Intellivision - Help me stop hating it so much!

[Chuck D. Head]

There has to be a resistor I can pull or a trace I can cut to bypass that nonsense, right?

 

Nope! Its not that easy on the Inty.

 

Thanks, I am an Intellivision virgin, so I will be asking some stupid questions. OK, I will have to give her the INTY 1 and find a spare controller for INTY 2, but it does not seem that they grow on trees. Morgan

[tz101]

For many games it's a must to get the overlays and instructions and usually it's an all or nothing type deal.

 

Easy to find downloadable overlays at sites like Intellivisionlives. Instructions as well.

[+pboland]

Yeah, I think everyone owes it to themselves to play a few good sessions of AD&D Cloudy Mountain, on real hardware, before giving up on the Intellivision. It's quite a terrific game, and may well be the system's most "perfect" title.

 

BTW, I can't imagine that Atari used external DB-9 connectors on the VCS to facilitate third-party controller replacements. I'm guessing that it was probably just an artifact of their decision to go with a multi-controller lineup and thus, as a bonus, the controllers were easy to change out if one broke. Remember, too, that the Fairchild Channel F, Odyssey^2, and Emerson Arcadia 2001 all had hardwired controllers when they were first released -- and then there was the Studio II with its built-in controllers!

I don't think hardwired controllers is all that big of a deal. Heck, back in the day people didn't really use any other controllers than the ones it came with (mean 2600). I remember reading somewhere about OD2's decision to go with a hardwired controllers. They originally released the OD2 with detachable controllers, but they had too many problems with controllers getting broke at the connector. Once they went to hardwired they rarely got a complaint of broken controllers. I know that seems odd, but we had an OD2 with hardwired controllers back in the day and play the heck out of it and never ever broke the controller.

 

As far as the INTV controller, I was never able to play one directly back in the day. We all had either OD2's or VCS's. I saw them at the stores and in magazines but never really played one until about 1995. I didn't like the system until a year later when I bought one at a flee market that had Intell-O-Sticks (not sure if I'm spelling that right) installed in them. WOW! what a difference. I played that INTV all the time. The controllers (in my eyes) made all the difference.

[JayWI]

I enjoy the maze games like lock 'n' chase and mousetrap. Make sure you have a first gen console for mousetrap (or any coleco game) since it won't play on a newer system. Mattel put a lockout chip in the later consoles to stop 'em from working.

 

It's only the Intellivision IIs that won't play early Coleco games. Other later models like the Intv III were designed after the first model and lack the Intellivision II's "tweaks" (I have an Intv III and I can confirm that it plays both DK and Mouse Trap). I like the Intellivision Mouse Trap, but I prefer the CV version since it lets you use the joystick and the keypad at the same time. Other Intellivision games have a work around by letting you use the second controller's keypad along with the first controller's disc, but Mouse Trap doesn't.

 

Really? I have a Super Pro system and I have never gotten either of those to work. I got them back when I had an original Intv and both played just fine so I assumed they just wouldn't play on a super pro system. Perhaps the carts are just bad. I'll have to give them a good cleaning and try again.

[JayWI]

For many games it's a must to get the overlays and instructions and usually it's an all or nothing type deal.

 

Easy to find downloadable overlays at sites like Intellivisionlives. Instructions as well.

 

True. I'm kind of a CIB snob for Intv though so I don't even consider that.

[+cmart604]

For many games it's a must to get the overlays and instructions and usually it's an all or nothing type deal.

 

Easy to find downloadable overlays at sites like Intellivisionlives. Instructions as well.

 

True. I'm kind of a CIB snob for Intv though so I don't even consider that.

 

To me, this is one if the things that makes the INTV a great system from a collectability standpoint in that it's not unrealistic to get the original 125 CIB (OK, maybe Spiker is particulary tough and expensive, but still...)

Edited September 11, 2010 by cmart604

[JayWI]

To me, this is one if the things that makes the INTV a great system from a collectability standpoint in that it's not unrealistic to get the original 125 CIB (OK, maybe Spiker is particulary tough and expensive, but still...)

 

Agreed. Although in my case I grew up with the system and always kept my games complete. Of my original 12 or so they were all complete so it just seemed wrong to start getting them cart only.

 

I'm not nearly as picky with other systems. I do like getting SMS and Genesis CIB since I think the boxes just make 'em easier to display. 100 Genesis games in the original boxes just looks more impressive to the eye IMHO.

[BrianC]

Really? I have a Super Pro system and I have never gotten either of those to work. I got them back when I had an original Intv and both played just fine so I assumed they just wouldn't play on a super pro system. Perhaps the carts are just bad. I'll have to give them a good cleaning and try again.

 

odd. I haven't had any problems with Mouse Trap or Donkey Kong on my Intv III. They should work since the Intv III and, as far as I know, the Super Pro System are based on original model Intellivision.

Edited September 13, 2010 by BrianC

[kool kitty89]

"Hatred" might be a strong word to use regarding the Intellivision. How about, "disdain" or "lack of desire to play anything on it"? That about sums it up for me.

 

Maybe if I had owned one when it originally came out, then I might have some sentimental love for the system...

 

I kind of equate it to Sega Master System. I owned a NES during the later part of the 80's. Since my goal was to collect every system ever made, I acquired a SMS about a year ago. Yet, it sits largely unplayed. I think a good part of it is that I don't have any fond memories of it because I did not own it "back in the day". Also, the SMS games are difficult to find in the wild around my area, so I only have five games.

 

Does this maybe sum up your "hatred" for Intellivision?

For the SMS, try looking for bulk lots on UK ebay. (the shimpping is a lot more practical for large lots and UK is a treasure trove of SMS stuff).

That and you might find some decent stuff on various US sites including ebay, especially if you don't have much around locally.

[kool kitty89]

Geez, if the OP hates it that much, why doesn't he just get rid of it? I'll gladly take it off his hands.

 

I had never seen an Intellivision until my thirties, so I can't claim to have grown up with it. But I've since built up a decent collection (about 85 games, plus some semi-rare accessories like an ECS and Music Synthesizer), and I've come to appreciate what it has to offer.

 

If you ask people who grew up on Atari consoles what they don't like about the Intellivision, the answers you'll get basically boil down to "I don't like it because it isn't an Atari": the controllers are different, the graphics look different, the types of games in its library are different, etc. I think what helped me is that nostalgia doesn't play much of a role for me when I sit down to play a game on a classic computer or console: I still like playing the games I played when I was a kid, but I'm not so limited by my experience that I can't appreciate anything else. It's important to get beyond this kind of limited thinking if you are to evaluate the Intellivision on its own terms.

 

Regarding the much-maligned hand controllers: in my opinion, the main stumbling block that modern gamers have to overcome is their familiarity with gamepads. If you try to use the hand controller like a gamepad, as newcomers to the system often do, you're only making it harder on yourself because that isn't the best way to use it. For side-to-side games like Astrosmash, use your index and middle fingers to "rock" the disc back and forth; for four-direction games (like Snafu), I often find that it's easier to "spin" the disc around in a circle with your index finger to reach the directionals, rather than manhandling it by pushing it up, down, left, or right with your thumb. You have to find a method that works for you, but again, don't approach it like a gamepad! It also helps if you can find a way of holding the controllers that makes the side buttons more comfortable.

 

Once you get used to them, you'll find that the hand controllers aren't as bad as their reputation might suggest: they offer sixteen directions, a feature unique to the Intellivision and Aquarius (and yes, it does make a difference in games that were designed for it). They also offer a keypad for secondary input, an idea that the Atari 2600 needed a whole separate controller to implement. As for the criticism that the controllers are hard-wired (in the original Intellivision) and that the cords are too short, consider this: in the late 70s and early 80s, video game consoles were not placed in a home entertainment center close to the television, but on the floor or on a table close to the players. You'll notice this if you look at video game ads from that era, and this was the way the Intellivision was intended to be played. In this setup, there is really no need to extend the controller cords, and except for those rare occasions when you have to repair or replace the controllers, having them hard-wired to the console isn't much of an issue, in my experience. When would you ever need to unplug them?

One thing about the Colecovision and Intellivision controllers is that they're neither here nor there in several respects: the 16-way disc tried to be innovative but really only ended up making things more complicated (most/all digital joystick based games work best with 4 or 8-way control), the disc is a bit oddly placed at the bottom for the IV, the buttons are a bit impractical on both (especially being recessed), and the CV's knob is OK for thumb use, but generally impractical as a joystick. The 5200 messed up with the side buttons too and the Joystick is a bit hit and miss too. (with clean pots and a good boot -especially late models- it's OK, though not ideal for most games intended for 4/8-way control, and the games that did use analog tended to use it in a paddle/position tracking fashion rather than a speed-sensitive fashion -the latter would be preferably for any tracball games for sure).

 

Anyway, it seems to me that something rather like the layout of the SG-1000's controllers might be ideal (the Gemini did something similar), maybe not that exact implementation (depending on quality), but small joystick and prominent buttons for the fingers that aren't recessed. (something like the 5200 or CV controller, but with a joystick more like the 2600/A8's -probably a bit smaller/shorter- with the side buttons replaced with a pair of buttons more like the Atari paddles used)

 

 

As for hardwired controllers: one major thing was preventing expansion peripherals via controller ports: ie paddles, track ball, analog joysticks, driving controllers, and other controllers in general. (3rd party would indeed be a non-issue as that would not make Mattel any money, but 1st party accessories is a pretty big oversight given the 2600's interchangeable controllers)

[carmel_andrews]

Lendorien...try this experiment

 

it requires the following

 

1 x working intelivision games system (with all the things to get it up and running)

 

couple of games

 

Portable telly that isn't hooked up to another (nicer) system

 

1 marmite sarnie (sandwich)

 

 

Directions

 

place intelivision games system on table (probably by the side of the monitor/telly)

 

Connect all the things to get the intelivision up and running into the intelivison and the telly/wall plug

 

stick one of the game cartridges into the system and switch on the games system

 

take a nice big bite out of the generously spread marmite sarnie

 

pick up inteleivison controller and start playing a game

 

If after 2-5 minutes your stomach starts disgreeing with the marmite sarnie, spit it out into the bin (that means the inty has won)

 

If after 2-5 minutes your brain gets bored of the inty game, switch off the games system stick in the other game and play

 

take another big bite out of the marmite sarnie (if you've done that you must like the marmite sarnie)

 

if after the 2-5 minutes have gone, you have either reset or switched off the games system, that means the inty has lost and the marmite sarnie has won, sell the inty to one of the members here and finish off the marmite sarnie (heaven in a sarnie if their ever was one)

[Lendorien]

Lendorien...try this experiment

 

it requires the following

 

1 x working intelivision games system (with all the things to get it up and running)

 

couple of games

 

Portable telly that isn't hooked up to another (nicer) system

 

1 marmite sarnie (sandwich)

 

 

Directions

 

place intelivision games system on table (probably by the side of the monitor/telly)

 

Connect all the things to get the intelivision up and running into the intelivison and the telly/wall plug

 

stick one of the game cartridges into the system and switch on the games system

 

take a nice big bite out of the generously spread marmite sarnie

 

pick up inteleivison controller and start playing a game

 

If after 2-5 minutes your stomach starts disgreeing with the marmite sarnie, spit it out into the bin (that means the inty has won)

 

If after 2-5 minutes your brain gets bored of the inty game, switch off the games system stick in the other game and play

 

take another big bite out of the marmite sarnie (if you've done that you must like the marmite sarnie)

 

if after the 2-5 minutes have gone, you have either reset or switched off the games system, that means the inty has lost and the marmite sarnie has won, sell the inty to one of the members here and finish off the marmite sarnie (heaven in a sarnie if their ever was one)

 

 

Yeah, I can already tell you that I don't like Marmite. I've had it before. So no sandwiches for me!

[GameGirl420]

Have'nt had a chance to read the whole thread but will after this post.

 

 

Anyways I just bought an Intellivision off Ebay with 21 games and the Intellivoice. I have'nt played Intellivision since 1986! since 4th grade! lol I did'nt even play much of it then either and from my own memory I thought it sucked back then.

 

Have'nt played it in 24 years. Hopefully it will be better when I test it out again soon, but I'm expecting it not to be that great. First impressions ya know.

[ledzep]

I have to admit that I have always been completely unimpressed with the intellivision. My dislike for the system is so intense that I actually would go so far as to say I despise it.

 

That's strange too because I even like the 3do and my silly APF TV fun.

 

The original Intellivision controllers are a complete disaster with that recessed radial dial that has 16 directions. It's fussy and hard to use. The games are complicated and confusing with all the buttons and the side buttons on the controllers barely work. Also, having the controllers not be removable is stupid in the extreme... though I'm sure it'd be pretty easy to hack nine pin connectors on them and the console.

 

Added to that, the game don't look that great. Certainly not much better than the 2600, though it has what, six times the ram AND a 16 bit CPU?

 

I have one and it's just wasting space because all I have for it is space battle, blackjack, ML baseball and Armor Battle (and because it sucks?). I've played intellivision Lives! for PS2. Are those games typical fare for the system? (I hope not, because they all pretty much suck, though that one with the biplanes is moderately fun with two people).

 

I'm hoping someone can convince me that I shouldn't get rid of the system completely (which I've already tried to do on the Marketplace forum) and that this irrational hatred for the system is misplaced. Right now, on list in terms of game systems I like and own, the intellivision is dead last.

 

Help! Break me free of this hatred for the intellivsion!

 

Ya, that's a hard one. I grew up with an Atari 2600 but my best friend had the first Intellivision. So we played both. I prefer the Atari because I prefer classic arcade games and they're all reaction/twitch/kill games. So the Atari fit with what my brain expected. The Intellivision was all about mind games, puzzles and board game type fun. And it was fun, I remember how much better the Intellivision sports games were compared to the 2600. We would play Intellivision sports and strategy games a lot. But we also loved Atari Missile Command and Space Invaders and Warlords and racing games. I do remember both of us staying up all night trying to beat Swords & Serpents, mapping out the levels on paper, and not being able figure out how to beat that giant dragon on the final level. That was frustrating. But Utopia and and Sea Battle and a few others were great games, games that the 2600 could not dream of duplicating though I don't understand why they never found their way to the Atari 5200 which also had a keypad. I'd love to see a homebrewist convert Sea Battle and Utopia to the 5200 (But if Swords & Serpents gets made there has to be a way to kill that damn dragon, that's only fair.)!

 

Which brings me to the controllers. No contest, the Intellivision sucked there. I really HATE that stupid disk. Not because it was a disk but because it was neither a joystick nor a paddle. The fact that it slid around really screwed over my fingers while playing, trying so hard to get the guy to do whatever I attempted, after a couple hours, the fingernails were trying to separate from the fingertips, very very painful. That disk should not rotate (since it's not a paddle), it should just pitch toward whatever direction you want, like an analog stick on a Playstation, otherwise you struggle to keep it exactly on one of those 16 positions. Mattel should have put out other controllers (with the version II), one that was a dedicated joystick version (with an actual stick) and one that was a paddle. Too late now. But I liked the keypad, the options that some games could use.

 

I loved their artwork, though I preferred Atari's box art more. But it was very cool seeing my friend's growing game collection with the color-coded boxes on the bookshelves. My brother and I were stupid and mostly threw out our Atari game boxes. We even had a few of the fold-out ones. We tended to get a lot of the Sears versions so now, when I decide to really start collecting a good Atari 2600 game system it's going to be mostly Sears Tele-Games versions. That's what nostalgia does to your mind.

 

I don't know that I can tell you how to stop hating the Intellivision. It helped for me that I sort of grew up with it and the my brother, my best friend and I would spend many hours playing my friend's Intellivision when we were over at his house so I remember the personal battles more than I remember any specific liking for the graphics or gameplay, though both were good.

[jeremysart]

Well for starters, try these games:

 

Thunder Castle

Tower of Doom (harder to find)

Dreadnaught Factor

Bump n' Jump

Shark Shark

Atlantis

Dragonfire

Tropical Trouble

Utopia (if you have patience)

Snafu

Tron Deadly Disks

 

These are some very fun games, and you can only find about 5 of them on other consoles (and dont look nearly as good or play as well)

 

Also, come on, its as nice looking system, especially if you come across a System III.

 

The controllers are easy to get past after playing a while, they are not that bad, and you can find the joystick adapters made by INTV on eBay.

[Charlie_]

Intellivision sucks because Tennis is 2 player and I didnt realize it till the game came in the mail from that ebay seller.

 

Seriously Intellivision is good. Not as good as an Atari when you get down to it, but its a fun system with a lot of individuality. The Intellivision 1 is very retro looking these days. Dragon Fire and Beauty and the Beast are good. I also like the He-man game, and Pacman.

 

Donkey Kong is horrible.

 

How is Defender on the Intellivision?

[jeremysart]

Intellivision sucks because Tennis is 2 player and I didnt realize it till the game came in the mail from that ebay seller.

 

Seriously Intellivision is good. Not as good as an Atari when you get down to it, but its a fun system with a lot of individuality. The Intellivision 1 is very retro looking these days. Dragon Fire and Beauty and the Beast are good. I also like the He-man game, and Pacman.

 

Donkey Kong is horrible.

 

How is Defender on the Intellivision?

 

Oh yeah, forgot about the Pac Man port for INTV, it is one of the best. Looks and sounds just like the arcade, and has the cut scenes.

I have to admit though, it is much more enjoyable if you have a joystick adapter.

[tz101]

Intellivision sucks because Tennis is 2 player and I didnt realize it till the game came in the mail from that ebay seller.

 

Seriously Intellivision is good. Not as good as an Atari when you get down to it, but its a fun system with a lot of individuality. The Intellivision 1 is very retro looking these days. Dragon Fire and Beauty and the Beast are good. I also like the He-man game, and Pacman.

 

Donkey Kong is horrible.

 

How is Defender on the Intellivision?

 

Oh yeah, forgot about the Pac Man port for INTV, it is one of the best. Looks and sounds just like the arcade, and has the cut scenes.

I have to admit though, it is much more enjoyable if you have a joystick adapter.

 

I have the joystick adapters. Did Atarisoft release Pac Man for INTV or was it a homebrew released much later on?

[+cmart604]

Intellivision sucks because Tennis is 2 player and I didnt realize it till the game came in the mail from that ebay seller.

 

Seriously Intellivision is good. Not as good as an Atari when you get down to it, but its a fun system with a lot of individuality. The Intellivision 1 is very retro looking these days. Dragon Fire and Beauty and the Beast are good. I also like the He-man game, and Pacman.

 

Donkey Kong is horrible.

 

How is Defender on the Intellivision?

 

Oh yeah, forgot about the Pac Man port for INTV, it is one of the best. Looks and sounds just like the arcade, and has the cut scenes.

I have to admit though, it is much more enjoyable if you have a joystick adapter.

 

I have the joystick adapters. Did Atarisoft release Pac Man for INTV or was it a homebrew released much later on?

 

There are 2 releases from BITD, one by Atarisoft and then one by INTV as well (white label cart). Identical game, without the Atari logo at the start up screen.

[GameGirl420]

 

 

Wow Donkey King on INTV does look lame! Funny that comment about Coleco making this bad on purpose lol.

 

 

Still have'nt got my INTV in the mail yet. I'm actually feeling excited to play some Snafu.

[TheGameCollector]

I'm a bit the opposite from other people it seems. On any of the pre-Nintendo systems I prefer collecting the arcade ports for all the systems over trying to collect the other types of games. Why? I just like the style of games better. Intellivision actually has quite a bit of those clones that are just as enjoyable as any other platform. I can already tell by the games you had to start with that you don't have any of these ones. And some of them are quite cheap:

 

Games I like that I have:

 

Space Armada (like Space Invaders)

Astrosmash

Demon Attack

Pitfall!

BurgerTime

Donkey Kong

Carnival

Venture

Frogger

Q Bert

Atlantis

Lock N Chase

Snafu

Tron Deadly Discs

Beauty & the Beast (King Kong based game)

[Lendorien]

A quick update. I found Vectron at Goodwill today. I'm going to try playing it tonight. I'll keep you posted on if something other than sports titles can break my hatred of the Intellivision.

[NinjaWarrior]

I love Astromash on it...

[jaybird3rd]

A quick update. I found Vectron at Goodwill today. I'm going to try playing it tonight. I'll keep you posted on if something other than sports titles can break my hatred of the Intellivision.

Here. I'll save you the trouble of looking up the manual and overlays, which you will definitely need if you didn't get them with the game.

[Lendorien]

A quick update. I found Vectron at Goodwill today. I'm going to try playing it tonight. I'll keep you posted on if something other than sports titles can break my hatred of the Intellivision.

Here. I'll save you the trouble of looking up the manual and overlays, which you will definitely need if you didn't get them with the game.

 

I gave up on Vectron. It's too complicated. The instructions made my eyes bleed. I need pictures. I had no idea what they were talking about. I felt like I did back in College when I was tryng to play AD&D and had to figure out THAC0.

 

In its defense though, I will say that it's a lot prettier than the other Intellivision games I've played. On that side, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. Most intellivision games I've seen, including those on "Intellivision Lives" look godawful.

Edited November 23, 2010 by Lendorien