The King of All Systems in '83 is Still Fun Today
Written: Nov 25 '00 (Updated Nov 27 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good graphics for it's time, Excellent replayibility
Cons: Clunky Controllers
|
|
|
| tdswift89's Full Review: Colecovision |
I'll never forget the first time I saw the commercial for Colecovision on TV. I couldn't believe my eyes, the graphics were so good it was like you were actually bringing the arcade machine home with you. I was staying with my cousin that summer, and ran three blocks to tell him and his friends about it. They didn't believe me until they saw the commercial for themselves.
See, we were video game junkies, playing for hours on end, even sneaking up in the middle of the night to play a few games of Atari 2600 or Magnavox Odessey 2. We loved the games we played at home, but they were no match for the quarter pumpers at the local mall. My cousin loved them so much he even had a birthday party at Alladin's Castle, an arcade in his local mall.
I begged and begged for a colecovision, but my parents couldn't see the logic in buying one when I already had an Atari. You can play the same games on that, they reasoned. If you saw the difference between atari's "Donkey Kong" and the colecovision's version, you'd know it was the same difference between cave paintings and a Rembrandt. My cousin's got one, but I never did. The next year the video game crash of '84 happened, so it really didn't matter. (We just kept on playing our Atari.)
Jump ahead to the year 2000, and I'm goofing around on Ebay. Just for kicks I decide to place a bid on a colecovision, and I win it. There were several games included I hadn't even thought about in years, much less played. I wanted to see if they stood the test of time, like the arcade classics I bought for the Sony Playstation.
Graphics-wise, they weren't exact renderings, but enough of the details were there as to retain the original quality of the game. Zaxxon was missing a few gun turrets, Donkey Kong was missing a level and some of the physical detailing of our favorite ape, but overall they were true to the original. What surprised me was the playibility, it was great! It was almost like the Teris principal, the games were so catchy and addictive you couldn't put them down. Venture has crude graphics by modern standards, but it didn't matter because the game was so much fun to play. With th eexception of the "Smurf" game, all the games stood up as well or better than I expected. (And in all fairness to "Smurf", it was an early mario bros. type game, pre-cursing even Pac Land.)
I also got the expansion module that allows you to play Atari 2600 cartridges. I had no problems at all playing the old I used to love. ("Space Invaders" truly stands the test of time. I stayed up half the night playing one night, something I haven't done with that game in 20 years. . .)
My only gripe is with the controller. You have to put your hand in weird positions to work it, interfering with gameplay tremendously. I would have prefered a joystick over the dial-like lever you use for directional pad. I'm going to try an aftermarket controller and see if they are any better.
Should you buy one? There are plenty of emulators for your PC, so buy one only if you want a big conversation piece in your house, and/or you just want the exact feeling of the old game. If you already own one, dig it out of the closet, dust it off, and enjoy! This game was worthy of it's status in it's time, and is still fun to play today, holding up even better than Nintendo in my book. Check it out.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tdswift89
|
|
Member: Timothy Swift
Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 252
Trusted by: 105 members
About Me:
Back to take care of unfinished business
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.