Worst Intellivision game is?

[Rickster8]

So for me it's a toss up between Sewer Sam and Congo Bongo..... Since I played some Congo Bongo lastnight and relived the misery I think it's my number one...... ??

 

My worst Top 3 would probably be....

 

1 - Congo Bongo

2 - Sewer Sam

3 - Fathom

 

What's your worst Top three? ?‍♂️

[Sinjinhawke]

Based on goal and execution then Donkey Kong because it seems so half-assed and phoned in (Carnival a possible tie because of that music).

If it was a stand alone non DK game then it wouldn't be as bad though still not great.

 

Based on Fun I would say Roulette.  Nothing really wrong with the game but there are no stakes, no skill and no fun at all.  At least with Horse Racing you can whip the horse while yelling "Yaaaa CMART" I mean "Yaaa Sea Biscuit"

 

 

 

[Zendocon]

I actually like Fathom, but I agree Congo Bongo is garbage, and Sewer Sam isn't much better.  For me, the worst ones are some of the Coleco and Parker Brothers titles: Turbo is the absolute worst, plus Zaxxon, then Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior, Super Cobra, and Popeye.

[Rickster8]

31 minutes ago, Sinjinhawke said:

Based on goal and execution then Donkey Kong because it seems so half-assed and phoned in (Carnival a possible tie because of that music).

If it was a stand alone non DK game then it wouldn't be as bad though still not great.

 

Based on Fun I would say Roulette.  Nothing really wrong with the game but there are no stakes, no skill and no fun at all.  At least with Horse Racing you can whip the horse while yelling "Yaaaa CMART" I mean "Yaaa Sea Biscuit"

 

 

 

You know you can waste a bullet and turn off the music in Carnival right? ?‍♂️

 

I don't hate Carnival, but not a fan of DK cuz it's soooooooo hard to play without dying mega fast..... It's a pretty bad port. DK Junior isn't much better..... 

[Rickster8]

27 minutes ago, Zendocon said:

I actually like Fathom, but I agree Congo Bongo is garbage, and Sewer Sam isn't much better.  For me, the worst ones are some of the Coleco and Parker Brothers titles: Turbo is the absolute worst, plus Zaxxon, then Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior, Super Cobra, and Popeye.

Fathom might be okay, but I just cannot figure out the controls for my life. The bird goes every which way but how I want him to go.... I haven't played Turbo... I kind of like Zaxxon although it's nothing like the arcade game. I've gotten pretty good at it. Once you figure out the pattern it's not a bad game.... Super Cobra is way too difficult. There are people who have actually gotten to Section 11 and grabbed the Booty, DAFUQ???? HOW??? I die everytime WAYYYYYY before that stage.... I think it's an okay game, but way too hard, kind of like Vectron.... Popeye isn't great, but again not terrible for me. I find it playable atleast... I cannot play Fathom for my life..... 

 

Star Wars is pretty bad, but I can play it. Frogger I hate. Section 4 is too cramped for me and I always die in the traffic and the Green screen SUCKS even more. Tutankham is pretty bad as well.... QBERT SUCKS!!!!!

Edited January 5, 2022 by Rickster8

[+Lathe26]

Carnival for me is generally the worst.  Lousy graphics, lousy sounds, and lousy game play.  That said, I once met someone who was a big fan of this game and raved about it nostalgically.  It seems that they were introduced to the game at the age of 3 or 4 so perhaps the game works better for that age group.

 

Mouse Trap has much worse music.  The music is repetitive and grating to my ears.  However, the game itself can be salvaged by turning down the volume.

 

Congo Bongo is pretty low on my list.  This isn't a problem with porting the game; they actually did a pretty good job of porting to the Intellivision.  I have tried playing Congo Bongo multiple times in arcades over the years.  The arcade appears interesting, seems like it should be fun, and I know some folks love the arcade game.  However, the arcade game just... isn't... fun for me.  Thus the Intellivision Congo Bongo isn't fun simply because it is a game that wasn't fun in the arcades either.

 

In contrast, Donkey Kong Jr is my favorite of the Coleco games.  I was surprised when someone re-did the game as a homebrew a few years back (yes, the homebrew is better with bigger ROMs and developer tools).

[Punishermark]

I don't know why but I loved Carnival since I was a kid. I have no issues with it and it is my mindless game play go to game.

[Flojomojo]

2 hours ago, Zendocon said:

I actually like Fathom, but I agree Congo Bongo is garbage, and Sewer Sam isn't much better.  For me, the worst ones are some of the Coleco and Parker Brothers titles: Turbo is the absolute worst, plus Zaxxon, then Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior, Super Cobra, and Popeye.

I feel that I should only judge the games I had on cartridge back in the 1980s, as old games are a product of their times and I avoided stuff with a known terrible reputation. It was harder to get reviews of games back then, of course. 

 

Of the games I had, these were the worst:

Blockade Runner. Space game with goofy 3rd party red cartridge, wanted to be like Star Raiders, but wasn't any fun.

Vectron. I paid thirty bucks for this game, was wow'ed by the presentation at first, but nope'd out of the gameplay really quickly. I know some people like it and say it's cerebral, in which case I'm fine to admit I'm stupid. 

 

Other contenders that I also had include Royal Dealer, which was not exciting, but the idea of card party with the computer was entertaining. 

 

I actually liked the Coleco and Parker games I had, especially Venture and Popeye, because I knew I was never having a Colecovision, and these would have to do. The constantly-restarting "music" in Popeye was not great. Donkey Kong was always a bad port, but I was happy to have it. I was smart enough to avoid Carnival, which looked like a snooze from the screenshots on the box, even the Colecovision version. 

 

[Rickster8]

51 minutes ago, Lathe26 said:

Carnival for me is generally the worst.  Lousy graphics, lousy sounds, and lousy game play.  That said, I once met someone who was a big fan of this game and raved about it nostalgically.  It seems that they were introduced to the game at the age of 3 or 4 so perhaps the game works better for that age group.

 

Mouse Trap has much worse music.  The music is repetitive and grating to my ears.  However, the game itself can be salvaged by turning down the volume.

 

Congo Bongo is pretty low on my list.  This isn't a problem with porting the game; they actually did a pretty good job of porting to the Intellivision.  I have tried playing Congo Bongo multiple times in arcades over the years.  The arcade appears interesting, seems like it should be fun, and I know some folks love the arcade game.  However, the arcade game just... isn't... fun for me.  Thus the Intellivision Congo Bongo isn't fun simply because it is a game that wasn't fun in the arcades either.

 

In contrast, Donkey Kong Jr is my favorite of the Coleco games.  I was surprised when someone re-did the game as a homebrew a few years back (yes, the homebrew is better with bigger ROMs and developer tools).

As with Carnival you can simply turn the volume off with the controller for Mouse Trap. Push and hold the 'clear' button or '*' and the music shuts off (I actually don't hate the game, but many do)..... Congo Bongo is brutal.... The pixels are all screwed up so when you jump onto what looks like a successful landing you die... You can even just die for no reason at all, lol, total POS!!!!! ?

Edited January 5, 2022 by Rickster8
Wording

[+cvga]

Another vote for Donkey Kong. I don't know that it's the absolute worst game but we were looking forward to it so much that it definitely had the biggest difference between our hopes and what it actually turned out to be.

 

I'd also put in a vote for Space Hawk. Just found it super boring.

 

Lastly, I know a bunch of people will disagree but I hated Tron Maze-A-Tron as kid. Why? Mostly because I wanted to like it so much. My best friend and I played and played it, mostly because we wanted to like it but it just never happened. 

[1980gamer]

Going by games I had to "beg" for as a kid.

Coleco DK is most disappointing and horrible game.

I know this will get push back, But NHL is so slow and direction changes so poorly implemented.  Hockey players don't slide on the ice.  Well, if you haven't sharpened your skates for 20 years, you may change direction like that.

Again, because I wanted to like it so much...  Star Strike.  But I did like letting the planet get destroyed.  LOL

 

The last 2 are not the worst games, my most disappointing games!

 

Many games like Maze-a-tron, carnival, venture etc. I got for $.99 at Kay Bee Toys.  So, even if I didn't like them, it didn't bother me as much as $35 for NHL.

 

[IMBerzerk]

Donkey Kong - wow... what the hell were they thinking?!?

Congo Bongo - see above

Zaxxon - more of the same.

 

I remember buying these and being so excited thinking with how good an Intellivision was, and some of the other games I had, my expectations were sky high.  But wow, did I go down in flames... 

 

Our Intellivsions just got a bad rap when it came to the Coleco/Sega/PB ports.  

[1980gamer]

I don't play it much, but I think Super Cobra is not that bad.  I was a Scramble fan, so this was okay to me.

 

No matter what anyone tells me, DK was intentionally shitty.  Forget game play, just look at Mario. 

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Based on music alone, Carnival and Mouse Trap ?  That said, I like both games. I didn't appreciate either until I played them in the HSC.  I haven't played Turbo much, but didn't like what I played.  I think I'm missing something about Venture.  It seems really easy and boring.  The perspective in Zaxxon is confusing and the controls are goofy.  DK is terrible compared to the Arcade or Carl's game.  I guess I'm saying I don't care for Coleco.

 

I originally didn't care for most of the Parker Brothers games, but the HSC fixed that.  Super Cobra, Q-bert, Frogger, and Popeye are all good.  I haven't played much Empire Strikes Back.  Couldn't get into Tutankham.

 

My parting advice - don't judge a game until you do a deep dive.  Read the manual, learn about scoring, get to the later levels, etc.  I've changed my mind about a lot of games.  If you need some motivation, try the HSC (New season starting mid to late January).

[Rickster8]

4 hours ago, cvga said:

Another vote for Donkey Kong. I don't know that it's the absolute worst game but we were looking forward to it so much that it definitely had the biggest difference between our hopes and what it actually turned out to be.

 

I'd also put in a vote for Space Hawk. Just found it super boring.

 

Lastly, I know a bunch of people will disagree but I hated Tron Maze-A-Tron as kid. Why? Mostly because I wanted to like it so much. My best friend and I played and played it, mostly because we wanted to like it but it just never happened. 

I hated Space Hawk too until I learned how to play it... Echoing what Jason said, the HSC 'helped' me or 'motivated' me to learn it.... ?

 

I loved Maze A Tron as a kid. I still think changing the ones to zeroes on the big zeroes screen is pretty cool. The game had alot of potential and yeah it fell pretty short. You have to play it for a long time in order to get a really good score. Most of all though when I was a kid I REALLY hated the controls. It was hard to hold both the shield button and the shoot button while aiming with the disc on the MCP stage... I still 'like' the game, but can definitely see why people hate it.... 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Rickster8
Wording

[+BBWW]

20 hours ago, JasonlikesINTV said:

 Read the manual, learn about scoring, get to the later levels, etc.  

Are you really male? Read the manual. LOL

[+cmart604]

Hotel Bunny? ?

[+cvga]

20 hours ago, JasonlikesINTV said:

My parting advice - don't judge a game until you do a deep dive.  Read the manual, learn about scoring, get to the later levels, etc.  I've changed my mind about a lot of games.  If you need some motivation, try the HSC (New season starting mid to late January).

Totally agree. I think lots of people don't like Space Battle/Space Attack because they don't know how to play (especially Space Attack on the Atari). It's one of my favorite games though.

 

As far as Space Hawk and Maze-A-Tron go, I've read the manual (sure it was 35+ years ago lol) and still didn't enjoy the game   I can appreciate why some people like Maze-A-Tron though  

[+JasonlikesINTV]

On 1/6/2022 at 7:59 PM, BBWW said:

Are you really male? Read the manual. LOL

Just because I'm not known for reading manuals, doesn't mean I don't appreciate the value in it ?

[Games For Your Intellivision]

On 1/6/2022 at 1:20 AM, Sinjinhawke said:

Based on goal and execution then Donkey Kong because it seems so half-assed and phoned in (Carnival a possible tie because of that music).

If it was a stand alone non DK game then it wouldn't be as bad though still not great.

 

Based on Fun I would say Roulette.  Nothing really wrong with the game but there are no stakes, no skill and no fun at all.  At least with Horse Racing you can whip the horse while yelling "Yaaaa CMART" I mean "Yaaa Sea Biscuit"

 

 

 

Carl Mueller told me that he gained respect for the programmer of Donkey Kong as it was a lot more difficult to do the game than he previously thought when writing DK Arcade. So, despite it being utter crap (in my opinion), it probably was not 'phoned in', according to Carl. 

 

I agree that Roulette is a 'non game' with no fun. They had a fund raiser in the 80s at a local infantry regiment, and they used Roulette for the Intellivision to gamble on. That was the only practical use for the cartridge I ever saw. 

[ClassicGMR]

I think the absolute worst games I had for INTV were already mentioned. For me they had to be LV Roulette and Carnival. Boring and BORING. Ugh... I need to go find someone to play Triple Action - Biplanes with to get that taste out of my mouth now... ?

[1980gamer]

35 minutes ago, ClassicGMR said:

I need to go find someone to play Triple Action - Biplanes with

Certainly a favorite at my house.

[TeddyBear89]

I'm always a fan of these types of threads as opinions can change over time and it is interesting to read the supposed defense of the indefensible.

 

Space Hawk just blows the worst.  I'm still pissed off at spending $27.99 for it at my favorite K Mart decades ago.

 

And to the Q*Bert hater.....come on!  Inty Q*Bert is a great port and makes great use of the disc controller.

[IntyFanMatt]

16 minutes ago, TeddyBear89 said:

Space Hawk just blows the worst.  I'm still pissed off at spending $27.99 for it at my favorite K Mart decades ago.

Space Hawk does suck, lol. I also think Star Strike is awful and is wayyyy overrated. Not much to the gameplay at all. They focused too much on the graphics.

[BassGuitari]

I think most of the Intellivision's more poorly-regarded titles have some redeeming qualities, or can at least be appreciated through either sheer determination or lack of anything else to play, but a few stand out to me as particularly uninteresting:

 

Vectron - it's just not my speed, I guess.

The Empire Strikes Back - this one was a let-down coming from the Atari version. Not a bad presentation, but the control is imprecise, unresponsive, and clunky-bordering-on-unplayable.

Space Hawk - I like where it was going, but it didn't get there for me

Carnival - I'm not a fan of Carnival generally, and this version does little to sway me

Donkey Kong Jr. - I can forgive its perfunctory interpretation of the source material, this one's just a chore to play IMO.