Remote Control  (DOS)

The basics of Remote Control are here. Three contestants face off over a collection of classic TV and 80s music trivia. The questions aren't overly difficult, and are mostly about characters or plotlines that you would know if you're familiar with the show in question. Certainly, none of the trivia is meant to be obscure or incredibly challenging. Categories are hidden as channels on the host's oversized Zenith television, with three questions of increasing value per channel. Since a category isn't revealed until a contestant selects it, there is one bogus channel per round that leeches points from the score of the contestant that selected it. There are two main rounds, with the lowest-scoring player removed by the end of the second round. The remaining players face off in a "Think Real Fast" round; generally where the host replaces a word in the name of an old TV show with a completely unrelated word (like "Who's The Bass?" where the contestants are expected to ring in and answer "Boss"). The winner gets nothing at all except the satisfaction of a job well done.

Many of the skit channels are replicated here, so it's a bit closer to the show's humor instead of a stiff, standard trivia show. You'll have characters appear at the bottom of the screen for these, and ask the questions in a markedly different manner - like "Shakespeare TV" where the Bard describes 80s shows in Victorian language. It does well to break up the monotony of a Jeopardy! format, and even without having character actors or visits from Joe Piscopo on the screen, the cold text becomes a little more fun with these channels. The rest of the questions are asked as text on the Zenith screen, with occasional commentary from the host. He does not resemble Ken Ober, instead he's more of a mop-headed Irishman. He's less creepy than the guy in the NES, but still not terribly funny or purposeful. His introductions to the channels are about the best parts he offers, especially for the ones that most need explaining, like "Narc, Narc" or "Brady Physics."

It's worth noting that the game is surprisingly buggy. At least one of the categories would drop out during each round in every game I played for this review. In each case, the results are the same. The host would give his introduction to the category, then that same introduction would type out as the question. You can ring in here and type anything at all for a correct answer and free points. If you return to that category, the second and third questions would simply be a blank blue screen that again accepts any answer as correct. I mean, I like free points as much as the next guy, but these buggy categories are kind of a bummer. There are also small issues, like the computer contestants sometimes answering in code, or that penalty channels like the Home Shopping Network never display a unique prize you've "won" (or maybe they just didn't program them). The game's still fun enough, but definitely earns a groan each time one of these mistakes pops up.