Coleco Intellivision Games

[Gabriel]

I now own an Intellivision again, and I also have a whole hell of a lot more games for this one than I ever had for the old one. (My old one was an Intellivision II. The new one is an original Intellivision.)

 

One thing I've noticed since I blundered into the classic gaming "scene" is that a lot of venom is directed towards the Coleco produced games. A good portion of this badmouthing is directed toward the Intellivision ports. Mostly, Donkey Kong is berated. But, I've also seen mention that Venture sucks badly as well.

 

My "new" Inty came with Venture and the notorious Donkey Kong. I quickly decided I wanted to see these games.

 

First off, I really like the Venture port. It has the "rotting" effect of the corpses which is missing from the 2600 and Coleco versions. It has the music which is missing from the 2600 version. It seems to play fairly well. I've already burned quite a bit of time with my new Inty just playing Venture. Why does this game get a bad rep?

 

Then there's Donkey Kong. While it isn't particularly good, it also isn't quite as horrible as I had been led to believe. There is a distinct lack of variety of color. The game also only has 2 (ugly) levels. Kong is a brownish blob without any detail. "Mario" is only slightly better with a two tone color job. But, the game plays at least as faithfully to the arcade as the 2600 version does, and actually quite a bit better on the rivet level.

 

So, Donkey Kong is pretty bad. But compare it to Mattel produced crap like Sharp Shot or Triple Action. And Donkey Kong may look only slightly better than an Atari 2600 game, but Pitfall on the Inty shares the same problem. Actually, the Inty version of Pitfall looks exactly the same as the 2600 version. In fact, I found myself enjoying the Inty Donkey Kong more than Inty Pitfall.

 

I owned my first Intellivision late. I don't think I got it until 1987 or so, and I didn't ever have many games for it. Then, of course, there's the horrible "emulation" discs available for the PS1 and PS2, which help color the Inty as worse than it really is. And, I'm probably much more prone to forgive bad graphics in classic games nowadays than I was back in 1982-83. Maybe I'm completely off base.

 

So, does anyone else agree with me, or am I just a looney?

 

Oh, and Beauty and the Beast is pretty cool. It's like a platforming "zoner".

[chrisbid]

Imagic stuff is great on the INTV. Beauty and the Beast is better than pretty much any version of Donkey Kong save the arcade game. The improved versions of Demon Attack and Atlantis are sure to impress you as well.

 

As for Mattel produced games, you have to get Burgertime (should be very common). Bump n Jump is pretty good as well. Then the more rare stuff, the later INTV games are very impressive, but fairly expensive and tough to find.

[Ze_ro]

But, the game plays at least as faithfully to the arcade as the 2600 version does

 

That's sort of the problem. The INTV was a decent amount more powerful than the 2600, but the INTV ports weren't really much better than the 2600 ports. They should have been comparable to the ColecoVision versions really.

 

--Zero

[intvgene]

Actually, the Inty version of Pitfall looks exactly the same as the 2600 version.

 

Yea, but to me, there's nothing really wrong with that!

And Activision more than made up for it by releasing Dreadnaught Factor on the INTV.

 

I like Venture, but I really don't like Donkey Kong. Here's what it should have / could have looked like, if they had tried:

 

 

 

Carl Mueller had a remixed/reprogrammed version working sometime, he's been working on it up until at least April 2003. I haven't tried it yet though.

 

Check out the Intellivision Bodega for more info.

http://www.jamrom.com/bodega/

[Vic George 2K3]

To IntvGene: that looks like something to inspire the homebrew game makers.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I actually prefer the Intelly version of Venture myself. The disc controller really works well for this game and makes it easy and smooth to control Winky.

 

I don't have Donkey Kong, and probably won't go actively looking for it. I have the 2600 version, the 400/800 version (Best one!), and my 7800 version. I do agree that Imagic really shined on the Intelly. Made probably the absolute best games for the Intelly during that era. Microsurgeon mmmm......

 

[Lauren Tyler]

From what I've heard, Coleco deliberately crippled their games in order to make the ColecoVision look better. This is evident especially with Donkey Kong. The 2600 version is understandable, since back then they didn't have a lot to work with. The Intellivision, however, was supposed to be graphically superior to Atari, yet all they did was churn out a semi-enhanced graphics version of the Atari game! There are only two 'tunes' in the game, both of which are in the wrong places.

 

(Ironically, Garry Kitchen did that game before he went to work at Activision where he churned out Pressure Cooker and Keystone Kapers.)

[chrisbid]

as for other coleco games, Mouse trap was one of the few games that made use of the keypad control. Donkey Kong Jr, while still somewhat ugly, played well enough, and Carnival was great... so long as you used your first shot on the music note on the side to turn off the awful BGM

[Cootster]

But there is no defense whatsoever for INTV Lady Bug . . . It's so blatantly crippled, you could imagine a better one on the Channel F . . .

 

And on the topic of Imagic: Anybody know where to find Truckin' overlays?

[chrisbid]

http://www.intvfunhouse.com/overlays/imagic/truk-0.jpg

 

[Vic George 2K3]

But there is no defense whatsoever for INTV Lady Bug . . . It's so blatantly crippled, you could imagine a better one on the Channel F . . .

 

Except that it would probably look and sound worse on the Channel F.

[Mendon]

Just my opinion but the Atarisoft ports to the INTV are incredible and the best by any company. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Centipede are all not only good looking but have excellent gameplay and control.

 

Mendon

[Cootster]

But there is no defense whatsoever for INTV Lady Bug . . . It's so blatantly crippled, you could imagine a better one on the Channel F . . .

 

Except that it would probably look and sound worse on the Channel F.

 

Not by much . . . Heck, no sound and blocks representing everything would be almost better . . . Seeing as how the CV version is as close to arcade-perfect as anything ever got in that era (as are most first-party CV titles), the INTV one is a complete and total joke . . .

 

I am not an INTV fan, but I feel extra sorry for anyone who ever paid retail for Lady Bug . . . It's damn close to the Worst Game Ever on Anything . . . Feeling that I might have been uncharitable to the system, I gave the games another shot on emu . . . The continuum of INTV goodness goes . . .

 

The original Imagic games and Utopia --> Shark Shark, the D&D games, some of the really late stuff --> The non-LB Acti/Coleco/Imagic/Atari titles --> The early super-ugly stuff --> Tech demos --> Games that freeze on the loading screen --> Lady Bug.

[Vic George 2K3]

Not by much . . . Heck, no sound and blocks representing everything would be almost better . . . Seeing as how the CV version is as close to arcade-perfect as anything ever got in that era (as are most first-party CV titles), the INTV one is a complete and total joke . . .

 

Sorry. Sincerely doubt it. Don't think the Channel F would have what it takes to come close to matching the INTV version of Ladybug.

 

I am not an INTV fan, but I feel extra sorry for anyone who ever paid retail for Lady Bug . . .  It's damn close to the Worst Game Ever on Anything . . .  

 

Barely the worst in my book. But then, considering that I used to own an Intellivision II very briefly in the mid 1980s, this was one game that I would've wanted to own. The Mythicon games to me ranks as the Worst Games Ever On Anything.

[intvgene]

Just my opinion but the Atarisoft ports to the INTV are incredible and the best by any company. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Centipede are all not only good looking but have excellent gameplay and control.

 

I agree, too bad they didn't get the Jungle Hunt, or Joust finished.

 

To IntvGene: that looks like something to inspire the homebrew game makers.

 

Sorry for the confusion, but that actually is the picture from Carl's homebrew version of Donkey Kong. I don't think it's been finished, but it shows you how what they could have done.

 

When the day is done though, the best third-party support still has to be Imagic.

[Gabriel]

It would be interesting to see Joust on the Inty, but I don't think it would be very playable due to the controller. The only reason I find the games which require rapid fire playable is because I turn on their built in autofire feature.

[Brad2600]

Actually, the Inty version of Pitfall looks exactly the same as the 2600 version.

 

Yea, but to me, there's nothing really wrong with that!

And Activision more than made up for it by releasing Dreadnaught Factor on the INTV.

 

I like Venture, but I really don't like Donkey Kong. Here's what it should have / could have looked like, if they had tried:

 

 

 

Carl Mueller had a remixed/reprogrammed version working sometime, he's been working on it up until at least April 2003. I haven't tried it yet though.

 

Check out the Intellivision Bodega for more info.http://www.jamrom.com/bodega/

 

Nice pics that you posted. I checked out the actual site and there are some promising games on it that look nicer than a lot of INTV games.

 

My question is, will these games ever be burned to actual roms and distributed? I hear that the INTV rom structure is quite complicated and isn't easy to get around in regards to making actual roms of games.

[Ze_ro]

My question is, will these games ever be burned to actual roms and distributed?

 

Unfortunately, if they do, they will likely be quite expensive. The chips used in INTV games are not available anymore, and converters to use "normal" EEPROM's drive up the price.

 

--Zero

[chrisbid]

mario looks excellent in those screenshots

[Vic George 2K3]

Sorry for the confusion, but that actually is the picture from Carl's homebrew version of Donkey Kong.  I don't think it's been finished, but it shows you how what they could have done.

 

Yeah, I just found that out myself. Pretty good screens, though.

[intvgene]

I wish that Castle would get completed. The graphics look great, and it's an original game too. It's a shame that the development has been halted on it.

 

If anyone's interested in programming for the INTV.. the Yahoo group for Intellivision programming still gets regular posting.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/intvprog/

[Redcurrie]

I do agree that Imagic really shined on the Intelly. Made probably the absolute best games for the Intelly during that era.

 

I'm a big fan of the Activision ones as well. My INTV Activision collection was the first one that I completed and I just completed Imagic.

[dougy76]

I always thought the Coleco games on the Intellivision were horrible. The Colecovision ports are far superior. As a kid, I had one friend with a CV and another with an INTV. Once I played those games on the CV, I had no interest in playing them again on the INTV.