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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased the original 1978 game off of an auction site. So, I can do a true side-by-side comparison without having to rely on memory. So, I'm revising my rating.
The original game had LED display -- discrete red blips. The new game uses LCD with a red filter. No, it's not nearly as good. It's really a shame that Mattel chose not to use LEDs.
In a perfect world, Mattel would have used LED. The LCD does a pretty good job at immitating the old LED display. The red filter does give the entire field a red haze in dark rooms.
The new game has three very annoying programming flaws:
1) There is no longer a kick-off to start the second half. We all know that in football, when the 2nd quarter ends, play is halted for half-time. Then, the second half begins with the team that received the ball to begin the game kicking off. In fact, this is what the old game did. As soon as the 2nd quarter ended, the game immediately ends the current drive and has the Visitors kicking off.
The new version doesn't do this. When the 2nd quarter ends, nothing happens. It's just like when the 1st and 3rd quarter ends: your current drive stays alive, there's no 2nd half kickoff, etc. This flaw really affects gameplay. You don't have to worry about clock managment. If its 1st down on the 18 yard line with 0.1 to play in the 2nd quarter, you don't have to kick the field goal because the drive will stay alive into the 3rd quarter.
2) You can't throw the ball away in the new game. Even in the directions it states that if you pass the ball into a lane with no players (receiver or defensive players), you are supposed to just lose a down. That makes sense. However, in actual game play, if you thow the ball down a lane with no players, it's still an interception! Phantom defensive backs?!
The old game executed this properly -- the ball sails down the length of the field and it's just a simple incomplete pass, loss of down ... just as it should be.
3) The new game is too easy. The game has two settings: Pro 1 and Pro 2. These are about the same, though not identical. However, there was and is an Easter Egg in the game: if you hold down on the Kick button while turning the game on, you have the options of Pro 3 and Pro 4. In the new game, pro 3 and pro 4 are just slightly more challenging than Pro 2. In the old game, there is a much larger gap. Pro 4 is nearly impossible to play as the defense is as fast as you are! Anyway, the old game has a deeper range of difficulty.
Gameplay is nearly identical. I think Pro 1 on the old game is just a tad more "difficult" than Pro 1 on the new game, which helps speed the game up without really affecting difficulty. Finally, though the screen sizes are the same and the button layout is identical, the old unit is physically larger in length (same width and depth). I think the longer unit fits in my hands better.
One big advantage to the new game (perhaps the only one) is that you can turn the sound off. You cannot turn the sound off in the original game, and original game is louder than the new one.
The new game is worth the sales price. It's fun and preserves most of the gameplay of the original. No 2nd half kickoff (lose 0.5 star) and no way to throw an incomplete pass (lose 0.5 star) are the biggest problems with gameplay. LCD instead of LED is the biggest design flaw (lose 1 star).
If you can find one, get an original. Othwerwise, this new release is still lots of fun.
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Brand new in factory sealed box
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