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Smash T.V.

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Smash T.V. was produced by Williams Electronic Games, Inc. (WMS, 1985-2000) in 1990. The year is 1999. The world's most popular television show is Smash T.V., an ultra-violent contest between two armed-to-the-teeth combatants, set loose in a series of deadly arenas that are filled to bursting ...

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Developer
Williams Electronics Games

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

Smash T.V. was produced by Williams Electronic Games, Inc. (WMS, 1985-2000) in 1990.

The year is 1999. The world’s most popular television show is Smash T.V., an ultra-violent contest between two armed-to-the-teeth combatants, set loose in a series of deadly arenas that are filled to bursting with hordes of mindless beasts and killer robots. The aim of the game is to blast everything in sight and try to grab more cash and prizes than the other guy. Toaster ovens, VCRs, fancy cars and luxury holidays are there for the taking… for anyone who can survive long enough to enjoy them.

Smash T.V. is an insane shoot-em-up from the brain of Eugene Jarvis, creator of Robotron: 2084. It retains that game’s frantic style of play and two-joystick control method, but adds plenty of gore, violence, a hint of satire and that all-important two player mode.

Smash T.V.

Overview & History

Released by Williams in 1990 and masterminded by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell, *Smash T.V.* is a hyper-violent, dystopian twin-stick shooter heavily inspired by the Arnold Schwarzenegger film *The Running Man* and Robert Sheckley’s classic sci-fi story *The Seventh Victim*. Set in the near-future year of 1999, the game takes place inside a wildly popular, lethal television game show where contestants risk their lives for cash and prizes. Players step into the shoes of futuristic gladiators—or simply "Good Guys"—battling endless waves of mutated freaks, assassins, and combat drones across interconnected studio arenas for the ultimate grand prize: "Big Money, Big Prizes, I Love It!"

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Operating as a spiritual successor to *Robotron: 2084*, *Smash T.V.* utilizes a dual-joystick arcade layout that allows players to move in one direction while firing independently in any of eight directions. The gameplay is frantic, fast-paced, and claustrophobic. You navigate single-screen arenas teeming with hazards, collecting devastating power-ups like plasma guns, flame-throwers, explosive bombs, and the screen-clearing "Keys" that unlock bonus rooms. Points are racked up by grabbing literal heaps of cash, VCRs, toasters, and expensive jewelry scattered across the bloody studio floor. Throughout the carnage, a booming, sarcastic announcer constantly heckles or praises your performance with iconic digitized voice samples, adding to the chaotic, commercialized circus atmosphere.