Reviews
"UNPRETENTIOUS CHARM"
Let me suggest a gem -- a few gems, actually -- that combine a bargain price with fabulous entertainment: revived games from the Mattel Intellivision brand, which enjoyed its heyday in the early 1980s.
We're talking about graphically primitive games with enormous retro appeal and, in some cases, an addictive quality that remains amazingly strong all these years later.
My obsession is Astrosmash... For two young children I know, it was Night Stalker and Chip Shot Super Pro Golf, For someone else, it may be Thin Ice...
[Intellivision 25] has a familiar controller look with a thumb stick and directional pad but it has 25 built-in games. All you do is plug its cable into your TV's audio and video inputs (after putting in batteries). I gave one to a delighted fellow reporter, and a reporter who sits near her immediately went out and bought four to use as presents.
Those kids I mentioned earlier put down their Game Boys to vie for time with the Intellivision 25, and the adults around them seemed to be having almost as much fun watching.
The full impact -- simplicity of use, timeless gaming, retro-nostalgic appeal and a $20 price -- makes the Intellivision 25 the gift you'll buy for yourself at the same time you buy it for someone else.
Intellivision game revivals are not new, and other vintage game brands have enjoyed celebrated resurrections as well. Lots of computer and handheld retro-game options exist.
Nothing I've seen, however, has the unpretentious charm of the Intellivision 25.
Mike Antonucci
San Jose Mercury News
December 6, 2003
"BUY IT!"
Intellivision Productions unveiled its new Intellivision 25 and Intellivision 10 all-in-one video game systems to the public for the first time at Classic Gaming Expo 2003 in Las Vegas this year. Intellivision Productions was kind enough to give GameShark.com a production sample of the 25 game model for review and yours truly, the resident old gamer, has been putting it through its paces.
Unlike the Jakks Pacific Atari 10-in-1 video game that looks like the joystick controller of the Atari 2600, the Intellivision 25 unit bears no resemblance to any part of the original Intellivision. It is based on the Techno Source TV Play Power technology, which means what they are doing is having NES hardware emulate an Intellivision. It really looks like a Dreamcast controller more than anything else. Just as well. I've always thought that the original Intellivision 16-position thumb-pad controller must have been designed by someone with an utter hate and contempt for humanity. The nice thumb stick and D-pad lets me finally enjoy playing some of these great games that the original controller made less than fun.
The game selection interface is one of the better I have seen. After an initial title screen the system displays the name of the first game complete with a screen shot. The thumb stick or D-pad moves between games to select and a punch on the "A" button brings up the game.
By now you're probably asking, "But how do the games play?" The answer to that depends on how much of an Intellivision purest you are. The emulation of the games is not Intellivision perfect. The changes mainly take the form of differences in sound, very small graphic details and the controller scheme. These things may really bug someone who devoted many long hours to mastering the games of the Intellivision back when it was a new system. For everyone else, they are just going to have fun. The games are real retro-gaming goodness when taken just on face value. The unique Space Invaders/Asteroids mix of the classic Astrosmash has never been equaled.
For someone just looking to try the great, classic Intellivision games without hunting up an entire system and cartridges, I highly recommend the Intellivision 25. For the serious Intellivision player and collector...who are we kidding, you'll want to pick up the Intellivision 25 just to have a complete collection of Intellivision stuff. Either way - buy it!
Jayson Hill
GameShark.com
"INNOCENT APPEAL"
Feeling overwhelmed by having to control everything from the quarterback to the water boy in your Madden 2004 football video game? Plug this gadget into your television and play 25 titles from early days of home arcades. Bygone hits like the Darwinian chompfest Shark! Shark! and the robot-blasting Night Stalker still exude an innocent appeal, especially compared with today's gorefests.
Kenneth Terrell
U.S. News & World Report
November 3, 2003
"WE SAW, WE TRIED, WE LIKED, WE ENDORSE"
Okay kids, history time. Long ago there used to be something called Intellivision. The technology then was, to put it gently, less sophisticated, and kids today might not recognize those moving shapes as volleyball players, wrestlers and golfers. But that doesn't mean they won't be fighting in the backseat for this handy controller, which has 25 Intellivision classics already programmed in. Just plug it into the back of your TV set and struggle to avoid grabbing it from them and showing them how its done.
Lou Harry, IMM Recommends
Indy Men's Magazine
November 2003
"RETRO-COOL"
Mattel's clunky 16-bit Intellivision console was my first taste of home gaming. It was bleeding edge when I got my grubby paws on it back in 1979. Now, Intellivision squeezes the whole system preloaded with 25 games into a sleek stand-alone controller that plugs directly into any TV's analog inputs. Talk about retro-cool. Playing the old favorites (who can forget classics like Sub Hunt and Tower of Doom?) brought back a chunky, lo-res flood of memories, and I quickly remastered the titles of my wasted youth. Although the new PlayStation-style controller is nice and sturdy, it can't touch the original's game-specific keypad and disc shuttle. But since I can't time-travel back to the disco era, this'll do just fine.
Will Tuttle, Wired Gadget Lab
Wired.com
November 18, 2003
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"While we think the longtime Intellivision fans will get a kick out of these, they are really aimed at introducing a new generation to these fun, addictive games," says Robinson. "We've always felt that the real strength of Intellivision isn't nostalgia, but the timeless, high-quality game play." 
The National Parenting Center has awarded its seal of approval to the Intellivision 25 and Intellivision 10 direct-to-tv video game systems. 
