Customer Reviews

Intellivision 25 Video Game System

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I saw this game in a store, and figured "What the heck! $20 bucks? Why not?" Waste of money.

I grew up on Intellivision, and was excited to play some of these games again. Unfortunately, this product is sub-standard in many ways. Quite simply, the controller fails to work quite often. Trying to play Snafu was nearly impossible. Invariably I would end up killing myself when the controller went in the wrong direction. Wresling simply didn't work, couldn't execute any moves. Same with football, impossible to call plays.

A big beef I have with this is on the baseball game. When a player is thrown out, it doesn't say the classic "Yer out!" like the original. How difficult would it have been to thrown that in?

Just a terrible attempt at re-creating some great old-time games. Seems as though this product wasn't even tested prior to production. Way too many flaws to recommend, even at such a low price. Don't waste your money. Hopefully the upcoming PS2 versions will be much better.

First, the positive aspects: The controller is easy to hold, the buttons work, the games look similar to the originals, there are 25 games included.

Ok, now the negatives: Speed is too fast compared to the original (Intellivision games had a flow that this system seems to ignore), sounds are missing or different (some games play silent), some games it's hard to control the character (in basketball, I couldn't move diagonally).

I appreciate attempting to create a Intellivison portable, but this attempt falls short. The Atari and Activision portables play much better than this.

I am an avid retro gaming fan and I had high hopes for this product. I bought it last week and all I can say is "don't buy it", even if you are a die hard Intellivision fan. I didn't have an issue with the controller, the problem is with the programming. Some of the games are missing important graphic elements. For example, with Super Pro basketball, the baskets aren't even visible! The players are shooting the ball at nothing! Save your money. This product is a huge disappointment - I'm returning it today

I grew up in the 80's and was soooo excited when I read about this since I loved Intellivision, and "Intellivions Lives!" for the PC, even though playing on the keyboard wasn't quite the same. So when I learned about this item where I could play from a controller hooked up to my TV, I was pumped! But I read poor reviews, so I waited to buy it at half price... but I'm sorry to say I still want my money back.

The product is advertised as being fun, but that 80's INTV fans will probably find it lacking. Well, I certainly found it lacking with games being shadows of what they used to be. And I can't imagine anyone new to INTV would find this enjoyable given the poorer graphics, lack of sound and game control (i.e., Baseball is a joke), and the slipshod programming that make even the easiest things difficult. So the short is to avoid it. But I'll go into detail with one game for those who are 80's INTV fans to show and why it's poor and why you should avoid it -- the ever classic "Nightstalker!"

Remember the sound in this game? That steady thump, thump, thump, thump like a heartbeat that instantly immersed you? That's gone, which means atmosphere is gone. However, I forgave that and pressed on. Then I found the game -- even though it looked mostly the same -- had drastically changed. Now bats are worth 100 (not 300), you can't shoot them while they sleep, and they never become robots after you hit 5000 points, which means that rather than 3 robots chasing you (and making it challenging) there's only 1 robot the entire game. Well, I thought I could forgive that too, but then I hit 10,000 points and was ready to face the white robot -- remember that one with huge bullets that absorbed your bullets and took 3 shots to kill? Well, in this version, it's bullets are normal and it only takes one shot to kill. (Not only that, but it's the last robot -- no black ones or invisible ones come later.) I found this unforgivable since I could have played forever because there was no challenge... except for one thing that caused the death of all my lives, which was poor game control. Sometimes it was difficult to take corners since you had to be perfectly lined up. Don't believe me? Well, listen to this -- at times, I'd actually get stuck in a straightaway corridor! How so? Because you can move your guy up or down within a corridor a couple pixels, which makes him stuck until you move him back up or down. But by the time you do that, you've been shot.

For fans of the 80's INTV, this is intolerable. And for new potential fans, how can a game be fun if the only challenge is trying to maneuver your guy? I could go into similiar detail for many others like Football (I couldn't figure out if it's even possible to pass, even though the computer can, but the manual only tells you how to hike and run) and Space Armada (one of the simplest games in the world, but they even ruined that!) Remember the clever INTV physics in Skiing and Golf? How your skier (or the ball when punting) would speed up, slow down, (or curve in Golf) with the sloping terrain? That's all gone.

All that said, do yourself a favor and go to the "Intellivision Lives" website and download a free copy of Nightstalker for the PC. The memories will flood back and newcomers will see how a classic really plays. Then consider buying "Intellivision Lives!" (At least for the PC -- I don't know about the others -- even though you'll have to play on the keyboard unless you find a good programmable PC gamepad like I did.) And I say this because I'm more than willing to support retro INTV, but the programmers have to support us back. It's a two-way street, and I can't sanction this product that actually has very little to do with INTV or fun.

I only gave it a 2 rather than a 1 because at least it seems they tried... to an extent.. and the idea of having INTV games work with the TV via a simple controller is great, but the execution is terribly lacking. As it is, I'll be returning or selling this item, rather than buying 3 more like I had hoped to give as gifts to my siblings.

When I saw this item for sale, I immediately had giddy flashbacks to the early `80s when I received my first video game system, Intellivision. I played it from the day I received it until the mid-1990s. Now packed away somewhere in storage, this 25-games-in-one controller seemed too good to be true. Retro is in, and that is the theme here.
Reading the list of games, I noticed some serious omissions that helped make Intellivision king for all those years: Burgertime, Bump n Jump, Las Vegas Poker and Blackjack, just to name a few. Some of these games used to be included when one bought the system; I'm surprised they are not back.
Also, I noticed right away what many others have: the sound effects are way different. They seem "cheaper," and not identical to the original games at all. Music, options, and other sounds are gone or altered. Thunder Castle, Tower of Doom, and Skiing are most notable here. The infamous crowd noises in the sports games are even different! Also, many games have been scaled down, giving you less game options than the originals. You can't do nearly as much in Football and Basketball like you used to. Star Strike, another classic, even plays out a bit differently.
INTV fans should check it out, but be careful: you may be a little disappointed. It's nice to get that old feeling again by seeing the title screen and playing a bit but the excitement wears off. Oh, how we miss those days of the "Dial shuttle and keypad with overlays" that made this system so great.

I can't tell you how much I really looked forward to the release of this item. With much anticipation, like a child at Christmas I opened the colorful box and took out my new Intellivision 25. It seemed I couldnt put the batteries in fast enough and hook it to my TV... To my dismay, It took mere seconds of play, to realize I was playing with a cheap imposter. After a minute of flipping through games I was ready to smash it against the wall.

Sure, some of the games 'look' like intellivision games, but don't let that fool you. Game play doesn't come close on many of them. And the speed is jacked up so much making some of them unplayable.

This unit is a cheap immitation, plain and simple. And a huge disappointment.

If I payed any more than the twenty bucks I put down on it, It would have already been returned to the store.

Any of the other TV games would be a much better choice than this one. They are closer to the mark when it comes to emulating the original games.

If you're a die hard Intellivision fan, or thinking of giving it to one, think twice. They could be in for a huge let down. :-(

There may be some hope for those of us looking for a more authentic Intellivision-like experience, without resorting to Ebay. Lets hope the soon to be released X-box and PS2 Intellivision games will be worth the wait.

-Nathan
West Hollywood, CA.

When I was younger, my Intellevision was my first console and I had some great games for it: Space Spartans, B-17 Bomber, Microsurgeon...the creme of the crop. So I was very excited when I opened this on Christmas morning and waited all day to plug it in.

After my initial excitement from the opening screens, my giddiness soon began to wear off...

The controller takes 4 'AA' batteries to power, but that is not the problem. The issue is the actual content and some of the adaptations that were made from the 'original' games.

First is the choice of games: While some may be fond of the sports games, many of the action games came from Intellevision's B-list, and in some cases the C-list. There really are no action blockbusters here that I remember as a child. The ones issued were definitely the most mediocre of all the Intellevion's library.

Second is the manual: There is a manual included that does indeed cover all 25 games, but you need a magnifying glass to read it the font type is that small. Also, the instructions are highly glossed over and lacks any depth in understanding in what a gamer is supposed to do for many of the games. You basically need to figure some of them out on your own.

Controller: While it resembles many of the next generation controllers today, and is actually comfortable in the hand, I found the buttons and analog stick un-responsive at times...not to say they didn't work, but they are definitely need some fine tuning or re-calibration.

Lastly the mods to the games themselves: I noticed that some of the games have been purposely modified (easy for programmers to do) to have the games either sped up, a little more un-forgiving, or certain choices stripped away or made for you. For example; on the game 'Snafu', the game speed choice on the main menu has already been selected and locked as 'fastest' which really does speed the game to unforgivable proportions for new players. Same for Space Armada (a Space Invaders clone)...by the 4th level it is way to fast ensuring 'Game Over' within just a few minutes.

Nice idea, but very poorly executed.

I bought this game, from the same people who did the outstanding Intellivision Lives! CD for PC and Mac, expecting that the same attention to preserving the play of the original games would be present. It isn't.

I was raised on Intellivision, and maybe that's part of the problem, but these games appear to have been reprogrammed from the ground up by someone who had pictures of the old games, but never actually played them. Consider Space Armada. The alien invaders descend one row before their left-to-right movement reaches the edge of the screen (Space Invaders-style). Consider Star Strike. The audio cue that a missile silo is coming up is not sounded if you happen to be firing your laser at the same time. Even if you hear it, the silo comes so fast that your chances of hitting it (and avoiding destruction) are roughly nil. Consider the excellent Super Pro Basketball. You can't make substitutions. These aren't just bad cases. Every single game seems to be broken in some way or another.

If you never played any of the original games, then none of the above means anything to you, and you may have more fun with this product. But retro gaming being what it is, products like this generally appeal mostly to people familiar with the source. And if that's you, I sadly have to recommend that you stay away.

was the only thing that came in the box. The games just weren't the same. Every game was missing music and sound effects. The control is so sketchy it's not funny. I don't know....I was looking so forward to this only to be let down.

First of all, what kind of controller is this for an Intellivision game compilation? It's sorta Playstationy and seems to serve no purpose other than giving an option of high-hat versus d-pad for people who prefer one or the other.

Secondly, most of these guys are missing music, levels, options, etc. C'mon guys, memory is cheap and Intellivision games are small! Why cut out some of the best stuff?

Motocross has one track, no computer drivers and no track editor.

Snafu has 4 game modes: Horiz/Vert, Horiz/Vert/Diag and those two with obstacles. Always 2 'snakes', never an option for 4.

Very disappointing.

I own the Atari 10-in-1 that Jakks Pacific put out and it's GREAT! I need to get the other "collections in a controller" that that company puts out, but I'll never buy another TechnoSource "CinaC" game.

If you want a good Intellivision collection, check out the Learning Company "Greatest Hits: 20th Anniversary Edition". It has most of the same games that this TechnoSource one has, but they seem complete so far.