"I'd buy that for a dollar!" Welcome to a bloody near-future television show where contestants fight for their lives before the eyes of an audience and where the dictatorial motto is simple: kill, collect prizes and survive. Smash TV by Williams from the early 1990s is a satirical run & gun that takes your breath away with both its pace and its level of chaos.
The most characteristic element is the two-joystick control – with one you run, with the other you shoot independently of your direction of movement. This "twin-stick" principle allowed you to fire to one side while backing away to the other, which was refreshing for its time and still defines the whole subgenre today. In a single arena that you can't leave until you've destroyed all the enemies, hundreds of opponents come pouring at you.
The screen literally overflows with enemies, projectiles and explosions. Between waves you collect prizes – money, televisions, VCRs, but also more powerful weapons like a rotary cannon, a rocket launcher or a force field. Choosing doors between rooms adds a hint of decision-making about where to head for the best loot. Boss fights, like the notorious Mutoid Man, are among the highlights of the arcade brutality of that era.
Smash TV is at the same time sharp satire on consumer television culture and violent reality shows – a theme that anticipated reflections on media spectacle even before such entertainment became ubiquitous. The digitized voices of the host and the crowd's cheering lend the game a cynical, scathing humor. Williams thus built on the style of similarly toned arcade hits and created a title that is as much commentary as it is action.
The game was ported to a number of home systems and became a model for later twin-stick shooters. You'll find its DNA in dozens of modern arena and indie titles. For lovers of fast, uncompromising action, Smash TV remains the benchmark for what a perfectly tuned chaotic hell on screen looks like.
Why play: Twin-stick action in its purest form, bloody satire and an unstoppable flood of enemies – Smash TV is an adrenaline show you can't walk away from.
Game 50 of 258 for Arcade
