TV Games Video Game Systems Review Updated

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

March 18, 2004

Product Requirements:
Device:
Television with RCA inputs

03/18/04 Update: Pac-Man TV Game review added below

The other day, a package arrived from Jakks Pacific. There in the bottom of the box was a Spongebob Squarepants TV game system and an Activision TV game system. I guessed that the folks at Jakks Pacific must have noticed the posting that I had made of one of their products in the Latest Gadgets section of our front page, and had decided to send some of their offerings for review. I began wondering who would be 'stuck' doing this review, since Judie's daughter is past the age for interest in TV cartoon characters, and I'd never even seen the show before. But then my eye caught the words Pitfall Harry and Grand Prix on the packaging of the Activision game system. All of a sudden I started hearing Barbara Streisand singing:  Memories... Like the corners of my mind.... Misty water colored memories... of the way we were....

It was the late 70's, and I was around 13yrs old. I kept begging my Dad for an Atari 2600, and finally ended up getting the generic version from Sears called Telegames. I didn't care though, since it played all the Atari cartridges. Some of the first games we had were Grand Prix and Breakout. My sister and I would sit on my bed and play those games for hours on end. Sometimes my Dad would come in and sit in a chair beside the bed to watch. He'd never play the games though, he always said they made him nervous ;o)  I can remember going to bed at night, still hearing and seeing the games playing even while my eyes were closed...

I also remember that whenever we would go into town to the Hills store (think Target or Kmart, but only crummier), I'd race back to the electronics area to play with the Intellivision game system that they had setup there. They always had the Pitfall! cartridge installed, which I loved! I actually never did get that game for myself. That is until now...

The Jakks Pacific TV Game Systems look like a joystick, but are actually plug and play video game systems that have the games built into them. The cool thing is that they are self contained systems. You don't need game cartridges, complicated cables, or AC adapters. They are powered by 4 AA batteries (not included) and have the A/V cable built into the system.

After you install the batteries, you plug the RCA style video and audio cable into a set of free input jacks on your TV. Then you turn on the TV, switch to the input that you just plugged into, flip the On/Off switch on the game system to On and viola, you've got games! I tested both of these game systems on my 65" widescreen TV and all I can say is WOW!

Activision TV Game System

The first system that I tried out was the Activision system. After switching the power switch to On, the title screen appears with the games menu. This system has 10 built-in all time original classic Activision games:

Pitfall - You are Pitfall Harry the explorer, in search of treasures in the jungle. Watch out for the gators!

Atlantis - Sort of like Defender but underwater. You shoot ships as they fly back and forth above you.

River Raid - Vertical scrolling shooter. You fly a fighter jet, and your mission is to shoot down ships, tankers, helicopters etc.

Spider Fighter - Similar to Space Invaders.

Crackpots - You are Potsy the gardener. You have to save the world from spiders by throwing potted plants at them.

Freeway - Frogger clone, except with a chicken instead of a frog.

Tennis - Nothing to explain here...

Boxing - Overhead view boxing game.

Ice Hockey - Another obvious one...

Grand Prix - Horizontal scrolling race game.

My first impression of the games was pretty much: dang, graphics sure were bad back then! ;o) But back in the day, this was cutting edge stuff, and we liked it! It sure made me realize just how far gaming has come in 20yrs.

This system will probably not appeal to kids. The games are just too simplistic. I see this as more for the nostalgic adult, wanting to recapture days gone by. After playing all the games, I found that I enjoyed Grand Prix the most. Pitfall was a little disappointing. I thought I remembered music, but there were barely any sound effects at all, and I couldn't get very far without croaking. Let's face it, I now suck at action games ;o) I found Freeway to be too easy, and the rest of the games were just not appealing to me. Who ever played Hockey anyway, (apologies to those of you that did) yuck!

The joystick itself seems pretty sturdy. It has both a fire button on the base, and one on the top of the stick. Besides the power switch, there are also  Select, Start and Reset buttons. There is also a power LED above the power switch. The Reset switch allows you to get back to the main game menu.

This TV game system makes a great inexpensive gift for the video game nerd in your life.

Price: $20.00

Pros:
Plug and play
10 games in 1 system
Blast from the past

Cons:
No real music or sound effects
Can't save high scores

 

Spongebob Squarepants TV Game System

Like the Activision system, this system also has everything you need to just plug and play. Although there are only 5 games with this one, they are more modern in appearance and will appeal to kids. The games include:

Invasion of the Hooks - Spongebob has to save his friends from being hooked. Fast paced, but pretty easy. At least in the first few stages. There are 20 levels.

Patrick and the Maze - Patrick has to find his friends in the maze without getting zapped by some mean jellyfish. There's even a built in Simon type game where you have to repeat the tune played to you.

The Super Chum Bucket - Nifty little platform game where Bob has to rescue Sandy. There are 40 levels.

Sandy's Surf Adventure - Horizontal scroller. I didn't like this one that well...

Bubble Pop - Similar to Breakout. My favorite game of the bunch. There are 50 levels.

This system is shaped like Spongebob himself. His nose is the actually stick on the joystick, which is kind of cute :o) It feels pretty robust, but I'm not sure how well it will stand up under the abuse that kids can dish out. This unit has the power status LED, one fire button on the base, and a reset switch.

This system is quite a bit more fun than the Activision system, just because the graphics are better, the sound effect / music are better, and the games are just more robust.

 

Price: $19.99 - $24.99

Pros:
Plug and play
5 games in 1 system
Good graphics and sound

Cons:
Can't save high scores

 

NAMCO Pac-Man TV Game System

And now, straight from the 80's comes the Pac-Man TV Game System. Like the other products reviewed above, this plug and play gaming system requires 4 AA batteries (not included) and connects to a standard TV by way of RCA jacks.

Modeled after a co-op arcade system (minus the display), the unit has a pretty hefty base with a responsive joystick and firing button on top. A small reset button, power switch and power LED are also located on the face of the system.

Upon turning the unit on, you will be greeted with the game menu. There are 5 games built-in to the unit: Pac-Man, Rally-X, Galaxian, Dig Dug and Bosconian. Here is a little info about each one.

Pac-Man - Wow, I think everyone knows who this little dot muncher is! Did you know though that the character was originally supposed to be an animated pizza pie with one slice missing? But due to the fact that graphics were not as sophisticated as they are now, the pizza details could not be achieved, so we were left with a solid yellow dot instead.

The object of the game is to run around the maze munching up all the dots while avoiding the multi-colored ghosts. Here's another bit of trivia... the ghosts are named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde.

This game is completely faithful to the original, which I lost many many quarters to... The only thing it can't do is save high scores.

Rally-X - I remember this game too. It remains as fun as it was back then. You have to drive your little car willy nilly through a maze, collecting flags as you go. Avoiding the other cars and boulders can make it a short trip. This is one of those games that gets your adrenalin going!

Galaxian - This game is similar to Space Invaders, but more intense. Enemy ships swoop down on you instead of just coming down in waves a line at a time.

Dig Dug - Here's another favorite of mine. The goal is to collect the veggies without running into the bad guys. When you do come across the meanies, you can either drop boulders on them, or over inflate them like a balloon with your pump. Can you say "pop"?! 

The only thing that gets monotonous about this game, is the background music. It will definitely drive you nuts after awhile.

Bosconian - This is one game that I don't remember ever playing or even seeing before. Not sure which game originated first, but this one is similar to Asteroids, where you can rotate your ship to fire on the enemies.

It's an ok game, but not one of my favorites.

Of the three TV Systems reviewed here, I would have to say that I enjoy playing with the NAMCO Pac-Man game most. Pac-Man is easy to play and never gets boring for me. Rally-X comes in a close second.

 

Price: $$24.99

Pros:
Plug and play
Pac-Man!
Good graphics and sound

Cons:
Can't save high scores