The first volume of the “Coin-Op. TV” DVD series captures episodes 1-20 (remastered for your television viewing pleasure) of the web series that covers all aspects of classic videogaming, and if you are over 34 and love videogames you will thoroughly enjoy this release. In fact, the only reason it didn’t receive a higher rating is because of the hosts. Most of them seem to know little of what they are talking about. Luckily, the guests interviewed more than make up for it.
You have Walter Day (the guy from Twin Galaxies who is always dressed like he works at Foot Locker), reps from Namco and Capcom, Keith Robinson (one of the minds behind Intellivision), Todd Rogers and more. It’s all videogames, pinball and art inspired by those things, and there is something for everyone who has fond 8-bit memories. From record holders to collectors, it’s all covered, and is even more fascinating now than when the games first appeared as you’re bound to see some title you forgot about (and probably quite a few you never even knew existed).
Of course, for every upside there is a down, and in this case it is those hosts referred to earlier. While they do a competent job, it’s obvious that many of them don’t know much about classic games, and sometimes it seems like they aren’t even listening to their interviewees’ answers. It’s distracting and unprofessional, but what’s even worse is that it’s a missed opportunity. Had all the hosts been videogame fans instead of eye candy they could’ve strayed from the scripted questions and brought even more insight to this facet of gaming that is making quite the comeback.
People who only care about the next generation of Xbox or PlayStation will have no reason to watch this DVD. But for the people who were excited about Atari Classics Evolved for the PSP despite its lackluster reviews, this DVD will be mandatory viewing. And while the extras are slim and basically pointless, it’s the episodes that will attract most of your attention and make you salivate at the thought of volume two.
