It wasn’t just Hasbro that were making transforming alien robots in the 80s and 90s. The heavy hitters of the home computing and video gaming industry got into the act by transforming their home computers into consoles. Unfortunately, the only thing that this venture proved was that home computers should never be repackaged as consoles.
Commodore 64 Games System
On the back of the success of the C64 home computer, good old Commodore decided to release the console version in 1990 – the Commodore 64 Game System (C64GS). With other more powerful consoles on the market, the C64GS disappeared without making a mark. The C64GS was a blight on the C64 pedigree.
Amstrad GX4000
Amstrad wasn’t going to be outdone by Commodore, so to compete against the C64GS, they released their GX4000 console – a repackaged CPC computer. Despite being more powerful, it suffered the same fate as the C64GS. Both machines booked their tickets to obscurity, as they were no match to the offerings from NEC, Sega and Nintendo.
Atari 5200 Super System
Atari’s first attempt at transforming their home computer, the Atari 400, into a console, was the disastrous 5200 Super System! With a hideous controller added into the mix, the 5200’s fate was sealed. It was never released outside of North America.
CBS ColecoVision
The joker in the Home Computers In Disguise pack is the ColecoVision. What a lot of gamers don’t realise is that the ColecoVision was based on the MSX standard – an early Japanese PC standard developed by (none other than) Microsoft. The Coleco got a better sound chip, but other than that, it was a console-ised MSX.
Amiga CD32
You would have thought that after the disaster of the C64GS, Commodore would have learned their lesson. Well, they didn’t. Commodore tried their hand at repackaging their Amiga 1200 computer into a console, the Amiga CD32. When compared to the Amiga CDTV, some would argue that the CD32 was a success. Sadly, Commodore’s financial woes in the 90s ensured that the CD32 didn’t stand a chance in surviving the looming 32-bit console war.
Let this be a lesson learned – DO NOT REPACKAGE COMPUTERS INTO CONSOLES!
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image source: C64GS – 6502.org; Atari 5200 – avgn.wikia; Coleco – retroauction; CD32 – ilesj
I reckon Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld should get together with Nintendo and thrash out some rights to get this show syndicated! If this is a taste of a typical episode, then I know I would watch. What do you reckon?
The perfect Commando rip-off, Rambo: First Blood Part II upped the ante by scrolling in eight directions. The premise of the game was simple, Rambo is sent on a reconnaissance mission to obliterate anything that moves in the Vietnamese jungle and rescue the POWs. The C64 version was damn awesome and Martin Galway’s SID tune just topped it all off.
They say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, then Pack-In-Video’s Rambo tries very hard to be like Nintendo’s Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link. Pack-In-Video’s earlier attempt on a Rambo game came on the MSX in 1985. However, that one was quite rubbish. The NES version has basic RPG elements and features that simply don’t feel very Rambo-like, but at least it is still playable and somewhat entertaining. I don’t recall John Rambo battling dragonflies or hungry tigers in the movie?
Ocean had a reputation for getting the rights to blockbuster movies. Rambo III was no exception. Before they gave us the sublime Platoon and Robocop, Ocean gave us a boring version of Rambo III. The game was broken up into three stages – raiding the enemy fort to rescue Col. Trautman; destroying the enemy compound by priming explosives; and the final stage being a 3D shoot-out, with enemies coming towards the screen.
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Imagine if Sonic The Hedgehog could be completed in a blink of an eye! What would our most popular video games be like if they had a super easy mode? Can’t imagine in it, can you. Well, press play and take a look at how super easy mode would be like on your fave video games.