Platforms: PC,
Macintosh,
PlayStation 2,
XBox,
GameCube (not yet released)
Genre: Compilation
Developer: Intellivision Productions (PC/Mac), RealTime Associates (PS2, GC, XBox)
Publisher: Intellivision Productions (PC/Mac), Crave Entertainment (PS2, GC, XBox)
Release Year/Date: 1998 (PC/Mac); November 28, 2003 (PS2, XBox), November 8, 2004 (GameCube)
ESRB Rating: E
(The PlayStation version of Intellivision Lives! that JayBonci refers to was actually called Intellivision Classics. The console versions of Intellivision Lives! have a somewhat different game lineup, as I'll expand on later.)
I grew up on the
Intellivision. Technically it was quite outdated when I started playing on it in the late 80s - though the system and its games continued to be sold and supported by INTV Corp. for several years after
Mattel Electronics disowned it, it couldn't compete with the superior graphics, sound and controls of the
Nintendo Entertainment System (and to a much lesser extent, the
Sega Master System). It's probably no coincidence that when the even more advanced
Sega Genesis launched in 1989 (with the
SNES on its way), INTV Corp. declared bankruptcy soon after. Nevertheless, I loved the Intellivision.
BurgerTime,
Pitfall!, Tron Deadly Discs, Shark! Shark!; I spent way too much of my youth playing these simple-yet-addictive games.
So you can imagine I'd be delighted with being able to play a whole mess of them on a current-generation console, on a single disc for $15 to $20. But frankly, I kinda feel like I was gypped. First, here's a list of the games on the PS2 and X-Box versions (and presumably the GameCube version):
Combat and Sorcery
Armor Battle
Battle Tanks
Biplanes
B-17 Bomber
Hover Force
Sea Battle
Sub Hunt
Thunder Castle
Tower of Doom
Utopia
Unreleased Titles
Number Jumble
Space Cadet
Demo Cartridge
Hypnotic Lights
Takeover
Magic Carousel
Space
Astrosmash
Space Armada
Space Battle
Space Hawk
Space Spartans
Star Strike
Kids
Crosswords
Factor Fun
Frog Bog
Math Master
Memory Fun
Sharp Shot
Word Hunt
Word Rockets
Sports
Baseball (Baseball, World Championship Baseball)
Basketball (Basketball, Slam Dunk: Super Pro Basketball)
Bowling
Boxing
Football (Football, Super Pro Football)
Golf (Golf, Chip Shot: Super Pro Golf)
Hockey (Hockey, Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey)
Racing (Auto Racing, Motocross, Stadium Mudbuggies)
Skiing (Skiing, Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing)
Soccer
Tennis
Track & Field (Super Pro Decathlon)
Volleyball (Spiker: Super Pro Volleyball)
Wrestling (Body Slam: Super Pro Wrestling)
Arcade
Bomb Squad
Buzz Bombers
Racing Cars
Night Stalker
Pinball
Shark! Shark!
SNAFU
Thin Ice
Vectron
Gaming and Strategy
Backgammon
Checkers
Horseracing
Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack
Reversi
Las Vegas Roulette
Royal Dealer
My first gripe is at the bottom half of this list. Count up the titles, and you'll find that 29 games - nearly half of those on the disc - are in the Sports or "Gaming and Strategy" sections. It's 31 if you count Sharp Shot and Racing Cars. What bright person thought we'd all enjoy playing a 25-year-old checkers or football game when we could go on Yahoo for the former or play what's essentially the same game with much better graphics in the form of a Madden or ESPN game, I've no idea.
The second issue - and I can't really fault the developers for this, but it still kinda irks me - there are several games widely considered among the best on the console which are not present. There are reasons for this; some of them (like Atlantis and Pitfall) were produced by third parties, some (like BurgerTime) were made or ported by Mattel/INTV but owned by other companies (Data East owns the rights to BurgerTime and Lock 'n' Chase), and a couple (like Tron Deadly Discs) were licensed titles which, for whatever reason, Intellivision Productions couldn't get the rights to republish. A few of these games, however, are available in other collections (chiefly Intellivision Rocks!, which is currently PC/Mac only).
Third and perhaps foremost are the controls. These really vary from game to game, but they seem to range from mediocre to downright awful. One would think that the developers would accomodate the differences between the old Intellivision paddles and the PS2/XBox controllers, but all they really do is run an emulator which pretends the controller is an Intellivision paddle. In games where all one really has to do is move around and maybe hit a button to jump or something, that's not really an issue, but in games with series of menus like Space Spartans, it becomes a real pain in the ass trying to figure out what you're supposed to be pressing. (I still can't figure out how to start a game in Auto Racing.) There are also some control glitches which may be the result of this, or may simply be carryovers from the original system (for instance, in Astrosmash, holding a direction while hitting hyperspace will cause your ship to keep sliding that direction afterward, even if you let go of it).
In addition, we have the profoundly stupid "radical gameplay modes", which just makes you play the game upside-down, or have 40 copies of it on-screen, and other lame excuses for features.
There are some good points. The compilation includes some previously unreleased material, as well as some background information on the various games (though this is also available through the company's website). All but one of the Intellivoice-enabled games are available - B-17 Bomber (a flight simulator), Space Spartans (which, if I recall correctly, was some sort of space combat simulator), World Series Baseball (you figure it out), and Bomb Squad (a quirky puzzle game that could probably do with a GBA remake). The only one missing is another Tron game, the title of which I can't recall. (There were in all three Tron games, and Mattel's contract called for a fourth that never materialized.) And - well, if you're a fan of the old Intellivision games, there're probably a couple games on it that make it seem worth the price. I'm still disappointed, but Shark! Shark!, Astrosmash and Space Hawk were probably worth it.
So in conclusion... if you like some of the games on that list, or if you really enjoy 25-year-old sports games for some reason, and you don't think the controls will bother you too much, go ahead and buy it. If you never played on the Intellivision, however, it probably won't be of any interest to you.