I am a retro gamer. Â Not because it's a fad or because I'm a hipster, but because those were the games I loved growing up and I still like to play them. Â This is fairly common as there are many like me. Â And all the really good retro games are well documented on millions of top 10 or top 100 lists all across the internet. Â Everyone, even kids who don't play retro games, have heard that games like Super Metroid and Super Mario Bros 3 are some of the best games made before 3D changed things. Â
But there is one game that I played for hours and hours and hours over and over that I've never heard anyone mention in these lists. Â Now this could very well just be me, but everyone I know who has managed to play this game also loves it. Â It's a little arcade shooter made by Midway called: Â Smash T.V. Â
It's your father's twin stick shooter. Â Not your grandfather's twin stick shooter, because that would be Robotron 2084. Â No, Smash T.V. only had 2 arcade joysticks for each player as controls. Â One made your character walk in whatever direction you pushed it, and the other made your character shoot in whatever direction you pushed that one. Â My fellow classic oldschool arcade gamers will note this is the exact control setup for classic 80's twin stick shooter Robotron 2084. Â
Smash T.V. has the most amazingly 90's set up ever. Â With some inspiration from 80's action movies thrown in for more awesomeness. Â
The concept is that the year is the distant future of 1999 where Smash T.V. has accurately predicted that mankind has become more violent than ever and loves reality TV. Â You play a contestant on a game show called Smash T.V. where the object is that you are thrown into a long series of rooms full of traps, hazards, bombs, turrets, thugs, robots, tanks, and many other things that try to actually kill you while you run around avoiding death and shooting them with amazing gun power ups you pick up on the ground. Â Not only are you supposed to slaughter hundreds of thugs and robots set on killing you, but you also need to pick up the amazing cash and prizes sitting out waiting for a lucky contestant willing to pick them up! Â You can win things like a NEW VCR or even a MICROWAVE or a Smash T.V. board game!
Like any good gameshow, there is a wonderful game show host with personality to spare and 2 lovely show ladies hanging on his arms at all times. Â He spouts very 90's catch phrases each time you see him. Â Each room of the game has a clever name that are extremely dated 90's pop culture references. Â For example, many many rooms have something to do with "turtles". Â The boss fights are epic quarter munchers. Â They are hard but exciting and a sight to behold. Â The gameplay is very fast paced. Â You never have a moment to rest, not even when you clear a room and have to move to the next, because if you take too long to move to the next room, invincible razor disc things start shooting out of the other doors that hunt you down. Â The action is relentless and you'll just want to keep playing to see if you can make it to the next room. Â Get one more free lawn mower, a few more thousands of dollars. Â Or even see if you can collect enough keys to make it into the mythical Pleasure Dome. Â
And what else? Â This game was released years before Mortal Kombat and contains far more gallons of blood per minute than even Mortal Kombat X could hope to produce. Â Granted, it's low res pixelated blood. Â
I present to you a very long video of the entire arcade experience, just to give you further insight to this amazingly addictive game. Â Prepare to witness a most excellent display of 90's explosions and carnage.
[youtube]PRHSi4hBHSM[/youtube]
But there is one game that I played for hours and hours and hours over and over that I've never heard anyone mention in these lists. Â Now this could very well just be me, but everyone I know who has managed to play this game also loves it. Â It's a little arcade shooter made by Midway called: Â Smash T.V. Â
It's your father's twin stick shooter. Â Not your grandfather's twin stick shooter, because that would be Robotron 2084. Â No, Smash T.V. only had 2 arcade joysticks for each player as controls. Â One made your character walk in whatever direction you pushed it, and the other made your character shoot in whatever direction you pushed that one. Â My fellow classic oldschool arcade gamers will note this is the exact control setup for classic 80's twin stick shooter Robotron 2084. Â
Smash T.V. has the most amazingly 90's set up ever. Â With some inspiration from 80's action movies thrown in for more awesomeness. Â
The concept is that the year is the distant future of 1999 where Smash T.V. has accurately predicted that mankind has become more violent than ever and loves reality TV. Â You play a contestant on a game show called Smash T.V. where the object is that you are thrown into a long series of rooms full of traps, hazards, bombs, turrets, thugs, robots, tanks, and many other things that try to actually kill you while you run around avoiding death and shooting them with amazing gun power ups you pick up on the ground. Â Not only are you supposed to slaughter hundreds of thugs and robots set on killing you, but you also need to pick up the amazing cash and prizes sitting out waiting for a lucky contestant willing to pick them up! Â You can win things like a NEW VCR or even a MICROWAVE or a Smash T.V. board game!
Like any good gameshow, there is a wonderful game show host with personality to spare and 2 lovely show ladies hanging on his arms at all times. Â He spouts very 90's catch phrases each time you see him. Â Each room of the game has a clever name that are extremely dated 90's pop culture references. Â For example, many many rooms have something to do with "turtles". Â The boss fights are epic quarter munchers. Â They are hard but exciting and a sight to behold. Â The gameplay is very fast paced. Â You never have a moment to rest, not even when you clear a room and have to move to the next, because if you take too long to move to the next room, invincible razor disc things start shooting out of the other doors that hunt you down. Â The action is relentless and you'll just want to keep playing to see if you can make it to the next room. Â Get one more free lawn mower, a few more thousands of dollars. Â Or even see if you can collect enough keys to make it into the mythical Pleasure Dome. Â
And what else? Â This game was released years before Mortal Kombat and contains far more gallons of blood per minute than even Mortal Kombat X could hope to produce. Â Granted, it's low res pixelated blood. Â
I present to you a very long video of the entire arcade experience, just to give you further insight to this amazingly addictive game. Â Prepare to witness a most excellent display of 90's explosions and carnage.
[youtube]PRHSi4hBHSM[/youtube]
![[Image: 0LLovxG.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0LLovxG.jpg)
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