A Holiday Shopping Guide: `The Best Video Games of 1982′

It’s interesting how the author defines video games as “mindless entertainment” and “cheap thrills” on the one hand, but props them up as “sophisticated” and “cerebral” at the same time.

His description of Intellivision is right on, though: “While the competition strives to bring arcade action home, Mattel continues to woo the cerebral video buff—as symbolized by their TV shill, George Plimpton.” (See Plimpton “shilling” here.) Sub Hunt and Utopia are two of the best games I’ve ever played. If I get another game system, it’ll be an Intellivision.

The Vectrex system also gets a rave review. Sort of like Tomytronic 3D, but with vector graphics, I remember playing a display unit a few times at Sears. Here it is in the 1983 Sears Wishbook. Note the price slashed in half because of the video game crash.

I thought this part might have been urban legend: “Earlier this year, a young man in Indiana who was playing the coin-op `Berserk’ died of heart failure.” Turns out it’s true.

Atari’s E.T. is one of the best games of 1982? Somebody paid him to say that.

(Article via Intellivision Revolution)

7 Responses to “A Holiday Shopping Guide: `The Best Video Games of 1982′”

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1 leftylimbo December 11, 2013 at 5:23 pm

Baaahaa! E.T.. Man I wonder whatever happened to that documentary crew that was hoping to dig up the huge landfill of E.T. carts? They were given a permit to do so…

I’ve always dreamt of owning a Vectrex. Those things go for $$$ on Ebay. I had a co-worker at my old job who had one up in his parents’ attic somewhere and he said I could have it if they find it. Geez, the thought of a working Vectrex just sitting in some old attic just waiting for me to take it…keeps me up at night.

2 Fractalbat December 11, 2013 at 9:03 pm

My best friend had an Intellivision and we loved those games. Sea Battle was our favorite, and Tron: Deadly Disks.

The original AD&D game was great too. Surprisingly tense for such a simple game.

- 3 2W2N December 11, 2013 at 9:14 pm
  
  I want all of them! Sea Battle, Space Battle, and Skiing saw the most action, I think. (My best friend had the unit too.) I have never played AD&D. Very hard to handle.
  
- 4 leftylimbo December 12, 2013 at 10:34 pm
  
  As much of an Atari fan I was, I couldn’t deny that Intellivision was all over it when it came to “Triple Action”—their version of Combat. The flight dynamics in the biplane game were awesome. The soccer game and Tron: Deadly Disks were also great.
  
  Man, gold and wood grain. That’s what it was all about back then, lol.
  
5 hobgoblin238 December 12, 2013 at 1:10 am

I had the PS2 intellivision. hated it so much I sold it for $5…