Smash T.V. Arcade

The year is 1999. A new game show called Smash TV was created which puts its contenders to the fight for their lives. They will have to kill hundreds of enemies and collect money and prizes (from toasters to a big-screen TV). The inspiration for Smash TV seems to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, The Running Man. Two players can play simultaneously, and at the end of each of the three levels, the two players' performance is compared, with one being declared the winner.

The play mechanic is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with dual-joystick controls and series of single-screen arenas. While most of the enemies Robotron are visible at the start of a level, in Smash TV they are generated in waves as a level progresses. Power-ups, some of which give the player a new weapon, are picked up by running over them.

The themes were borrowed from 1987 violent sci-fi blockbuster films such as RoboCop and The Running Man.
The plot involves a wealthy celebrity named Master of Ceremonies (or MC for short) who is hosting and also competing in his violent game show, in the not-too-distant future of 1999. MC has the playable contestant(s) moving from one high-tech gauntlet to the next, each player has to shoot hordes of enemies who enter via passages on each side of the screen while also collecting weapons, power-up items, and gift-wrapped prizes. The final room in each level is a protracted fight with a boss.

The game features verbal interjections from the gameshow host such as "Total Carnage! I love it!" and "I'd buy that for a dollar!". The first of these became the title of the 1992 follow-up, Total Carnage. The second phrase came from a television commercial that was within the 1987 movie, Robocop.

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