Remote Control
System: NES
Release Date: May 1990
Developer: Riedel Software Productions
Publisher: Hi Tech Expressions
Genre: Game Show
If you love TV, you may do a good job on Remote Control. This is the home version of the MTV game show. Note, I didn’t say widely loved or anything like that. Sure, some notable people showed up, but I don’t think it was a great show, in fact it was pretty lame. At least it had Colin Quinn. The host and his douchey attitude and lame commentary are largely intact.
This is a trivia game about TV. If you’ve watched a lot of it over the years, you will probably know a lot of answers to these questions. There are nine channels to choose from. Each has a category that you get to answer up to three questions from. The further through the channel you get, the more points you gain. You buzz in with the A Button and then choose the right answer from a list of three with the B Button. There is no penalty for being wrong, so feel free to buzz in when you want. The computer opponents weren’t very knowledgeable and they left me with the right answer a few times.
Categories encompass a wide range of TV trivia. Prime Time was popular, but there were others about SCTV, fat people, Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Show, and more. I found an episode on YouTube and a Cheers category showed up. The question was about Woody replacing Coach was asked in game, making me think the questions were ripped from the show! The game is split into two main rounds and the Think Real Fast round. The lowest score is kicked out of the game at the end of round two and the final round is a one on one challenge. End with the most points and you win!
Graphics: 1.0
The faces look dumb. The host is animated ridiculously. It’s not pleasant.
Sound: 1.0
The theme of the show just plays over and over and over again.
Gameplay: 1.0
Hey, look, multiple choice questions.
Difficulty: 1.0
It’s multiple choice and the computer is dumb.
Fun Factor: 1.0
If you like TV trivia, this is for you.
Overall Grade: 1.0
Remote Control earns a D. It’s not a really good game or TV show. It was novel as the first non music show on MTV, but that was just the death of the format.