Videogame Review, Tennis on the Fairchild Channel F Videogame Console (w/ “Knob” Controller)

Videogame Review, Tennis on the Fairchild Channel F Videogame Console (w/ “Knob” Controller)

It’s more of the Red VS. Blue format in a game for players who desire less innovation.  Hockey on the Fairchild can get very whacky for those who aren’t familiar with its “knob” controller.  Controls for Tennis leave us at a more precise line of focus- swinging the joystick, but not the racket.  Vision is built up into late-70’s presentation on gaming.  Timers are managed by the numbered panel and tennis players move with less ferociousness than hockey players.  At least, according to the Fairchild.  My system is very black and very brown and shows the numbers on innovation.  I have to turn on the Fairchild by pushing a switch on the back (the back?!) of the console while holding the Fairchild down.  Each hand of mine adds onto the vintage console’s innovation.  There’s not as much plunging, thus Tennis is more clean than Hockey.  Maybe reality works that way between hockey and tennis although I’m pretty flabbergasted when I watch Tennis Channel on Spectrum (cable TV) and see a tennis player break his own racket, with a racket, only to be turned out of the game with a fine.  How would a tennis player relate to the Fairchild?  He or she would likely notice the need for a human player.  Tennis was an early videogame with ball-movement mechanics which would be mimicked by Sega to some extent for the Virtua Tennis series in a personal, elaborate degree.  That’s not to say my Fairchild isn’t personal.  (What?  With knob controllers and quality timers?  Are you crazy?)  While modern controllers are devices for both hands often the Fairchild’s knob controller tends to leave our hands more at an X-and-Y grip in reverse.  PS4 thumbsticks can be so… sooooooo… small.  However, the “knob” controller for this vintage videogame console includes a rounded triangle for its grip and my sense of direction; it fills my hand very well.  In comparison, the Atari 5200 joystick is thinner but has more grooves and plastic material indications of hand controller design.  Tennis is played on a nicely facelifted green field.  I say “facelifted” because the colors of the tennis players and surroundings appear to bounce back at me in the Fairchild’s exclusive claim to RF simplicity of connection.  “RF” stands for “radio frequency”.  (That’s the TV’s connection for vintage games.)  Action is mild, dull, and limited in scope.  The Channel F joystick moves at enough of a rapid pace to make the tennis games feel fresh and exciting.  Yes, even after 40+ years, I can say that for working Channel F consoles.  But old games usually have boundaries players can’t exceed away from.  Come on!  Is Berserk on the Atari 2600 nothing like Tennis on the Fairchild?  What could’ve helped gamers back in the late-70’s?  Well, taking a break now and then helps.  We can kind of get the idea of the Fairchild era by having a simple cheeseburger meal at McDonald’s, and write Christmas cards to family relatives later, to wash clothes and hang them outside to dry, listening to Beatles and Elvis, and go to bed with fancy stuff in our hair… oh, wait a minute… WE STILL DO THAT!

  

https://youtu.be/jXvpsmanhsk