Fairchild Channel F
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
- For emulators, see Fairchild Channel F emulators and Emulators on Fairchild Channel F, and for system information, see Fairchild Channel F.
Fairchild's Video Entertainment System, later renamed Channel F, is notable as the very first game console to use a microprocessor (earlier machines used discrete logic), the F8, which was able to handle player vs. computer matches, and ROM cartridges, almost a whole year before the Atari 2600 came out. However, it was not very successful, and only 26 "Videocarts" were officially released for it. Each Videocart was a bright yellow cartridge which was numbered and sometimes contained more than one game. It should also be noted that Jerry Lawson, designer for the Channel F, is considered the first major African-American figure in the video game industry.
The list
[edit | edit source]| Cover | Title | Genre | Description | Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Videocart 2: Desert Fox / Shooting Gallery | Shooting | Desert Fox is a tank duel game where you must maneuver on a field full of landmines and destroy your opponent before he does so to you. Shooting Gallery is a generic target shooting game. Worth for Desert Fox. | 
|
|
Videocart 9: Drag Strip | Racing | Try to beat your own high score as you try to figure out how to control this game. Surprisingly sophisticated mechanics that take time and skill to master make this game the most rewarding on the system. | 
|
|
Videocart 12: Baseball | Sports | Goofy two player game where you move your whole team at once. Confusing at first, which makes it the perfect party game. Wait, you don't have Channel F parties? | 
|
|
Videocart 16: Dodge It | Puzzle | Dodge squares in various sizes who multiply and get faster over time. Very fast-paced game that throws random levels at you after every death. Has a really trippy game over screen. | 
|
|
Videocart 21: Bowling | Sports | Strike! Simple fun if you just want to dive right into the Channel F. The ball moves on it's own from left to right and you have to push up at the right moment. Don't worry if you mess up the throw, as you can control the ball all the way to the pins. Two-player-mode is a blast. | 
|
|
Videocart 26: Alien Invasion | Shoot 'em Up | The best game on the Channel F. Yes, it is a Space Invaders clone, but it is a very nice one, on par with the Atari version. Some of the aliens even look like the alien from E.T. | 
|
|
Videocart 27: Pac-Man | Puzzle | Homebrew-Version that takes full advantage of the Channel F. Colorful, smooth controls, 2-player-mode and even some easter eggs. One of the few games on the system that is fun for more than ten minutes. | 
|
Videos
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]| Second Generation | ||
| Consoles | Emerson Arcadia 2001 - Atari 2600 - Atari 5200 - Epoch Cassette Vision - ColecoVision - Fairchild Channel F - Mattel Intellivision - Magnavox Odyssey² - Bally Professional Arcade - Sega SG-1000 - RCA Studio II - Interton VC 4000 - Milton Bradley Vectrex | |
| Handhelds | Entex Adventure Vision - Nintendo Game & Watch - Milton Bradley Microvision | |
| Computers | Apple I - Apple II - Apple III - Atari 8-bit - Acorn BBC Micro - Commodore PET - Tandy TRS-80 - Tandy TRS-80 CoCo | |