The Video Game Critic's
Intellivision Reviews M-R

This was a groundbreaking baseball game in 1979 and it's still fun today, despite some notable flaws. The graphics are good, featuring a full diamond with nine fielders. Hitting, running, and stealing are easy, and the keypad is used to activate the appropriate fielder. Unfortunately, there's a single flaw that can ruin a game: the pitcher can field almost everything, and in the process easily shut out the other team. Be sure to ban this tactic from your contests! In addition, stealing is cinch, especially if the pitcher throws anything but a fastball. There are no fly balls, but that's not a big deal. Overall, MLB still holds up fairly well. As with most early Intellivision games, this is two-player only. Mattel released a better, more advanced baseball game called World Championship Baseball in 1983. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

When you plug in Masters of the Universe, you'll witness some of the best graphics and sound ever generated by the Intellivision. The game opens with a slick title screen and a dead-on rendition of the He-Man musical theme (you'll remember it when you hear it). In the first stage, our hero hops into his ship and flies towards the castle of his nemesis, Skeletor. As He-Man whizzes across a scrolling landscape, a "miles remaining" counter winds down on the bottom of the screen. To arrive safely, you'll need to blast oncoming asteroids while bombing bad guys running on the surface below. It's only mildly entertaining, but the mountainous backdrop looks beautiful. Upon reaching your destination, you'll get a glimpse of Skeletor's castle, and yes, it does look awesome. The next three screens involve dodging (or blocking) a barrage of fireballs in order to reach Skeletor on the far right side of the screen. This sequence is somewhat aggravating, but the multi-colored characters look great and the control is pretty good. Once both adversaries meet face-to-face, a brief swordfight ensues before Skeletor scampers off like the big pansy he is. Masters of the Universe isn't a great game, but its variety and superb presentation are hard to resist. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

Way back in 1982, I remember drooling over a screenshot of Microsurgeon in a Sears catalog. This game was a tour de force of graphics, depicting the internals of the human body in remarkable detail. Its fascinating premise has you navigating a scrolling human body with a tiny probe, administering ultrasonic rays, antibiotics, and aspirin to diseased areas. The control scheme utilizes both controllers at once, and while it seems daunting at first, it's really not that bad. Basically, you just navigate using the left directional pad, and shoot at viruses, bacteria, and tumors (to name a few) with the right pad. You can move freely (albeit slowly) around the body, but traveling through blood vessels and veins is the quickest route. Leaving their boundaries will not only slow you to a crawl, but unleash tenacious white blood cells that drain your power. The Intellivision's 16-point directional pads really come in handy, letting you finely adjust your shooting angle. A status screen keeps you posted on the patient's vitals and the condition of each major organ from the brain to the intestines. I'll give Microsurgeon all the credit in the world for its originality and rich visuals, but while its gameplay tends to hover around "interesting", it never quite creeps into "exciting" territory. To be frank, I found it slow and tedious. While traveling within the arteries sounds reasonable, they tend to be extremely narrow, and usually don't offer a decent route to the next nasty. It's not hard to shoot stuff - there are targets all over the place - but your range is very limited, and certain maladies tend to reappear in other areas just as you destroy them. In addition, sometimes it's hard to figure out what you're supposed to do. In a few of my games, the heart was listed in "serious" condition, yet I couldn't find any baddies hanging out there. The game offers several difficulty levels and two players can cooperate, but Microsurgeon simply doesn't have the "fun factor" most gamers crave. Still, collectors and Intellivision fans should probably track this one down for its novelty value alone. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.

Mission X is a really lame vertical shooter where you control a WWII bomber armed with missiles and bombs. The plane can cruise at high altitudes or buzz low as it's assailed by anti-aircraft missiles and enemy planes. So why is this game so frickin' boring?!? Well, first of all, Mission X is seriously lacking in the challenge department. You begin by bombing ground installations, and the ground-to-air missiles are very slow and easy to dodge. The graphics don't help matters; your targets are chunky, static, and uninteresting. The night stages are a nice touch though. You'll have to get pretty far into this game before you encounter ANY enemy planes, which finally let you unleash your missiles. These kamikaze planes are hard to avoid, especially if you try to shoot them! I usually enjoy this type of game (1942, Xevious), but I couldn't get into this one. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

When it comes to arcade action on the Intellivision, this cartridge is more than respectable. Mouse Trap takes the basic Pac-Man formula and incorporates a number of interesting wrinkles. You play as a mouse (actually a mouse head) being pursued through a cheese-filled maze by an army of cats. Pressing buttons on the keypad allows you to toggle blue, yellow, and red doors, altering the maze on the fly. You'll really need to get a few games under your belt before you can anticipate how the doors will swing. You'll also collect bones that allow you to transform into a dog at the touch of a button. I'd recommend keeping your thumb over this "dog" button, because eating cats racks up big points. Since they regenerate, you can even snag more than four (although their value maxes out at 900 points). Just remember to keep an eye out for the dangerous hawk that flies over the maze. Another interesting feature is the "in box" in the center of the maze that teleports you to one of the four corners. I really love the arcade look and feel of this Intellivision version. The colors are gorgeous and the characters are well-defined and flicker free. The tail-shaking cats and wing-flapping hawks look great, but I hate how the mouse constantly winks his right eye. I'm sure it was meant to be a clever animation, but it looks like he has a serious medical condition. As usual, the Intellivision controller doesn't do you any favors, but since your movements are slower and more deliberate than most maze games, it's not a serious liability. Once you get a feel for it, you can actually "tap" the disc to move one square at a time. Mouse Trap's minor key musical score has a certain "cascading" quality that's quite appealing. The sound effects are less impressive however, and when you eat a piece of cheese it sounds like static. Still, with four skill levels and thought-provoking gameplay, Mouse Trap should clock a lot of time on your Intellivision console. © Copyright 2007 The Video Game Critic.

This sharp-looking soccer game has a large, side-scrolling field with well-animated teams featuring three players and a goalie. It's a shame NASL Soccer is no fun. You only control one player at a time, and these guys are slow. Having the ability to run off one side of the screen and reappear on the other side is not realistic, but it is very convenient. Like many soccer games, this one can be murder on your thumb. The ball moves slowly, and it's difficult to control passes or aim shots. The goalie control is pretty good, but overall NASL soccer is a fairly miserable game. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

You know we're talking about an old basketball game when there are no three point shots and no dunking! Without that stuff, you'd expect the game to be pretty dull, and you'd be right. Intellivision's basketball features decent graphics but lackluster gameplay. The 3D court is viewed from a raised angle, giving you a good perspective of the action. The court has all the necessary lines, and the nets even have backboards. The large players are well animated but clunky-looking and single-colored. Each team has three players, but two are computer-controlled. Passing the ball is done by pressing one of nine buttons on the keypad, each corresponding to an area of the court. Yes, it's confusing as hell. You get two types of shots: a jump shot (for close shots) and a "set" shot (for long attempts). On defense there's a block button but the steals are executed automatically. I found NBA Basketball to be slow and boring. As with most Intellivision sports titles, it's two-player only, so you'll need to grab a friend, and you'll probably owe him a favor afterwards. I'm sure this game was impressive in its time, but it hasn't aged well. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

Considering it was released in 1979, NFL Football was an extremely ambitious title that still impresses to this day. It features a wide variety of formations and plays, and you can even direct receivers. Punting, field goals, safties, and running out of bounds are all part of the action. The players are very well defined, and the screen displays all the information you need. It was many years before anything this sophisticated was available for any other game system. Entering pass plays can be a bit daunting at first, since you need to select a formation, receiver, and a "zone" to catch the ball. Expect to hear a lot of obnoxious buzzes when you're getting started, but after a while entering plays becomes second nature. Still, it's usually pretty obvious when someone has called a passing play. My friend Eric claims that it's even possible to pull a "trick play" if you're extra sneaky. NFL Football is generally fun to play but it does have a few issues. For one thing, it's very easy to intercept passes, since you just need to be in the "line of fire". Only one receiver goes out for a pass, so he's pretty easy to cover. Games in progress are oddly quiet because the crowd only cheers after a score and between quarters (why? I have no idea.) The clock inexplicably stops after first downs, and once it's running it keeps going indefinitely, which can be a problem. Despite its shortcomings, NFL Football is still very entertaining when played by two competitive sports fans. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.

The Intellivision has a pretty solid sports lineup, but NHL Hockey is the ugly duckling of the litter. The sport of hockey is fast and smooth, and let's face it, those are two qualities the Intellivision is not known for! The rink only consumes about a third of the screen, and the tiny players look like three-legged bugs crawling around! There's a tan home team and a green visiting team, so what's the point of the NHL license? Speaking of colors, I understand the need to highlight certain players, but could they have devised worse color scheme? There are tan, green, brown, and purple players scattered around the rink. The controls are initially uncomfortable, but after extended play, they are just painful! Even when you manage to gain control of the puck, your player is so slow that your thumb will be sore by the time you drag his listless ass across the screen. And as if shooting wasn't difficult enough, an impenetrable goalie blocks everything, so you can only score with a quick follow-up shot. Passing is pretty much out of the question. After getting called for a penalty, it takes forever for your player to meander over to the penalty box, and once there, he slouches like a fat slob in an easy chair. Can we please get this guy a beer and a remote?! I also find it amusing how the instructions boast of the game's "computerized scoring". Am I supposed to be impressed? C'mon - even Pong had that! Like real hockey, the game is played in three 20-minute periods, but even a single full period of this would be hard to endure. My friend Eric had a funny story about NHL Hockey. The first time he played it against a friend, they played an entire game before realizing they had been scoring on their own goalies! © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

In the early 80's, the Intellivision needed all the arcade-style games it could muster, but Night Stalker fell short. The game places you in a maze where you run around shooting bats, spiders, and robots. The idea seems reasonable, but the controls leave much to be desired. You have to use the keypad to shoot, which is awkward to say the least. You can only shoot while standing still, which slows the tempo of the game. Finally, your shots move very slowly. It all adds up to Berzerk in slow motion. The graphics aren't bad, but the gameplay is a lost cause. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

This side-scroller looks like Defender, but contains elements of Missile Command. Your mission is to protect the four cities of the water-planet Hydron, and the game ends when these cities are leveled (or your ship is destroyed). Nova Blast's graphics are only average, but I do like how the background alternates between night and day. Waves of enemies take the form of kamikaze fighters and "water walkers". The number of onscreen enemies is impressive, but the framerate and collision detection pay a heavy price. Your ship is equipped with rapid-fire lasers (always a good thing) and an unlimited supply of bombs. Each city has a shield that can sustain one hit. One aspect of the game that's played up in the instructions but has little bearing on the gameplay is your ability to transfer energy from fuel tanks to recharge city shields. It sounds good on paper, but in reality there's no time to stop shooting. Nova Blast is one tough game, and it's hard to last more than five waves on medium difficulty. I could tolerate the choppy animation in the early going, but later waves became almost unbearable. Your thumb will also pay the price for this frantic arcade action. Nova Blast has its problems, but it still offers a level of shooting mayhem rarely see on the Intellivision. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

I'm truly amazed at how advanced this golf game is. Each hole is finely crafted with curved fairways, sand traps, water, rough, and trees. Hitting the ball is remarkably similar to modern day golf games. After aiming, you need to time your swing perfectly or you'll hook or slice. Although your angles are limited, you can actually control the trajectory of the ball. You get nine clubs to choose from, and each behaves exactly like it should. For example, a wood won't get you out of a sand trap; you'll need to blast out using a wedge. If only Mattel could have included a close-up view for the putts. Once you get on the green, both the ball and hole are only one pixel wide, and that's hard on the eyes. Up to four players can play this game at once, and there are three modes including stroke play, match play, and best ball. Once you get the hang of PGA Golf, it's hard to stop playing. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

It took some time for Intellivision players to experience the joys of Pac-Man on their system, but it was probably worth the wait. This is not only much better than the Atari 2600 version, but it's remarkably close to the arcade original. The maze is a bit smaller, but Pac-Man himself looks arcade-perfect, and so do the fruit. Even the intermissions are included! The ghosts look suspiciously similar to their Atari 2600 "cousins", but at least they don't flicker. Control is no problem despite the Intellivision controllers. You really couldn't ask for much more. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

When it comes to classic pinball games, it gets no better than this. Intellivision's Pinball looks great and plays extremely well. The balls moves between three colorful screens, each loaded with targets and equipped with two sets of flippers! And Pinball plays as good as it looks. You can even bump the machine to apply body english, and the round ball (yes, round) moves smoothly and realistically. Above all, the challenge level is just enough to keep you coming back for more. I was hard-pressed to find any faults with this fine game. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

I was surprised to see that this Intellivision Pitfall is almost identical to the Atari 2600 version! The only noticeable difference is the way the vines swing, which looks more realistic in this version. As for the controls, a different button is used to release from a vine, which is unnecessary but not a big deal. I prefer the 2600 version because of the joystick controller, but there's certainly nothing wrong with this one. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

I first encountered Q*bert at a local Burger King in the early 80's, and I was utterly fascinated by it. Controlling a round creature with a long nose, you hop around a pyramid trying to turn all of its squares to a certain color. I'm happy to say that Parker Brothers did a fine job on the Intellivision version. Not only does this look like the arcade game, but none its elements were sacrificed. That's right, not only do you get the red ball, purple ball, and Coily, but there's even Ugg, Slick, and the green ball. The slick graphics are accompanied by some amusing sound effects, including the sound of Q*bert "cursing" when he gets hit. There are only a few minor problems. First, it's difficult to tell when an enemy is about to appear at the top of the screen, causing some cheap, undeserved deaths. Next, you have to hit the reset button on the console after each game, which is inconvenient. Finally, you'll sometimes struggle to determine where you're supposed to press the disk to make diagonal jumps. But overall this delivers some solid arcade fun. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

It may seem odd playing cards on your Intellivision in 2003, but let me tell you something, this game is fun. Unlike standard card games which focus on Poker and Black Jack, Royal Dealer lets you play Crazy Eights, Rummy, Gin Rummy, and Hearts. The games aren't very hard to learn, and the instructions do a great job describing the basics. I didn't know how to play any of these at first, but I learned quickly thanks to this game. All of the contests are single-player, but you can challenge up to three CPU opponents. Your competitors are three surprisingly well rendered ladies sitting at a table. Video card games can be confusing, but Royal Dealer has a superb user interface that makes it easy to manipulate your cards and know what's going on. It's a very quiet experience, except for some shuffling sound effects. I'm not a big card player myself, but I found myself drawn into this game. It's addicting and a fun way to learn how to play various card games. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.