The Action Max is a
home video game console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
using
VHS tapes for games. It was manufactured in 1987 by
Worlds of Wonder. The system had a very limited release outside the U.S.
Gameplay
The Action Max system requires the player to also have a
VCR,
as the console has no way to play the requisite VHS tapes itself. Using
light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol.
Early history
The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensin ...
s, players shoot at the screen. The gaming is strictly point-based and dependent on shot accuracy, and as a result, players can't truly win or lose a game. The system's post-launch appeal was limited by this and by the fact that the only real genre on the system were light gun games that played exactly the same way every time, leading to its quick market decline.
Games
Five VHS cassettes were released for the system:
*''.38 Ambush Alley'', a police target range;
*''Blue Thunder'', based on the eponymous
1983 motion picture;
*''Hydrosub: 2021'', a futuristic underwater voyage;
*''The Rescue of Pops Ghostly'', a comic haunted-house adventure;
*''Sonic Fury'', aerial combat, bundled with the system.
Technical specifications
*
CPU
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...
:
HD401010
*Internal Speaker
*TV mounted "Score Signal"
*2 Character, 7 segment
LED score display
See also
*
Control-Vision a prototypical VHS video game console
*
View-Master Interactive Vision, another VHS-based console
References
External links
Action Max Calibration ScreenAction Max on OLD-COMPUTERS.COMAction Max EmulatorFeature titled "THE MOST BIZARRE CONSOLE FLOPS IN GAMING HISTORY"by ADAM JAMES at SVG.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Max
Home video game consoles
Third-generation video game consoles
Products introduced in 1987
1980s toys
Worlds of Wonder (toy company) products
Light guns
VHS