GAMES FROM A TO M Welcome to the ColecoVision Collection List, or as I prefer to call it, the ColEx.  The ColEx is a list of nearly every ColecoVision game ever made, complete with ratings, release data, and brief descriptions of every title. Each game is given a letter grade similar to those used on report cards.  However, there is an additional letter grade, "S", reserved solely for the handful of ColecoVision games that everyone should try.  Even if you don't have a ColecoVision, run them from an emulator... trust me, I know you'll like them.  The Gameroom Blitz also recommends games marked with an "A", and thinks ones marked with a "B" are worth a shot if you liked similar titles... for instance, you'll want to try Nova Blast if you enjoyed the Defender arcade game.  "C" rated games are crap shoots... they could have been much better games if it hadn't been for annoying flaws like choppy scrolling and single colored sprites, but you might enjoy them anyways.  I wouldn't bother with "D" rated titles, and all the games given an "F" are, as the rating suggests, failures. Speaking of ratings, you'll find a graph at the end of the ColEx ranking all the companies who released these games back in the early 1980's.  It's just a fun little thing I've done to illustrate which third parties were the Konamis and Capcoms of the time... and which ones were more like the late, not so great Acclaim or T*HQ.  Naturally, since the homebrew designers weren't making games back then, they're not included in the graph. Well, I guess that's it.  Feel free to dive right in... and for maximum enjoyment, play some of the games on the ColEx (either with a real ColecoVision or an emulator) and compare your opinions to mine. # 2010: THE GRAPHIC ACTION GAME COLECO ACTION/PUZZLE An inventive puzzle game that's perhaps a little too puzzlingly complicated. But hey, if you can follow the plot to the films... A AIR BATTLE DANIEL BIENVENU SHOOTER The ColecoVision version of the airplane battles in Combat.  The digitized background is pretty rough. ALCAZAR: THE FORGOTTEN FORTRESS ACTIVISION ADVENTURE An impressive, complex precursor to Zelda with challenging gameplay and fairly attractive graphics. ALPHABET ZOO FISHER-PRICE EDUCATION Search through a maze for letters spelling out the names of badly drawn animals.  Someone hand me a copy of Pac-Man... or a gun.  Right now, I'm not picky. AMAZING BUMPMAN TELEGAMES EDUCATION Don't expect Math Blaster quality out of this one. This ugly rubbish (something about pushing around numbers) never makes a hint of sense. AMAZING SNAKE SET ACTION/MAZE This is probably the fastest snake game I've ever played.  That's good because it's more exciting this way... but bad because it's very easy to crash into walls. ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE COLECO (KONAMI) RACING Konami proved their worth early on with this cute, fun racing game that could very easily have inspired Out-Run and other games. AQUATTACK INTERPHASE SHOOTER I guess this was Interphase's attempt to capture the excitement of a James Bond film, but the convoluted control makes this look more like Austin Powers. Not groovy, baby! ARTILLARY DUEL XONOX STRATEGY This precursor to games like Scorched Earth and Worms is pretty slick by Xonox standards, although the graphics are rough. B BC'S QUEST FOR TIRES SIERRA ON-LINE (SYDNEY) ACTION/PLATFORM A fast side-scrolling platformer that plays a little like a clumsy version of Moon Patrol without the extraterrestrial conflicts. BC'S QUEST FOR TIRES II: GROG'S REVENGE SIERRA ON-LINE (SYDNEY) ACTION Another lame-brained designer made the mistake of trying to add adventure elements to a game that didn't need them. BEAMRIDER ACTIVISION SHOOTER Dave Rolfe's overlooked but entertaining shooter, with a futuristic grid background which unfortunately restricts your movement. BLOCKADE RUNNER INTERPHASE 3D SHOOTER A butt-ugly Star Raiders clone that's too complicated and rarely ever exciting.  Most of the six million similar games on the 2600 are better. BOULDER DASH MICROFUN (FIRST STAR) ACTION/PUZZLE An intensely challenging puzzle game that borrows some ideas from Dig Dug but expects a whole lot more from the player. BRAIN STRAINERS COLECO EDUCATION A jumble of crappy mini-games designed to test your patience- er, math skills. That's edutainment, folks! BREAK OUT DANIEL BIENVENU ACTION Based on the popular Atari game, but not quite as smooth.  The bricks look nice, though. BUCK ROGERS: PLANET OF ZOOM COLECO SHOOTER If only Mel Blanc were around to review this crummy shooter with horrible 3D effects... "Bidee bidee bidee... this sucks, Buck." BUMP 'N JUMP COLECO ACTION/DRIVING The control's a little sluggish, but the rest of the game is pretty fast, offering a sense of excitement and panic that's lacking from many arcade ports on the ColecoVision. BUMP 'N JUMP MATTEL ACTION/DRIVING A rough, unpolished version of the game that was eventually distributed by Coleco itself.  Nearly everything is worse, but the sound and gameplay suffers the most... your car is sluggish and the music lacks depth and personality. BURGERTIME COLECO ACTION Very close to the Data East coin-op, with detailed sprites and surprisingly colorful playfield objects. BURGERTIME MATTEL ACTION A reasonable translation of the arcade game, but Coleco's version is much more colorful. BUSTIN OUT 1 DANIEL BIENVENU  ACTION Behind brick wall number one, we have... boobies! BUSTIN OUT 2 DANIEL BIENVENU ACTION And behind brick wall number two... more boobies!  Seriously, this is a side-view Breakout clone with the added bonus of nudie pictures. C CABBAGE PATCH KIDS: ADVENTURES IN THE PARK COLECO (KONAMI) ACTION/PLATFORM Another fabulous, nearly arcade quality Konami release that plays like a less complex Pitfall or Super Mario Bros. CABBAGE PATCH KIDS PICTURE SHOW COLECO CREATIVITY Dress (or UNdress, if you dare) Coleco's chubby faced dolls and prance them around a bunch of blocky backgrounds.  Now I'm absolutely sure Xavier Roberts was gay. CAMPAIGN '84 SUNRISE ACTION A silly and very slow action game capitalizing on a dull election, in the year people were most sick of video games.  Oops. CARNIVAL COLECO SHOOTER A fine translation of a game inspired by the arcades of the 50's and 60's, before video games were invented. CENTIPEDE ATARISOFT SHOOTER A decent conversion of the popular Atari coin-op.  Nicely animated but kind of ugly sprites. CHOPLIFTER COLECO SHOOTER/ FLIGHT I've never gotten too excited about this game, and this is a pretty barebones translation.  The gameplay is solid, however. CHUCK NORRIS: SUPERKICKS XONOX FIGHTING Trust me, it's not as exciting as it sounds.  The fights are as stiff as Chuck Norris' acting, and the maze sections are a complete annoyance. CONGO BONGO COLECO ACTION/ PLATFORM 3D Donkey Kong, anyone?  Looks marvelous on the ColecoVision but the isometric viewpoint does hurt the gameplay. COSMIC AVENGER COLECO SHOOTER It looks promising, but despite all the window dressing there's just not enough in this shooter to shoot!  Frustrating gameplay, too. COSMIC CRISIS BIT CORP ACTION/ PLATFORM A much more impressive game than Coleco's own Space Panic but it's nowhere near as fun as Mr Do!'s Castle. COSMO FIGHTER 2 MARCEL DE KOGEL SHOOTER I have to give Marcel credit for pulling this off, but I've played better, more focused shooters on the ColecoVision. D DACMAN DANIEL BIENVENU MAZE The ColecoVision definitely needed a Pac-Man game in its library, but this one doesn't quite fill that niche.  Too choppy. DAM BUSTERS, THE COLECO (SYDNEY) FLIGHT SIMULATOR Offers all the frustration of flying a WWII craft without the illusion of flight.  Those little yellow dots barely give you the illusion of MOVEMENT.  DANCE FANTASY FISHER-PRICE DANCING Program a mannequin to perform sequences of badly animated dance routines.  I think I'll cut Dance Dance Revolution a lot more slack after having played this. (THE ACTIVISION) DECATHLON ACTIVISION SPORTS It's a shame Atarisoft never released Track 'n Field for the ColecoVision, but this is good enough.  Plenty of events, as the title suggests, and a lot of them are quite fun. DEFENDER ATARISOFT SHOOTER Doesn't look or feel as smooth as the other versions, and that slick, responsive gameplay is very important in a game this tough. DESTRUCTOR COLECO DRIVING Drive around crushing roaches that turn into crystals... now there's a concept that's hard to resist!  Hard to play, but strangely fun. DIG DUG ATARISOFT ACTION An acceptable translation of Dig Dug, but it's not quite as solid as Atarisoft's other titles.  The graphics (especially the flickery sprites) are kind of ugly. DONKEY KONG COLECO ACTION/ PLATFORM I'd call this roughly half an arcade translation.  So much from the coin-op is missing, it's ridiculous.  It plays fairly well, though. DONKEY KONG JR. COLECO ACTION/ PLATFORM Not quite as disappointing as Donkey Kong on the ColecoVision, but not what you'd call a polished conversion. DR. SUESS' FIX-UP THE MIX-UP COLECO PUZZLE Sure, it's just an easier version of those sliding tile games, but those well drawn Sneetches remind me of all the times my mom used to read Seuss books to me when I was a kid. (snif) DRAGONFIRE IMAGIC ACTION Gorgeous artwork, but this has got to be one of the most unforgiving versions of Dragonfire I've ever played! DUKES OF HAZZARD, THE COLECO DRIVING The 3D viewpoint in this driving game is surprisingly well done, but I can't quite figure out how to play it.  It looks very promising, though... E ESCAPE FROM THE MINDMASTER EPYX 3D MAZE Not quite as impressive as the 2600 version, but it's still a challenging and inventive first person maze game. EVOLUTION SYDNEY ACTION To quote Mark Hamill, this unlikable selection of mini games is a "conceptual nightmare".  I mean, evolving from a rat to a beaver to an ape?  Talk about your missing links. F FACEMAKER SPINNAKER EDUCATION I can imagine the face I'd make if my parents had bought me this game when I was a kid... FALL GUY, THE FOX DRIVING/ ACTION The driving in this game is about as on-rails as you can get... only Dragon's Lair has less interaction.  The frustrating platform sections are no picnic, either. FATHOM IMAGIC ACTION It's hard not to be reminded of Ecco the Dolphin while playing this game, but you can also transform into a seagull to collect items in mid-air. FLIPPER SLIPPER SPECTRA VIDEO ACTION What the hell is this, Marty Stouffer's Wild Breakout?!  This is much more playable than it should be, even with those nasty bent paddles. FORTUNE BUILDER COLECO (SYNAPSE) TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT SimCity on the ColecoVision sounds about as likely as Street Fighter II on the 2600, but it does exist.  And it's really well done, too! FRACTION FEVER FISHER-PRICE EDUCATION Ugh... I can believe that this is by Tom Snyder.  It's every bit as boring and pointless as his old talk show.  Bounce a pogo stick around and... and... zzz... FRANTIC FREDDY SPECTRA VIDEO ACTION Another Spectravision dud starring a fire extinguisher with gangly arms and legs.  Santulli was right... it's a lame mascot for an equally crappy game. FRENZY! COLECO ACTION/ SHOOTER Even without the voice, this is better than the arcade game... the animation is more convincing and the music is fantastic. FROGGER PARKER BROS. ACTION A most excellent conversion of the arcade game... some tunes and slightly sharper artwork are the only things that are missing. FROGGER II: THREEDEEP! PARKER BROS. ACTION The multiple levels in this sequel add variety to the game, but Frogger II isn't as user friendly as the original... and the jagged graphics don't help matters much. FRONTLINE COLECO SHOOTER A precursor to Commando with clumsy aiming control and an army that appears to have been trained by Gomer Pyle. G GALAXIAN ATARISOFT SHOOTER An almost flawless conversion of the arcade game... it makes me wish the ColecoVision had lasted long enough to get a translation of the sequel, Galaga. GATEWAY TO APSHAI EPYX ROLE-PLAYING An excellent RPG that most likely inspired games like Fatal Labyrinth and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon.  It could definitely use a game save feature, though. GORF COLECO SHOOTER An absolutely rotten translation of the Midway coin-op.  Judging from the cheesy graphics and gameplay, I doubt the programmers even played the original. GUST BUSTER SUNRISE Uh...? I was really looking forward to this, but the confusing and limited control ruins it.  Try Balloon Kid on the Game Boy instead. GYRUSS PARKER BROS. SHOOTER This arcade translation has that cheap console feel, with single colored enemies and imprecise collision detection, but it still turned out better than Gorf did. H HAPPY HALLOWEEN DANIEL BIENVENU SHOOTER An overhead view shooter by Ms. Space Fury co-creator Daniel Bienvenu. H.E.R.O. ACTIVISION ACTION/ SHOOTER Just as fun and challenging as the 2600 game, but with colorful new backgrounds... this could have been called H.E.R.O. DX.  Probably Activision's best ColecoVision title. HEIST, THE MICROFUN ACTION/ PLATFORM Microfun, eh?  Well, I had a microscopic amount of fun playing this, that's for sure.  There's plenty of boredom and frustration to go around, though. I ILLUSIONS COLECO (NICE IDEAS) PUZZLE? The only illusion around here seems to be the gameplay... there's barely any.  It's a shame, because the isometric playfields are beautiful. IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL XONOX BAND MANAGING SIMULATION I know, it's only rock 'n roll, but I hate it, hate it, yes I do!  I could have forgiven all the text if the simulation had been well designed, but it's not.  Suck it, Clive. J JAMES BOND: 007 PARKER BROS. ACTION/ SHOOTER This frustrating side-scrolling shooter is only slightly better than Aquattack because the controls aren't as convoluted. JEEPERS CREEPERS DANIEL BIENVENU SHOOTER An expanded version of Happy Halloween by Daniel Bienvenu, written specifically for ColecoVision owners. JOUST ATARISOFT ACTION/ PLATFORM It's a prototype, but even without sound you could argue that it's better than the 5200 version.  Like most Atarisoft games, it's a great arcade translation with no details spared. JUKE BOX SPINNAKER ACTION/ PUZZLE As tough as it is to figure out, you can't help but love this game.  It's colorful, the music is great, and I love the ending with the dancing cats!  JUMPMAN JUNIOR EPYX ACTION Another brutally hard enemy jumping, ladder climbing action game in the tradition of Miner 2049'er and Lode Runner. JUNGLE HUNT ATARISOFT ACTION/ PLATFORM Smooth scrolling and responsive gameplay make this worth picking up, especially if you were a fan of the arcade game. K KEN USTON BLACKJACK AND POKER COLECO BLACKJACK AND POKER Why, Ken, why?!  I had so much faith in you... but then you had to go and let your name get stapled to this EXTREMELY limited gambling sim.  You should have endorsed the Intellivision game! KEVTRIS KEVIN HORTON PUZZLE Probably the best ColecoVision homebrew available.  Kevin's version of Tetris plays pretty well and has loads of features. KEYSTONE KAPERS ACTIVISION ACTION/ PLATFORM Surprisingly, this is kind of garish and blocky in comparison to the 2600 version.  The new title screen and stylish 1930's soundtrack are nice touches, but the VCS game is still better. KILL BARNEY IN TOKYO DANIEL BIENVENU SHOOTER A hack of John Dondzila's Purple Dinosaur Massacre set in Japan.  Where else would you put a mutant lizard that's horrifying beyond description? KILLER INSTINCT DANIEL BIENVENU SHOOTER A hack of John Dondzila's Purple Dinosaur Massacre, with surprisingly well drawn characters from Nintendo's computer rendered fighting game. L LADY BUG COLECO ACTION/ MAZE Coleco's answer to Pac-Man could have been almost as fun, but your character tends to stick on walls too often, and the bad guys almost always have the upper hand. LEARNING WITH LEEPER SIERRA ON-LINE EDUCATION What's that freakish eyeball thing?!  Oh no, it's coming this way!  No, I don't want to count and color pictures with you!  Get away from me!!!  ARRGH!!! LINKING LOGIC SPINNAKER PUZZLE Spinnaker might have been on to something with this one, because it plays just a little like Lemmings.  Create a safe path for your character and make him pick up bricks on the way down. LOGIC LEVELS SPINNAKER PUZZLE Similar to Linking Logic, but faster.  In this, you've got to set up a path for a baseball, then drop it, hoping to get the most possible points from collisions with bonus items. LOOPING COLECO ACTION/ SHOOTER The weird side-scrolling flight game that inspired NiGHTS, Sega's weird side-scrolling flight game.  Unfortunately, this isn't as fun thanks to choppy scrolling and unforgiving gameplay. LORD OF THE DUNGEON PROBE 2000 ROLE-PLAYING This RPG was the most complex game of its kind on the ColecoVision, but unfortunately, it was never released by Phillips and is not yet available as a ROM. M MATT PATROL ATARISOFT ACTION/ SHOOTER It's a prototype with slightly altered graphics, but because the translation is so good, you can definitely tell this is Moon Patrol.  You won't believe the smooth gameplay and attention to detail. MEMORY MANOR SPINNAKER EDUCATION This would have been more fun as a simple game of Memory, but the designers added a lot of unnecessary elements that make the game drag. METEORIC SHOWER BIT CORP  SHOOTER A Galaxian clone with enemies attacking from above and below... you can imagine the number of unfair deaths that result from this.  Built into the Telegames Personal Arcade. MINER 2049'ER MICROFUN ACTION/ PLATFORM I was never very interested in this game.  It's a challenging cross between Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, but it's a little TOO tough... screw up and you have to do the level all over again.  People really hate that. MONKEY ACADEMY COLECO (KONAMI) EDUCATION Konami may be talented, but even they can't make an educational game kids would want to play.  At least Monkey Academy is more polished than Spinnaker's learning games. MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE PARKER BROS. ACTION/ PLATFORM A deep side-scrolling action game which offers players the chance to explore dozens of rooms, each filled with treasures, power-ups, and enemies. MOONSWEEPER IMAGIC SHOOTER An intense shooter with convincing 3D effects and enough features to keep it from getting boring, but not enough to overcomplicate it. MOTOCROSS RACER XONOX RACING This game would have been crap anyways, but Xonox didn't need to salt the wound by forcing the player to use the ColecoVision keypad to shift gears and even turn their bikes. MOUNTAIN KING SUNRISE ACTION/ PLATFORM Sunrise should never have gotten this license... this version of the game is nowhere near as smooth or enjoyable as Mountain King on the 5200.  It's barely better than the 2600 game! MOUSETRAP COLECO ACTION/ MAZE Throw Pac-Man and bad Tom & Jerry episodes in a blender and you've got this.  A decent game, but opening and closing the gates is annoying. MR. DO! COLECO ACTION One of several unacceptable arcade translations by Coleco.  There isn't even any scrolling in this game and it's STILL choppy! MR. DO!'S CASTLE PARKER BROS. ACTION More people should play this.  It was spectacular in arcades and still very good on the ColecoVision.  Imagine Lode Runner, but less puzzle oriented and a lot more fun. MS. SPACE FURY DIGITAL PRESS, DANIEL BIENVENU ACTION/ PLATFORM A wacky platformer that's more impressive than most homebrews and even a little bit better than the ColecoVision version of Miner 2049'er. CLICK FOR M-Z...