Intellivision Lives!

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Intellivision Lives!
Original cover art for Windows
Developer(s)Intellivision Productions
Carl Mueller Jr
Quicksilver Software
(Win/Mac)
Realtime Associates
(PS2, Xbox, GCN, Nintendo DS)
Publisher(s)Intellivision Productions
(Win/Mac)
Crave Entertainment
(PS2, Xbox, GCN)
Virtual Play Games
(Nintendo DS)
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS
ReleaseWindows/Mac
PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 20, 2003
  • PAL: September 24, 2004
Xbox
  • NA: February 2, 2004
GameCube
  • NA: November 4, 2004
Nintendo DS
  • NA: October 27, 2010
Genre(s)Various
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Intellivision Lives! is a compilation of over 60 Intellivision video games, originally produced by Mattel Electronics and INTV Corporation between 1978 and 1990. Using original game code and software emulation, Intellivision Productions released the compilation on a Windows and Macintosh hybrid CD-ROM in December 1998.[2] Additional versions were then released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube by Crave Entertainment. In 2010, Virtual Play Games released a Nintendo DS version.

Intellivision Productions later published Intellivision Rocks, which includes third-party games originally published by Activision and Imagic, as well as Intellivoice and ECS games.[3]

Overview[edit]

Some games, such as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain and Treasure of Tarmin use different titles to avoid the trademark. Licenses such as MLB, NFL, NBA, and The Electric Company were simply dropped from the titles. Also included were games never before released, such as King of the Mountain, Brickout, and Takeover.[4]

In addition to the games, the Crave Entertainment releases have several unlockables, such as classic Intellivision commercials.[5] The original Windows/Mac version is a resource for development history, unfinished prototypes, box art, overlays, instructions, hidden features, programmer biographies, and video interviews.

List of Available Games
Game Title Genre Win/Mac PS2, Xbox, GCN NDS Notes
Bomb Squad Arcade No Yes Yes
Buzz Bombers Arcade Yes Yes Yes
Racing Cars Arcade Yes Yes No Part of Triple Action on Win/Mac.
Night Stalker Arcade Yes Yes Yes
Pinball Arcade Yes Yes Yes
Shark! Shark! Arcade Yes Yes Yes
SNAFU Arcade Yes Yes Yes
Thin Ice Arcade Yes Yes Yes Win/Mac version includes prototype Duncan's Thin Ice.
Vectron Arcade Yes Yes Yes
Armor Battle Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Adventure /
Crown of Kings (Nintendo DS) 		Combat & Sorcery Yes No Yes Prototype of originally released Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain.
Minotaur Combat & Sorcery Yes No Yes Prototype of originally released Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin.
Battle Tanks Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes No Part of Triple Action on Win/Mac.
Two-player only.
Biplanes Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes No Part of Triple Action on Win/Mac.
Two-player only.
B-17 Bomber Combat & Sorcery No Yes Yes
Hover Force Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes Yes
Sea Battle Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Sub Hunt Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes Yes
Thunder Castle Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes Yes
Tower of Doom Combat & Sorcery Yes Yes Yes
Utopia Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Astrosmash Space Yes Yes Yes
Space Armada Space Yes Yes Yes
Space Battle Space Yes Yes Yes
Space Hawk Space Yes Yes Yes
Space Spartans Space Yes Yes Yes
Star Strike Space Yes Yes Yes
Auto Racing Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Baseball Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Basketball Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Body Slam: Super Pro Wrestling Sports Yes Yes Yes
Bowling Sports Yes Yes Yes
Boxing Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Chip Shot: Super Pro Golf Sports Yes Yes Yes
Football Sports Yes Yes Yes Two-player available with DS connect.
Golf Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Hockey Sports Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Motocross Sports Yes Yes Yes
Mountain Madness: Super Pro Skiing Sports Yes Yes Yes
Skiing Sports Yes Yes Yes US Ski Team Skiing
Slam Dunk: Super Pro Basketball Sports Yes Yes Yes Requires two controllers.
Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey Sports Yes Yes Yes
Soccer Sports Yes Yes No Two-player only.
Spiker: Super Pro Volleyball Sports Yes Yes Yes
Stadium Mud Buggies Sports Yes Yes Yes
Super Pro Decathlon Sports Yes Yes Yes
Super Pro Football Sports Yes Yes Yes Requires two controllers.
Tennis Sports Yes Yes Yes Two-player only.
World Championship Baseball Sports Yes Yes Yes Requires two controllers.
ABPA Backgammon Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes No
Checkers Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes Yes
Horse Racing Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes No
Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes Yes Requires two controllers.
Las Vegas Roulette Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes Yes Requires two controllers.
Reversi Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes Yes
Royal Dealer Gaming & Strategy Yes Yes Yes
USCF Chess Strategy Network Yes No No
Crosswords Kids Yes Yes No Part of Word Fun on Win/Mac.
Requires two controllers.
Factor Fun Kids Yes Yes No Part of Learning Fun I on Win/Mac.
Requires two controllers.
Frog Bog Kids Yes Yes Yes
Math Fun Kids Yes No No
Math Master Kids Yes Yes Yes Part of Learning Fun I on Win/Mac.
Requires two controllers.
Memory Fun Kids Yes Yes No Part of Learning Fun II on Win/Mac.
Requires two controllers.
Sharp Shot Kids Yes Yes No
Word Fun Kids Yes No No
Word Hunt Kids Yes Yes No Part of Learning Fun II on Win/Mac.
Requires two controllers.
Word Rockets Kids Yes Yes No Part of Learning Fun II on Win/Mac.
Air Strike Unreleased Yes No No
Brickout Unreleased Yes Yes Yes
Crazy Clones Unreleased Yes No No
Deep Pockets: Pool & Billiards Unreleased Yes Yes Yes
Demo Cartridge Unreleased Yes Yes No
Go for the Gold Unreleased Yes No No
Grid Shock Unreleased Yes No No
Happy Holidays Unreleased Yes No No Includes Santa's Helper, Easter Eggcitement and Trick or Treat.
Hard Hat Unreleased Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Hypnotic Lights Unreleased Yes Yes No
King of the Mountain Unreleased Yes No No
Land Battle Unreleased Yes No No
Magic Carousel Unreleased No Yes No
Meteor! Unreleased Yes No No
Number Jumble Unreleased Yes Yes No
Space Cadet Unreleased Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.
Super Soccer Unreleased Yes No No
Takeover Unreleased Yes Yes No Two-player available with DS connect.

History and development[edit]

In June 1995, former Mattel Electronics programmers led by Keith Robinson started the Blue Sky Rangers Intellivision website.[6] Blue Sky Rangers being a nickname given to the Mattel Electronics programmers in a TV Guide magazine article from the 1982 June 19 issue.[7] The website provides the history of the Intellivsion games and credits the programmers and artists. It was well received with fans asking how the games can be played on their computers. In 1997 Intellivision Productions, Inc. was formed by former Mattel Electronics programmers Keith Robinson and Stephen Roney with the purchase of the rights to the Intellivision and its games.[8][9]

At the same time, a student in Michigan named Carl Mueller Jr. was independently working on reverse engineering the Intellivision. With the help of Intellivision ROM dumps from Sean Kelly and then William Moeller and Scott Nudds, Carl was able to create the first Intellivision emulator that plays the games on a modern computer.[4][10] Sean was fortunate to have two Intellivision prototype cartridges with standard 8-bit EPROMS as opposed to the more complex memory mapped ROMS used by standard cartridges.[11] William and Scott were able to dump the Intellivision embedded executive control software and graphics ROMS, as well as build a cartridge reader to dump any Intellivision cartridge.[12]

Carl's MS-DOS emulator and a Macintosh emulator created by Intellivisions Productions' Steve Roney would be used in the free Intellipack downloads[13] so anyone could play select Intellivision games on their computers for the first time in 1997. The Intellivision for PC/Mac Volume 2 download, also of 1997, was the first release of Deep Pockets Super Pro Billiards, the last game programmed for the Intellivision in 1990 but unreleased by INTV Corporation. They would also be used to play the original Intellivision games in the Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac CD-ROM edition released in 1998 by Intellivision Productions.[4]

PC and Macintosh system requirements[edit]

The PC/Mac edition was produced with Macromedia Director and may not be compatible with modern operating systems. The QuickTime videos, emulators, and Intellivision ROM image files are directly accessible on the CD-ROM.

The Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac v1.0 system requirements:[14]

  • PC: Pentium 90 MHz, Windows 95, 8MB RAM, 8x CD-ROM, QuickTime v3.0 or better
  • Mac: Power Macintosh, OS7.5, 100 MHz, 16MB RAM, 8x CD-ROM, QuickTime

The Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac v1.1 system requirements:[4]

  • PC: Pentium 266 MHz, Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, 32M RAM, 8X CD-ROM, 16-bit DirectX compatible sound & video cards, DirectX 7 or better, QuickTime v3.0 or better
  • Mac: Power Macintosh, OS 8/9/X, 120 MHz, 32M RAM, 8X CD-ROM, QuickTime

Controller functions are mapped to the computer keyboard; an extended keyboard is required to access both left and right Intellivision controllers. With Macintosh, USB game controllers could be used indirectly with a joystick to keyboard mapper utility. For PC, Intellivision Productions promoted the Gravis GamePad Pro game controller (game port version).[15] The MS-DOS emulator, directly accessible on the CD-ROM, also supported original Intellivision controllers through the INTV2PC Hand Controller Interface. INTV2PC is a parallel port adapter that accepts original Intellivision hand controllers. This feature although not promoted is documented in the INTVPC files on the CD-ROM.[4] Modern intellivision emulators and USB controller adapters have since become available, compatible with the Intellivision Lives rom image files.

To play the games using real Intellivision controllers Intellivision Productions supported the use of a device called the Intellicart.[16] The Intellicart is a RAM cartridge with an RS-232 interface that can accept a copy of an Intellivision ROM image file from a computer. Rather than play the Intellivision Lives! games through an emulator, they can be played on a real Intellivision through an Intellicart. Since that time modern Intellivision flash memory cartridges have been made that achieve the same result.

In 2002 an updated Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac v1.1 was made available by Intellivision Productions. Those that purchased the original could upgrade for a nominal fee.[17] It added Windows 98/ME/2000/XP support with a native Windows emulator supporting DirectX sound, video, and game controllers.[4]

Modern video game consoles[edit]

Realtime Associates developed the video game console editions published by Crave Entertainment for PlayStation 2 (2003), Xbox (2004), and GameCube (2004).[18] In these versions the games are accessed from a 3D "overworld" set in a circa 1980s pizza parlor; an inaccurate representation as the Intellivision games were originally designed for a home console. Games were also re-organised by genres rather than the original Mattel Electronics Networks used in the PC/Mac edition. Some games require two controllers, even to play single player.[19]

In 2010 Virtual Play Games published Intellivision Lives! for the Nintendo DS handheld system, also developed by Realtime Associates. It features wireless, multiplayer support using a single game card.[20] The Nintendo DS's touch screen emulates the Intellivision's 12-button keypad including an overlay image for each game. The Nintendo DS lacks a 16 direction pad used by some Intellivision games. This limitation was overcome, in Vectron for example, by mapping directional inputs to the touch screen. Only 10,000 copies of the Nintendo DS edition were ever released.[21]

The Xbox version of Intellivision Lives! is fully forward compatible with the Xbox 360 console, and in 2008 Intellivision Lives! became available for purchase as a download through Xbox Live Game Marketplace's Xbox Originals.[22]

Intellivision Rocks[edit]

Intellivision Rocks is the PC-only sequel to the original PC version of Intellivision Lives!. As with Intellivision Lives!, Intellivision Rocks is a collection of games which were originally found on the Intellivision, presented in emulated form. It mainly features 3rd-party games from Activision and Imagic. In addition, several unreleased games are included.[23]

Reception[edit]

IGN said that Intellivision Lives! is "still blocky after all these years, sure...but these games really need the controller."[26] GameSpot editors said that although the controller emulation is a little hard to handle, the collection does a fine job in delivering classic Intellivision games.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Official Intellivision Classic Videogame Website - Main Page". Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on January 25, 1999. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
    News 12/18/98: "CD-ROM available now!"
  2. ^ "Official Intellivision Classic Videogame Website". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Intellivision Rocks". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Intellivision Lives! PC/Mac". Intellivision Productions. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16.
  5. ^ Curtiss, Aaron (3 May 1999). "Want to Visit--or Revisit--the Early 1980s? You Can". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Official Intellivision Classic Videogame Website". Archived from the original on 1999-01-25. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
  7. ^ "Intellivision Classic Video Game System / TV Guide Profile". intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Intellivision Classic Video Game System / History". intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Intellivision Classic Video Game System / Frequently Asked Questions". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. ^ Kelly, Sean. "Intellivision". Digital Press.
  11. ^ "Prototype Stuff". 21 June 2012.
  12. ^ "many many thanks". jzIntv.
  13. ^ "Intellivision Downloads". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Intellivision Brasil".
  15. ^ "Intellivision Lives! Common Problems and Questions". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Intellivision Classic Video Game System / Frequently Asked Questions". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Intellivision Lives! Common Problems and Questions". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Intellivision Lives! (Game)".
  19. ^ "Intellivision PS2 & Xbox". www.intellivisionlives.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Intellivision Lives!". 19 December 2011.
  21. ^ "Intellivision Really Lives". 5 March 2010.
  22. ^ "Intellivision Lives!".
  23. ^ "intellivisionlives.com". Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
  24. ^ a b Tracy, Tim (2004-02-09). "Intellivision Lives! Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  25. ^ Harris, Craig (2003-11-18). "Intellivision Lives! Review". IGN. Retrieved 2003-11-18.
  26. ^ IGNPS2 (2003-11-18). "Intellivision Lives! Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-03-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

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