Dream TV (video game)

Last updated
Dream TV
Dream TV Coverart.png
Cover art
Developer(s) Bits Studios
Publisher(s) Triffix
Designer(s) Paul Hellier [1]
Alex Martin [1]
Composer(s) David Whittaker [2]
Platform(s) Super NES
Release
Genre(s) Action
Mode(s) Single-player
Co-op

Dream TV is an action video game for the Super NES where the player has to guide two youngsters through a nightmarish land of evil television shows (using a similar plot to the campy movie Stay Tuned and Crystal Dynamics' video game Gex). The player has to escape by defeating stereotypical television villains and finding pieces of a puzzle. The game features complex labyrinths.

Contents

Gameplay

National video gamers Charlie and Jimmy are given a strange-looking game cartridge game in the mail. When loading it in, the boys find themselves transported into the game. [4] They are sucked in by an evil being known as the Critic. [4] Now Jimmy and Charlie must fight for their lives through four Dream Worlds (Medieval, Egyptian, Prehistoric, and Future) if they hope to return home safely. [4] Dream TV is an action-adventure puzzle video game with elements of ToeJam & Earl (1991), World of Illusion (1992), and The Lost Vikings (1993). [5] [6] It incorporates a split screen for both its single-player and two-player modes. Similar to The Lost Vikings, the game involves the player controlling two characters, one of which moves via the L and R buttons. [6] [7] Collecting nine hidden puzzle pieces from each level will take the guys to the final showdown with the Critic and hopefully back to reality. [4]

Development

GamePro first announced Dream TV in its October 1992, revealing its premise of kids getting sucked into a television and reporting a planned release of fall 1992. [8]

Reception

Reviews from Nintendo Power and VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine praised its distinct utilization of the split-screen method, but felt it could've been better. [5] [11] Nintendo Power reported situations where two different areas of a level that looked the same time could confuse players, and that a player character could still get hit even if offscreen. [5] The review also criticized the items' lack of clear purpose. [5]

Other critics, although acknowledging the unique split-screen, were not as favorable and felt the experience was worsened by other factors. [7] [9] Critics found the character-switch mechanic aggravating to deal with, arguing it was easier to play the game in two-player mode. [9] [7] [10] Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame noted other several issues, such as the awkward controls, bland items, "poorly drawn and unimaginative" graphics that look like they're from a Master System title, uninteresting-to-fight enemies, and "mind-numbingly repetitive" music. [7] Critics from GameFan criticized its "ugly" and "tiny 8-bit" graphics, and "move to the left, move to the right action that goes nowhere", [9] and the German magazine Video Games called out its "pathetic" sprite animations, music and scarce sound effects. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Designer information". MobyGames . Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  2. ↑ "Composer information". SNESMusic.org. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  3. ↑ "Release date". GameFAQs . Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Basic game summary". IGN . Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Now Playing". Nintendo Power . Vol. 53. October 1993. pp. 100–105. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Dream TV". Video Games & Computer Entertainment . No. 58. November 1993. p. 51. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Weiss, Brett Alan. "Dream T.V. – Review". AllGame . Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dream TV (SNES)". GamePro . No. 39. October 1992. p. 26. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Skid; Sgt. Gamer; K. Lee; The Enquirer (November 1993). "Viewpoint". GameFan . Vol. 1, no. 11. pp. 10–11. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Dream TV". Video Games (in German). August 1994. p. 101. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Dream TV". VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine . No. 61. February 1994. p. 87. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
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