Which Intellivision games could you do Without?

[Rick Dangerous]

After a month or so with the Intellivision library, I have to say it is overall excellent! I have played most of the games I own and really enjoy the vast majority of them.

 

I wanted to ask you INTV vets, what are games that you flat out don't like, whether they be confirmed stinkers, or games that most people like but you just can't seem to get into.

 

For me so far it's

 

-DK/Carnival- Just not great ports overall

 

-Most sports games, esp. 2 player only. I'm just not that into sports games (exceptions include bowling and tennis) but 2 player only makes it that much harder to enjoy.

 

Curious to see what games you guys could live without.

[1980gamer]

Can do without....

 

D&D all variations....

Almost all Coleco Games. Venture is okay.

Tropical Trouble, Buzz Bombers, Frog Bog, Kool-aid man etc.

 

Love the sports games! That is what Intellivision made it reputation on. MLB still one of the very best baseball games ever made.

Yes, we have some nice eye candy on modern systems. But they mostly play them self....

[+save2600]

Most of the Activision games. Hardly different from their 2600 counterparts, so why bother? Because you're a glutton using the Intv controller - aren't 'ya? lol

 

Same goes for the Parker Brothers games, though I do keep Super Cobra and Tutankham around only because they're unique (better) enough translations for the time and I haven't spent a whole lot of time with 'em.

 

Unlike Activision, at least Imagic tried to enhance their 2600 ports and had more than a handful of originals to offer.

 

…and a lot of other games that I feel are better played with a joystick and/or on another system where joysticks are native. Some that come to mind include:

 

Centipede

Commando

Defender

Dig Dug

Dragonfire

Frogger

Pitfall!

Popeye

River Raid

Stampede

Star Wars: ESB

Venture

 

…oh and Vectron. And the Interphase games.

 

Love most of the 1st party Mattel games, sports or otherwise. They're unique enough for the system and its control scheme. In reality though, yeah… most all of the 2-player sports games can go. Today at least. Was different when we had disposable time and (very) like-minded friends that didn't mind wasting their disposable time on such learned and disciplined activities. Took then and takes today, a pretty special son of a bitch to muddle their way through the Intellivision experience.

[+fdr4prez]

Can do without....

 

D&D all variations....

Almost all Coleco Games. Venture is okay.

Tropical Trouble, Buzz Bombers, Frog Bog, Kool-aid man etc.

 

Love the sports games! That is what Intellivision made it reputation on. MLB still one of the very best baseball games ever made.

Yes, we have some nice eye candy on modern systems. But they mostly play them self....

 

How can you do without Cloudy Mountain? I still play that today.

 

Ya see, I can do without the sports games. Just not into them, even in single player variations. Not that they shouldn't have been made, or that they are stinkers, but just not into them.

 

 

Most of the Activision games. Hardly different from their 2600 counterparts, so why bother? Because you're a glutton using the Intv controller - aren't 'ya? lol

 

<removed for brevity>

 

…oh and Vectron. And the Interphase games.

 

Love most of the 1st party Mattel games, sports or otherwise. They're unique enough for the system and its control scheme. In reality though, yeah… most all of the 2-player sports games can go. Today at least. Was different when we had disposable time and (very) like-minded friends that didn't mind wasting their disposable time on such learned and disciplined activities. Took then and takes today, a pretty special son of a bitch to muddle their way through the Intellivision experience.

 

Why did Activation bother with the INTV versions of their games, or why bother buying them? Some of us didn't have a 2600 back then, so that's why. I am glad Activision bothered, and I am glad my parents bothered buying what they did purchase. Dreadnaught Factor and Beamrider were played more often than Pitfall on my Inty system.

 

Back in the day, I actually use to like playing Vectron. Although I don't know if I can say that today. Same with Blockage Runner. Those were tough, and quick, games.

 

I only have 80 of the 125, so I can't really comment on the remaining titles because I've not played them, so I've never played them, and I don't really play in emulation.

 

Maybe I can do without Sharp Shot. That's a bit of a pointless game.

 

Most Coleco games are bad renditions

[pimpmaul69]

 

How can you do without Cloudy Mountain? I still play that today.

 

Ya see, I can do without the sports games. Just not into them, even in single player variations. Not that they shouldn't have been made, or that they are stinkers, but just not into them.

 

 

 

Why did Activation bother with the INTV versions of their games, or why bother buying them? Some of us didn't have a 2600 back then, so that's why. I am glad Activision bothered, and I am glad my parents bothered buying what they did purchase. Dreadnaught Factor and Beamrider were played more often than Pitfall on my Inty system.

 

Back in the day, I actually use to like playing Vectron. Although I don't know if I can say that today. Same with Blockage Runner. Those were tough, and quick, games.

 

I only have 80 of the 125, so I can't really comment on the remaining titles because I've not played them, so I've never played them, and I don't really play in emulation.

 

Maybe I can do without Sharp Shot. That's a bit of a pointless game.

 

Most Coleco games are bad renditions

im not into the d&d games but many people like them so i cannot judge. I didnt grow up with the system. I do like most of the arcade ports except the original donkey kong. Too many people hate on carnival but i like it. I dont play most of the sports games so i cant judge on those. Basketball is too hard. I need a cart with the easier rom on it. Need to try out 1 player baseball.

[+save2600]

 

Why did Activation bother with the INTV versions of their games, or why bother buying them? Some of us didn't have a 2600 back then, so that's why. I am glad Activision bothered, and I am glad my parents bothered buying what they did purchase. Dreadnaught Factor and Beamrider were played more often than Pitfall on my Inty system.

 

Most Coleco games are bad renditions

 

Context people. Context.

 

As Travis is new to the Intv, this thread is talking about what games we could live without *today*. Not yesterday, especially if your game library was solely dependent (as were you) on your parents decision making. Sounds like most of you were lucky to have *whatever* BITD, so beggars and very young people can't always be choosers and that's just fine when it comes to nostalgia!

 

But you accidentally kind of made my point(s) anyway… you played Beamrider and Dreadnaught Factor more than Pitfall! back then. And then there's Vectron and Blockade Runner today…

 

And disagree about the Coleco games being bad renditions.

 

Lady Bug is excellent.

Mouse Trap is great.

Carnival is good (albeit a tad slow)

DK was just fine back then and somewhat better (or different enough which still made it fun) than the 2600's.

DK Jr. - didn't know anyone back then that had it, but it's pretty good today for an Intellivision rendition.

Turbo's decent enough for what it is and blows the "demo" that was the 2600 version away.

Venture is good enough for such a simplistic 2600-like game.

Zaxxon - well, not much of a difference between the 2600 version I guess. Yeah, that's some pretty damned mediocre crap going on right there.

 

All my opinions of course and wouldn't want to be without most of the Intellivision Coleco games *today*.

[+fdr4prez]

 

Context people. Context.

 

This thread is talking about what games we could live without *today*. Not yesterday, especially if your game library was solely dependent (as were you) on your parents decision making. Sounds like most of you were lucky to have *whatever* BITD, so beggars and very young people can't always be choosers and that's just fine when it comes to nostalgia!

 

But you accidentally kind of made my point(s) anyway… you played Beamrider and Dreadnaught Factor more than Pitfall! back then. And then there's Vectron and Blockade Runner today…

 

And disagree about the Coleco games being bad renditions.

 

Lady Bug is excellent.

Mouse Trap is great.

Carnival is good (albeit a tad slow)

DK was just fine back then and somewhat better (or different enough which still made it fun) than the 2600's.

DK Jr. - didn't know anyone back then that had it, but it's pretty good today for an Intellivision rendition.

Turbo's decent enough for what it is and blows the "demo" that was the 2600 version away.

Venture is good enough for such a simplistic 2600-like game.

Zaxxon - well, not much of a difference between the 2600 version I guess. Yeah, that's some pretty damned mediocre crap going on right there.

 

All my opinions of course and wouldn't want to be without most of the Intellivision Coleco games *today*.

 

Even today I only play Inty stuff. These days I also play Dreadnaught Factor and Beamrider, and not Pitfall. I don't recall the last time I played Pitfall. It is not that Pitfall is something that I can do without, but there are just better titles out there. I think I have a 2600 in a box in the garage, and my System Changer is collecting dust in the corner over there. So I won't be foregoing the Activision titles on my Inty for a 2600 version.

[mr_me]

This is based on my experience back in the 1980s.

 

Boxing - I liked all the Mattel sports games except this one.

Astrosmash, Space Hawk, Space Armada - I did not enjoy rapid fire games on the Intellivision

 

Maze-a-tron and Vectron - I think there might be some good game ideas here but not the way they have been implemented. I think the control scheme in Vectron is a problem. Maze-a-tron needs some fun added to it and a way to defeat the MCP.

[Eric7100]

Kool-Aid Man

Vectron

Blix

Word Fun

Math Fun

Learning Fun I

Learning Fun II

[+Rev]

This thread was a trick question.

 

Everyone that named games is out of the intv club!

[+cmart604]

Lol! Rev is right!

[pimpmaul69]

This thread was a trick question.

 

Everyone that named games is out of the intv club!

i didnt bad mouth any game. And as a founding father of the brotherhood you cannot kick me out.

[+wongojack]

I think the bottom of the 125 has been covered. Kool Aid, DK, Carnival, and Vectron are certainly down there for me.

Others: Space Hawk and whatever the real name for 'space trench' is are probably the worst from Mattel (besides Vectron). Hawk because it is just not suited to the controller and 'trench' feels more like a short demo than a real game.

However, I won't be getting rid of any of my copies (so relax Rev).

Oh - I will say that without the three AD&D games, The Intellivision might not be worth a modern look. Those games are pretty unique for the era and have decades of gameplay in them.

 

 

Edit - "Space Trench" is really Star Strike (thanks community). Its not a bad game, but it just feels incomplete. A Super Pro version might be good. It needs to blatantly copy the other stages of Star Wars Arcade and then repeat; going to a higher difficulty after each success.

[wolfy62]

I do love the 3 AD&D Games, great call!!! And, most Sports games those are excellent as well. DeadlyDiscs,awesome!

[+intvsteve]

I take issue with:

 

Most of the Activision games. Hardly different from their 2600 counterparts, so why bother?

(Emphasis added)

 

You're spot on regarding Pitfall and Stampede -- they are no different than the Atari versions, and are more enjoyable on Atari.

River Raid was upgraded and stands up well, IMO.

The other four games (Beamrider, The Dreadnaught Factor, Happy Trails, Worm Whomper) are either unique to, or first appeared on, Intellivision.

 

Of the 7 games Activision published for Intellivision, 4-5 are generally highly regarded, if memory serves (thinking of the polls ranking the games a year or two ago).

 

As far as games you could do without, if you're just interested in having some fun (grain of salt, YMMV, et. al.):

Roulette

Math/Word Fun

Most of the Coleco games

The Interphase games (never got into those)

… and others

 

[+Rev]

I like the intv version of pitfall (and the exact version for 2600).

 

so blah!

[Opry99er]

Haven't met one I didnt like yet, but Vectron and Maze-A-Tron are a little perplexing to me. Maybe I just don't get em?

[+fdr4prez]

This thread was a trick question.

 

Everyone that named games is out of the intv club!

 

I haven't gotten around to joining, yet, so is my future membership at risk? Do I need a sponsor now?

Edited January 12, 2016 by fdr4prez

[+fdr4prez]

Haven't met one I didnt like yet, but Vectron and Maze-A-Tron are a little perplexing to me. Maybe I just don't get em?

 

Maze-A-Tron was discussed pretty thoroughly on one of the Intellivisionaires podcast. I played it quite a bit as a kid, but not so much these days. The MCP level leaves much to be desired.

 

Vectron is perplexing, as you say. I also played this as a kid, or at least tried to. My memory isn't good enough to remember how well I did. I didn't dislike the game. It is just difficult to play

 

I got to be quite good at Space Hawk and Star Strike, too.

Edited January 12, 2016 by fdr4prez

[JasonlikesINTV]

I enjoy Word Rockets. Partially due to nostalgia, but it's also kind of fun. I need an updated version with dirty words and possibly modern Brotherhood terminology. Ooh, or an Urban Dictionary version

[Rick Dangerous]

I'm glad someone else mentioned Space Hawk.

 

The controls seem kind of clumsy and it just isn't that fun..

 

I have only played it for about 20 minutes though..may need to give it more time.

[+thegoldenband]

You're spot on regarding Pitfall and Stampede -- they are no different than the Atari versions, and are more enjoyable on Atari.

 

How so? I liked having a dedicated button for vine release in the Intellivision version -- it ensured against accidentally letting go.

 

Now Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, that one's wildly better on the Atari. I don't love either version, but there's practically no reason to play the Intellivision port.

 

I've been able to make sense out of the Interphase games, though it takes some effort to get past a first layer of weirdness. Sewer Sam is very playable, though, and Blockade Runner is frustrating but ambitious.

 

I think Las Vegas Roulette, Star Strike, Vectron, and Tron Maze-A-Tron would be first in line for my personal scrapheap. I know there are people who can get somewhere with Vectron, but I can't make heads or tails of it. I'm also not a fan of Motocross or Stadium Mud Buggies, and the 2-player sports games don't get played in my house.

[+save2600]

Love me some Space Hawk, but yeah... any game that relies too heavily on the side buttons is gonna cramp you up before too long. I like it when games allow you to press keys on the keypad as an alternative or offer rapid fire, so you can switch it up after a while.

[+wongojack]

I'm not perplexed by Vectron. I actually gave it quite a bit of playtime when we had our little tournament. Here's what I wrote:

 

***

I gave Vectron some time last night. I read the manual and tried a couple different control options. The game begs for twin stick control. This would be a fun one to see for XBLIG or the PS Indie game offering.

It feels like a sort of design project rather than a playtested game. It manages to use all of the side buttons and the 16 directions, but the gameplay mechanic of not being able to move just stinks. I found myself wondering if I was in "freestyle" or the other movement mode and ended up testing my controllers on other games to make sure my side buttons were working (they were). I can respect what they were trying to do here, but a few simple changes/hacks would really help the game.

1) Play a sound or give me a visual cue when I switch into freestyle. If I know what mode I am in, I can actually plan what to do.

2) Use the upper half of the disk to switch to freestyle

3) Just get rid of the movement limitation completely. Add a game variation that requires switching (or don't because that part is not fun).

4) What should I do when the E-Pak is not reinforced besides wait? This is a bad design choice that the player will lose a life and must avoid yellows. Give me a way out of this no win situation besides waiting for a reinforcement that may never come OR I may not be able to pickup.

***

After I wrote that, I went and played it in GameRoom for X360 where you can use the twin stick controls (free trial). It really did improve my experience, and I actually think I reached the third level, but it needed a little refinement as it was too easy to blow past the different 16 direction "Vectors" with the analog stick. Every once in a while, I think I'll go back and buy it from GameRoom, but I never have. Perhaps an emulator with an X360 controller would be a good option. I still really think of it as more of an experiment than anything else.

[+intvsteve]

Unlike most, I am a fan of Vectron. That said, I certainly understand and appreciate the critcisms of it. Maybe my love for it is because it was one of the few games I could beat my best friend at way back when. I defaulted to play in non-freestyle mode and would hold down the movement button in the direction I planned to fill in. Of course, it was mandatory to switch to freestyle in certain emergency cases to pick up the energy block.

 

But the game suffers badly if / when you get worn controllers. It really requires precision aim, and if you get a glitchy controller or a dead direction, the game becomes unplayable. A dual-stick approach does sound like it would work well as an improved control scheme - but IIRC you'd need something relatively special to get all the directions - some of the bases needed some pretty odd angles to fill in, IIRC.

 

In my heyday, I routinely got to the 'blue meanies' and I think I did get to the 'prizums' a couple of times. IIRC they were diamond shaped and kind of banded together and swept across your base wiping out what you'd built.

 

Perhaps I was just a sucker for the visuals and sound. The sound effects, font, and effects when you finish building a base always impressed me.