Games Bought Thread 3

[A Black Falcon]

So, I just got another console. It didn't cost quite as much as the last few, though, and for this price I couldn't refuse.

For $60, I got an almost complete in box Sears Super Video Arcade, which is the Sears model of the Intellivision. It came with the box, manual, system (with its hardwired video and power cords), the two original controllers (they do plug in in this model, they aren't hardwired like the first regular Intellivision), and boxed copy of the pack-in game, the red-box Sears version of Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack, the original Intellivision packin title.

All that was missing was, well, the actual cart from Las Vegas Poker and Blackjack (the box, manual, and overlays are there), and also the RF switchbox, which I have one of so that's no problem. The game's no loss, it's pretty thoroughly uninteresting (though I'm sure I'll get a copy for a dollar at some point), and this is a great price for a boxed Super Video Arcade. You can get working Intellivision systems for cheap, it's a much cheaper system to get complete and working than say the Colecovision is, but the Sears variant is a bit less common and often a little more expensive than the Mattel models, and looking on Atari Age, quite a few people call it the best model because of the plug-in controllers and its model controller, which is kind of the best official Intellivision controller because it's the model 1 pad, but with a regular cord instead of a coiled phone style cable. The cord is still pretty short, but you can at least sit a couple of feet away from the system, or use a controller extender cable of course, the system uses regular 9-pin ports. It's also apparently better than the Intellivision II pad (which changed somehow, though I've never held one so I don't know how exactly). The system looks kind of nice in that late '70s/early '80s way, with some woodgrain, large buttons on top, and places to hide the cords. As with all Intellivisions games plug into the side but the system works great, clean carts boot up reliably and the picture is good.

This system is also interesting because I'm pretty sure it'd been at that store for years. I remember seeing this boxed Intellivision there years ago, but hadn't been there much in a while (they carry a lot fewer videogames than they did five or ten years ago...) until suddenly noticing it when I was there earlier this week. I looked up the Super Video Arcade again and then decided to pick it up, and then did so yesterday. It had a $75 pricetag on it, but the guy sold it to me for $60, which is nice. He was probably just happy to finally sell the thing... they used to have Intellivision games too, some years back, but don't have nay anymore. Oh well, I'll find some more elsewhere. I did get a few games at one (other) place a few days ago. A few other places should have more, and a bunch more overlays and such, when I have time to look around.

Intellivision - games are all cart only and cost $1 each.
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Lock 'n Chase - A decent to good Pac-Man knockoff. I have the 2600 version, but this one is a bit better than that.
Snafu - It's like Surround, Snake, Tron Light Cycles, that kind of thing, but with four players, AI opponents, lots of modes, and more. This is good stuff. I'll need to either print or buy a manual for this though, to know what all the modes are.
Astrosmash - This is Mattel's game where you shoot asteroids going down the screen at you. It's a simple game which is fun for a bit, but goes on way way too long since you get extra lives constantly. I also have the similar 2600 version.
Space Armada - This one is a Space Invaders clone. It has better graphics than Space Invaders for 2600, but probably isn't as good in gameplay. There are only like 25 invaders on screen, it feels really low-rez... way fewer modes, too.
Auto Racing - This is a two player (or one player time trial) only racing game. The graphics and gameplay are nice, but there's nothing here without two people pretty much. Most Intellivision sports games apparently also are two player only... too bad.
Golf - This feels much more simmish than Golf on Atari. It's a golf game, so i find it boring, but it's something that it feels like golf and not mini-golf or something, like O2 and 2600 golf games do?
Space Battle - This is a somewhat interesting game where you send three fleets at attacking aliens on a map, then can zoom into a first-person space battle scene where you shoot enemy ships. It's okay.

My first impression is, well, the controllers work well -- all the buttons and discs work correctly -- but yes are kind of bad, as everyone says they are. The disc is uncomfortable to use for any amount of time and side fire buttons were a terrible idea that everybody copied from Mattel afterwards, for whatever reason -- see the 5200 and Colecovision controllers. The controller is less comfortable than the 5200 controller, I'd say. Versus the Colecovision, the disc feels worse than that stick, but at least the buttons all work on these, unlike my Coleco controllers... but the Coleco has that nice 'use the trackball with a gamepad in it' option that I use, so versus that this is worse. Of course the controller is usually the most criticized thing about this system, but while I kind of like the 5200 controllers (fire buttons aside), this one, on first impression, isn't great; the uncomfortable disc is a problem. It is interesting that it's a d-pad predecessor, and it's a 16-direction pad so it has more directions than a regular 8-way dpad, but it does not feel good to use.

Graphically, the Invellivision looks its age -- being from late 1979, it's newer than the 2600 and Odyssey 2 (from '77 and '78), but looks dated compared to the Colecovision and 5200, from 1982. Despite that though, somehow thanks to a guy who wanted to keep it alive and bought the system after Mattel gave up on it in late '83, the Intellivision survived the crash (it was the only console other than the 2600 to do so, in fact) and had game releases until 1989. Looking at the games from '85 to' 89 though, it's mostly a bunch more sports games... blah. A few good games released later on though. The handful of games I have all common ones from earlier in the system's life of course, but hopefully I'll find some interesting stuff. On that note though, sometimes I've seen criticism of the Intellivision library for being not great. I've played a few in emulation before, but it's been a while. Well, my first impression is that it's alright but nothing great; a few of these seven games are good but others are pretty forgettable.