinking there would be more game play action. 

 

B-17 provided to be as much fun for me as Space Hawk (both stinkers, IMO). 

Solar Sailer was fun-ish while being totally confusing.

Space Spartans was just a speaking Space Battle (as you know) but the voice game i had the most fun with was Bomb Squad.

 

I remember the first time i beat it and the fireworks appeared on the screen. I left that screen on for hours till my dad got home so i could show him my life's biggest accomplishment, HA! 

 

Ahhh, but the sheer excitement each day of going to the mailbox waiting for my Intellivoice to arrive. To be young again with those endless summers on the back of my Redline BMX bike with nothing to worry about but playing games and waiting on a voice module.....

 

 

Bomb Squad was made for the Intellivoice!   That was a great game!  I loved B-17 as well.  It was really good.  I feel the same about Space Spartans... cool, but a glorified Space Battle... and Tron SS.  Uh... I never really got the point of that game.  To me, it was the worst of the Tron series, and that's over Maze-A-Tron.  I actually liked that game.

 

Was a lot of fun though... Flak..watch for Flak! (BOOM) That was close...

[mr_me]

I played Space Spartans more seriously for the first time this year.  The strategy part of the game is completely different than Space Battle.  Now, I think it's one of the best cartridges on the system.  B17 was great in 1982, seemed ahead of its time.  My problem was always the way it ramps up difficulty.  Apparently this game was rushed and it shows in this aspect.  Still a great game and I've rarely if ever experienced the bug that crashes the game.  I'd rate Bomb Squad third and Solar Sailer last.  And I agree about putting Solar Sailer last among Tron games.

 

A free Intellivoice in 1982 doesn't sound right, they were brand new that summer/fall.  I remember something about a five dollar rebate with an Intellivoice cartridge.  Had to cut out a proof of purchase from my B17 box.

[IntyFanMatt]

6 hours ago, Sinjinhawke said:

I played Bomb Squad a lot but B17 Bomber was amazing to me.  I loved making it deep into enemy territory, unloading my bombs and then barely making it back to jolly old England with little fuel and no gun turrets left.  

Absolutely agree with this. B17 was an awesome game. Still is.

Edited October 15, 2021 by IntyFanMatt

[atari5200dude82]

I agree. B-17 is my favorite too.  Then bomb Squad and Space Spartans.  Tron was confusing and couldn't  get into. 

 

If Quest was released for the intellivoice, that would gave been so awesome. A D&D game , with voice. 

[Denicio]

12 hours ago, mr_me said:

A free Intellivoice in 1982 doesn't sound right, they were brand new that summer/fall.  I remember something about a five dollar rebate with an Intellivoice cartridge.  Had to cut out a proof of purchase from my B17 box.

 

My 52 year old hazy memory recalls if you bought a number of games (3?), sent in the UPC codes then you got a free intellivoice. But i also think the promotion had something to do with buying an Intellivision II.  Not sure.....

 

Was it totally free? Cant say for sure. I was 12/13 and mom handled all the details. I just remember coming home from summer camp and the package arriving from the USPS.

[Denicio]

16 hours ago, DZ-Jay said:

  I also enjoy very much B-17 Bomber, but mostly because my dad was a WWII buff, and used to play it with me, excitedly describing bits and pieces of the air war aspects in its history.

    dZ.

 

NOW THAT is an awesome connection to the game! I am sure it gave you a whole different dimension to the game. For most of us folks, we were just blowing $hit up and avoiding flack! 

 

Its like a WWII version of the arcade game Xevious! 

[Denicio]

14 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

Bomb Squad was made for the Intellivoice!   That was a great game!  I loved B-17 as well.  It was really good.  I feel the same about Space Spartans... cool, but a glorified Space Battle... and Tron SS.  Uh... I never really got the point of that game.  To me, it was the worst of the Tron series, and that's over Maze-A-Tron.  I actually liked that game.

 

Was a lot of fun though... Flak..watch for Flak! (BOOM) That was close...

 

Just commenting on your Avatar.  Lemme guess, you ARE the 'angle'? 

 

Hanging still too good for him?

 

(That movie STILL turns me into a Teenager today, man i love that film)

 

[+DZ-Jay]

33 minutes ago, Denicio said:

 

NOW THAT is an awesome connection to the game! I am sure it gave you a whole different dimension to the game. For most of us folks, we were just blowing $hit up and avoiding flack! 

 

Its like a WWII version of the arcade game Xevious! 

Hell yeah!  I loved it.  My father loves that game too -- I bought him an Intellivision Flashback a few years ago, and I was ready when the first thing he asked me was, "where do I get the manual to B-17 Bomber?"  I was expecting it.

 

Anyway ... I learned the difference between a Fokker and a Messerschmitt (and some off-colour joke about those two, which was hilarious to a 12 year-old me!!!); that "Flak" was the German acronym for an aircraft defense cannon (Fliegerabwehrkanone); and how many hours it would take approximately to fly the Flying Fortress across the English channel towards Stuttgart -- all while the game raged on and the bandits attacked!

 

My father approached the game with a sense of realism that made the experience exciting:  starting the game, we seriously planned which city we would target next (always picking one of the many real targets bombed by the Allied Forces during WWII), and based on the distance, we tried to figure the minimum fuel we would need in order to maximize the number of bombs we could carry.  Then off we went into the great blue yonder, engaging in banter with our simulated crew-mates as they warned us of incoming fighters or flak.

 

After the bomb run, more often than not, we'd end up low on fuel and with increasingly more damage as we attempt to fly -- or glide! -- back towards Allied territory.

 

It was a blast, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

 

Lest anybody imagine my father being some sort of German-hater warmonger, I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.  He lived for many years in Germany (in fact, I was actually born in a small town in Bavaria during his station there) and had a deep appreciation for their history and culture.  It's true that playing B-17 Bomber involved copious amount of "smack-talk" against the enemy, but it was always in good sportsmanship fun -- and more importantly, it also involved some deep and impassioned impressions on Göethe and Schiller, some musings on the similarities of the Nibelungenlied and Beowolf, and even an earnest comparisons between the Autobahn and the Roman Empire's Via Appia, both in concept and impact.  If anything I would say he is a romantic Teutonophile.

 

Anyway ... Phew!  That's much more nostalgia than I bargained for.  I thank you sincerely for bringing back the memories. :)

 

      -dZ.

[Denicio]

2 hours ago, DZ-Jay said:

Hell yeah!  I loved it.  My father loves that game too -- I bought him an Intellivision Flashback a few years ago, and I was ready when the first thing he asked me was, "where do I get the manual to B-17 Bomber?"  I was expecting it.

 

Anyway ... I learned the difference between a Fokker and a Messerschmitt (and some off-colour joke about those two, which was hilarious to a 12 year-old me!!!); that "Flak" was the German acronym for an aircraft defense cannon (Fliegerabwehrkanone); and how many hours it would take approximately to fly the Flying Fortress across the English channel towards Stuttgart -- all while the game raged on and the bandits attacked!

 

My father approached the game with a sense of realism that made the experience exciting:  starting the game, we seriously planned which city we would target next (always picking one of the many real targets bombed by the Allied Forces during WWII), and based on the distance, we tried to figure the minimum fuel we would need in order to maximize the number of bombs we could carry.  Then off we went into the great blue yonder, engaging in banter with our simulated crew-mates as they warned us of incoming fighters or flak.

 

After the bomb run, more often than not, we'd end up low on fuel and with increasingly more damage as we attempt to fly -- or glide! -- back towards Allied territory.

 

It was a blast, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

 

Lest anybody imagine my father being some sort of German-hater warmonger, I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.  He lived for many years in Germany (in fact, I was actually born in a small town in Bavaria during his station there) and had a deep appreciation for their history and culture.  It's true that playing B-17 Bomber involved copious amount of "smack-talk" against the enemy, but it was always in good sportsmanship fun -- and more importantly, it also involved some deep and impassioned impressions on Göethe and Schiller, some musings on the similarities of the Nibelungenlied and Beowolf, and even an earnest comparisons between the Autobahn and the Roman Empire's Via Appia, both in concept and impact.  If anything I would say he is a romantic Teutonophile.

 

Anyway ... Phew!  That's much more nostalgia than I bargained for.  I thank you sincerely for bringing back the memories.

 

      -dZ.

 

Wow, just wow. What an amazing connection of family to the game. I think thats what ole Tommy T is trying to do with his Amico! Creating the NEXT generation of stories like yours. 

 

I dont have anything Germanic to add to your comments....other than the fact i love me some good stroganoff and i am taking my son to see Rammstein in Chicago in the fall of 2022.

 

My dad and i played some Space Battle when we first got the system but that was short lived as the demands at his work took over.  My mom, however, could never resist a good ole game of Lock N Chase with me! We played that game endlessly.

[mr_me]

4 hours ago, Denicio said:

 

My 52 year old hazy memory recalls if you bought a number of games (3?), sent in the UPC codes then you got a free intellivoice. But i also think the promotion had something to do with buying an Intellivision II.  Not sure.....

 

Was it totally free? Cant say for sure. I was 12/13 and mom handled all the details. I just remember coming home from summer camp and the package arriving from the USPS.

Anything Intellivision II related would be 1983.  By the second half of 1983 Mattel was drastically dropping prices so a free Intellivoice that now mismatches the style of the master component is very likely.

[IMBerzerk]

5 hours ago, Denicio said:

 

Just commenting on your Avatar.  Lemme guess, you ARE the 'angle'? 

 

Hanging still too good for him?

 

(That movie STILL turns me into a Teenager today, man i love that film)

Yes!  I'm "The Angle". ??

 

Hannover Fiste!!

 

I still listen to that sound track and like you, right back to being a teenager in the 80s.  The B17, Sternn and the two pot heads are the best.

 

Ps... If you saw Ready Player One...guess who the villian's avatar was modeled after?  Many are leaning towards a cross between Capt Sternn and Evil Superman. Lol.  

 

 

[Denicio]

On 10/15/2021 at 5:13 PM, IMBerzerk said:

Yes!  I'm "The Angle". ??

 

Hannover Fiste!!

 

I still listen to that sound track and like you, right back to being a teenager in the 80s.  The B17, Sternn and the two pot heads are the best.

 

Ps... If you saw Ready Player One...guess who the villian's avatar was modeled after?  Many are leaning towards a cross between Capt Sternn and Evil Superman. Lol.  

 

 

 

Dude, the soundtrack heavily populates my 'rock' playlist on my Iphone. Dare i say Cheap Tricks finest moment was "reach out".  When the wife goes out of town, Heavy Metal is almost always the first thing i reach for...after a glass of whiskey and a special gummy. 

 

Fun Soundtrack Fact: Devo has "Working in a Coal Mine" on the soundtrack but in the movie the Devo song "Through being cool" is actually being played! 

 

I've not seen Ready Player One. Got to now, just to see this!

 

As for fav Skits in the HM movie. I do love John Candy's Den of Earth skit! What nerd didnt want to be transported to a planet of big busted women eager to enjoy some Rumpy Pumpy?? The Sternn skit is fantastic too.  They are all great and hard to pick a favorite. What i never understood is how the bird that the Taarna flies in the movie looked so wimpy up against the one on the Movie Poster! Its like the movie version found the cookie jar and put on about 300 pounds! The one on the poster is sleek and mean! 

 

And the cast of the movie. Heck it was SCTV in Cartoon form. I loved SCTV as a kid and years later when i realized most of HM were the SCTV cast members....made me love it even more!

[IMBerzerk]

Yeah, that movie was great!  I thought Coal Mine played some where, maybe in the Taxi car story?  Been so long, I don't remember.  I liked that story as well...until the end.  What a shame.  Lol.

 

Cheap Trick intro to "You must be crazy" (the scene with the robot flying around in the tubes) and Black Sabbath "Mom Rules"... "Radar Rider" is great too.  Just an all around great sound track and movie.

Edited October 26, 2021 by IMBerzerk