Smash TV

This article is about the arcade game. For the U.S. television show, see Smash (TV series).

Smash TV
File:SmashTV flyer.jpg Promotional arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Williams
Publisher(s)	Williams
Designer(s)	Eugene Jarvis
Programmer(s)	Mark Turmell
Artist(s)	John Tobias Tim Coman
Composer(s)	Jon Hey
Platforms	Arcade, Various
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Run and gun, shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player Two player co-op
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Midway Y Unit Software
Sound	M6809 @ 2 MHz Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.57958 MHz HC55516 2 x DAC.
Display	Raster resolution 410×256(Vertical) Many Colors

Smash TV, known as Super Smash TV on some other versions, is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. It is a run and gun game in the same vein as its predecessor, Robotron: 2084 (also produced by Jarvis). As in the previous game, players battle waves of enemies by using guns; the arcade version even uses the two-joystick control system of Robotron. The plot of Smash TV revolves around a futuristic game show in which players compete for various prizes as well as their lives.

Home versions were developed for various platforms, most of which were published by Acclaim Entertainment.

Gameplay

The play mechanic is very similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with dual-joystick controls and series of single-screen areas. The theme of the game, borrowed from The Running Man, involves players competing in a violent game show, set in the then-future year of 1999. Moving from one room to the next within the studio/arena, players have to shoot down hordes of enemies who advance from all sides while at the same time collecting weapons, power-up items, and assorted bonus prizes, until a final showdown with the show's host where players are finally granted their prizes, life and freedom. Among the game's items are keys – if enough keys are collected, players can access a bonus level called the Pleasure Dome.

File:Smash TV.png

Arcade screenshot

The game features verbal interjections from the gameshow host such as "Total Carnage! I love it!", "dude!" and "I'd buy that for a dollar!". The former quote gives itself to the title of the 1991 follow-up, Total Carnage, which, while not a direct sequel, features similar gameplay. The quote "I'd buy that for a dollar!" is a reference to the catchphrase of Bixby Snyder, a fictional television comic in the 1987 film RoboCop.

Development

Mark Turmell recounted, "When Hasbro pulled the plug on an interactive movie project I was working on, I went to Williams to design coin-op games. I moved to Chicago, hired John Tobias, and together we did our first coin-op, Smash T.V."

The announcer in the game is voiced by sound designer Paul Heitsch. The script was created by the game's sole composer and sound designer Jon Hey.

Originally the arcade game shipped without the Pleasure Dome bonus level implemented, although there was text mentioning it in the game. The design team had not been sure that players would actually get to the end of the game. However, players did finish the game and after arcade operators informed Williams of player complaints of being unable to finish it, the company sent out a new revision that included the Pleasure Dome level.

In an interview first made available on Arcade Party Pak, Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell both agreed that a Smash TV sequel had been contemplated.

Ports

Smash TV was ported to consoles, including the NES, SNES/Super Famicom, the Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (as Super Smash TV). On some home systems such as the NES, players have the option to use the directional pad on the second controller to control the direction the character will shoot on-screen. Using this option for both players requires a multitap. The dual control aspect of the game works particularly well on the SNES, as its four main buttons, A, B, X and Y, are laid out like a D-pad, enabling the player to shoot in one direction while running in another.

Home computer versions were produced by Ocean for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, all released in early 1992. The Amiga version scored 895 out of a possible 1000 in a UK magazine review, and the Spectrum magazine CRASH awarded the ZX version 97%, making it a Crash Smash.

Reception
Review scores Publication Score Amstrad Action 96% Crash 97% Sinclair User 94% Your Sinclair 92% MicroHobby (ES) 89% MegaTech 70% Mega 37% Sega Master Force 44%
Awards Publication Award Crash Crash Smash! Sinclair User SU Silver Amstrad Action 6th best game of all time

It is part of Arcade Party Pak which was released for the PlayStation in 1999.

It is also part of the Midway Arcade Treasures collection, which is available for the PC, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 and was released in 2003. These versions give the player the option to save high scores. Smash TV was also part of the 2012 compilation Midway Arcade Origins.

Smash TV was made available for download through Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service on the Xbox 360 and was the first version of the game to officially allow two players to play the game online. However the game was delisted from the service in February 2010 after the dissolution of Midway Games.

External links

• Racketboy.com's Smash TV Podcast featuring interviews with Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell
• Mean Machines – Super Nintendo Smash TV review
• Arcade-History Database entry
• Smash TV at the Killer List of Videogames
• Smash TV at World of Spectrum
• Smash TV at Coinop.org

• Smash TV Review
• Smash TV Review (Xbox 360)
• Douglas, Jim (December 1991). Smash TV (review of Amiga version). ACE (UK magazine published by EMAP), pp. 80–85.
• [1] Crash 94
• Amstrad Action magazine, issue 75, Future Publishing
• Smash TV rating, MegaTech issue 12, page 96, December 1992
• Mega review, issue 1, page 57, October 1992
• http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/14/midway-arcade-origins-review