Action Max
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| Manufacturer | Worlds of Wonder |
| Type | Video game console |
| Generation | Third generation |
| Retail availability | 1987 |
| Media | VHS tape |
Action Max is a console using VHS tapes for games. It was created in 1987 by Worlds of Wonder.
The system required its owner to also have a VCR, as the console did not have a way to play tapes itself. Using a light gun (or two for 2-player games) players would shoot at the screen. The gaming was strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy. Players could not truly "lose" or "win" a game. This, along with the fact that the only real genre on the system were light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, greatly limited the system's appeal and lead to its quick downfall.
The Action Max had a very limited release outside the US and only one PAL game is suspected to have been made.
Like the Fairchild Channel F, this unit had an internal speaker.
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[edit] Games
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- .38 Ambush Alley
- Blue Thunder
- Hydrosub: 2021
- The Rescue of Pops Ghostly
- Sonic Fury
- Fright Night (unreleased)
[edit] Targeting system
Before playing, a red sensor had to be attached to the lower right corner of the television screen. This corner contained a circle that was usually black, but would flash rapidly whenever something on the screen was shootable. At the same time, targets would be highlighted by rapidly flashing panels, for the player to shoot at. The Action Max console used the corner circle and light from the targets (picked up by the guns) to determine when something had been hit. Flashes in sync with the corner circle would count as 'enemy' hits, and would earn points for the player. Flashes out of sync with the corner circle counted as 'friend' hits, losing points.
[edit] Technical specifications
- CPU: HD401010
- Internal Speaker
- 2 Character, 7 segment LCD score display
[edit] See also
- NEMO a similar, unreleased system.
[edit] Modern day
Even though DVD recorders were introduced to the market several years after this product was discontinued, a DVD-R copy of pre-recorded VHS tapes for this game are technically compatible with this game since the Action Max hardware was more dependent on the video signal than the actual hardware that plays it.
The console can also be compatible with DVD-Rs of simple homebrew video footage created with video editing software employing the proper visual criteria for the Action Max's functionality.
[edit] External links
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