Intellivision Classics

UPC: 047875109476

Platform: PlayStation

Publisher: Activision, Inc.

Developer: Livesay Technologies, Inc.

Category: Compilation

Style(s): Multi-Genre Compilation

Synopsis: Turn your PlayStation into one of the top videogame systems of the early 1980s with Intellivision Classics. Compiling 30 of the Mattel Electronics machine's most popular games, each is emulated to play exactly as it did nearly two decades before. You also have the ability to save at any time during a game, and the compilation includes interviews with original developers of Intellivision titles. According to All-Game Guide writers, the best games within the collection include fly-catching exploits in Frog Bog, helicopter dogfights in Hover Force, and such self-explanatorily titled selections as Sea Battle, Skiing (formerly U.S. Ski Team Skiing), Boxing, and Chess. The other inclusions are as follows (please click on the links for more detailed information): Armor Battle Astrosmash Auto Racing Baseball (formerly Major League Baseball) Basketball (formerly NBA Basketball) Boxing Checkers Football (formerly NFL Football) Golf (formerly PGA Golf) Hockey (formerly NHL Hockey) Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack Night Stalker Pinball Shark! Shark! Sharp Shot! Snafu Soccer (formerly NLSA Soccer) Space Armada Space Battle Spiker! Super Pro Volleyball Stadium Mud Buggies Star Strike Sub Hunt Tennis ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

Package Contents: Registration Card

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The instructions detail what you should do for every game, which you are also told onscreen just after you have made a selection. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

I can hear you from here: "A perfect rating on graphics?!?!?!" You bet. The purpose of this game is to emulate the older games exactly as they were, and this it does perfectly. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

I'll never forget the first videogame system I ever actually owned, my beloved Intellivision. With great games like Major League Baseball, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Night Stalker, Space Armada and BurgerTime, I wound up holding that strange controller for too many hours to estimate. Now, years after similar nostalgic '80s compilations, the great system finally gets its due with a collection of 30 games for the PlayStation. It's great to see many of my old favorites once again after well over a decade. It's amazing how much the ins and outs of the games come back to you even after such a large gap in time. You can still kill the bat before he wakes up in Night Stalker; Major League Baseball (only known as "Baseball" on this PlayStation version due to an expired license) remains as tricky to control as ever, yet stays just as fun; and Space Armada ... well, is still an all-out rip-off of Space Invaders. Ain't it grand? Unfortunately, there's a major problem here. It seems as though almost all of the games I don't remember playing as a kid are absolutely horrible. Tennis? Don't think so. Snafu? I refuse to play it again. Stadium Mud Buggies? Puh-lease! I can only imagine what those who never experienced the wonders of Armor Battle might think about my favorite tank game. In other words, Intellivision Classics' appeal is based on 100 percent nostalgia. Unless you've played some of these games before, you're probably wasting your time. One remarkable exception to this "I haven't played it, so it sucks" rule is Shark! Shark!. As a tiny fish, you must keep eating smaller fish without being consumed by a larger one, especially the shark. Earning enough points allows you to grow several times so that you can eventually start devouring the fishes that might have eaten you just a few minutes earlier. This is great Arcade-style fun, even nearly two decades after its initial release. Anyone who has played with an actual Intellivision before likely has never forgotten the unique controller, featuring a disc that acted as a D-pad and 16 additional buttons (12 on the surface, four on the side). Obviously, the PlayStation controller is significantly less complex and doesn't have the capabilities to satisfy games which might require all of the buttons. You do have the ability to call up a virtual Intellivision controller, but using it via your PlayStation one not only complicates things, but also confuses you. Nowhere else is this more apparent than in Football (formerly NFL Football), which requires many intricate button combinations. If you once owned an Intellivision and want to relive some of your favorite games of the days of yore, then Intellivision Classics might be exactly what you're looking for. But if you're not familiar with many (or any) of the games on the disc, you probably won't be entertained for long. This one's solely for the nostalgia freaks (like me). ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

Sad as it is to say, you haven't played these games for years for a reason. After two or three outings with a certain game, you're probably through with it. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

Ditto. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

You'll love it as long as you're familiar with some of the games. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.