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File:Smashtv.jpg
Cquote1

 "Big money! Big prizes! I love it!"

Cquote2


In the far flung future of 1999, violence is the biggest draw in entertainment. The Game Show has become the dominant force in television. The most spectacular, gruesome, and rewarding show, topping the ratings, is Smash TV. Contestants are armed and sent into a closed arena, where they fight for cash, glory, and unforgettable prizes including (but not limited to) brand new toasters, more 2600" televisions than you ever thought possible, and a year's supply of good meat.

You are the next lucky contestant!

Yep, that's the plot in a nutshell. The game is basically a graphical update of designer Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, while also borrowing heavily from The Running Man (it can be considered a Spiritual Successor to both).

From The Running Man, it borrows the Deadly Game and Blood Sport aspects, and the quite phenomenal volumes of carnage. From Robotron, it takes the Mooks, Shoot'Em Up styling, two-joystick control scheme, and - most memorably - the Nintendo Hard-ness. Co-op play makes life a bit easier, but not much.

Originally released to arcades in 1990, it turned up on several home computer systems and consoles before making the jump to Xbox Live Arcade - the first version that allowed co-op online play.


Tropes:[]

Cquote1

 "Good luck! You'll need it!"

Cquote2
    • The arcade version is literally impossible not to die in, mostly due to slow movement speed without the speed powerup (which has a short duration). The arcade Smash TV is probably designed this way intentionally to eat up quarters. Other ports are mostly difficult for being bad ports. Despite this, one of the developers claims he can finish it in one coin.
    • That still doesn't manage to explain how evil this game is. Individual rooms in arenas 3 and 4 will run you over 10 minutes each, and later enemies will start to run much faster than you.
  • Nitro Boost
  • One-Hit-Point Wonder: You'd be surprised what you can squeeze past, though.
  • One Up: These randomly appear. At times, the game will appear to be rather generous with these free lives.
  • Palette Swap: Some of the Mooks, and the final boss - The Host - is a head swap of the first.
  • Power-Up: Standard shoot-em-up fare.
  • Ramming Always Works: The forcefield power-up (including the free one after you get killed) kills enemies other than bosses on contact, so you can charge into one group while shooting at another.
  • Shoot'Em Up
  • Shout-Out: RoboCop, the Atari 2600, and several more.
  • Shows Damage: The bosses tend to fall apart over time- not surprising, given the number of bullets they absorb.
  • Smart Bomb: "BINGO!"
  • Spam Attack: The grenade launcher.
  • Spiritual Successor: To Robotron: 2084 and The Running Man, as noted up top; also has its own Spiritual Successors, Total Carnage, The Grid, and Monday Night Combat. On a side note, Smash TV programmer Mark Turmell said in an interview that Robotron: 2084 is one of his favorite games.
  • Spread Shot
  • The Many Deaths of You: Clubbed to death, blowing up, and electrocution.
  • Turns Red: Somehow, completely skeletonizing Scarface makes him even more dangerous.
  • The War Sequence: The entire game is basically one huge long one.
  • Undesirable Prize: Oddly subverted in the first studio, wherein the contestants seem to be more excited over winning toasters than any of the other prizes offered.
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