User Reviews

I'm was a kid from the 80's decade, one of the best things in my childhood were video arcade games which I've played ever since I was six years old. Going to the arcade was always the time of my life, in a way it was a small adventure as there was just a huge selection of games, there would be certain games I would look for that I haven't played yet, or even just looking forward to the next new arcade cabinets which came every month.

This is my sixth favorite game show of all time, this is one of those game shows that I honestly feel were just made for me as it featured one of my favorite things ever video games. Despite this show taking place a long time ago I still would've loved to of been a contestant in this show, if only it lasted longer toward the 90's which is a shame.

This show back then blew game rs and even non or novice game rs away, in the 80's decade video games were a rising subculture and to have video games used as a contest or sporting event (if you want to count it) was really uncommon at the time; this definitely predates the online gaming, first person shooter sports, and any other gaming contest we have now.

There is just so much to love about this show, I really like the design of the arcade room for the show as it just about had almost every video game in existence, I sometimes would struggle just to get a good view of certain other arcade machines just to know what other games were there. I'll admit just seeing that arcade in the show really makes me miss the video arcade which use to be common place at the time, but have now gone as extinct as the drive in.

There are the questions to answer to gain extra points however were all here for the video game playing which is exactly what this game has plenty of. Each of the contestants would have a set of games to play, most of them are well known ones like "Gyruss", "Tron", "Star Wars", "Ms. Pacman", "Tempest", "Q-Bert", "Zakzon", you name it. The show had a bit of a participation factor, whenever I watch the contestants play the games I couldn't help but cheer on hopping that one or the other would score enough points. Sometimes I would catch myself saying, "Cmon, nail that sucker.", "Get that thing.", or " Damn it will you play harder." yeah I know sounds crazy well the show had a crazy amount of energy, but I like that that's not a feeling I get often.

However for me the real highlight was seeing them play titles that are not so well known or even the mystery game they have at the end of the show; I remember always anxious to know what the heck that game is. In a way this can serve as a reference guide to the retro gamer players and collectors out there as some of those games have literally became under the radar or obscure gems, to this day I still hunt for.

I recommend this show to any game rs of any generation. If you a modern day gamer and your curious about past gaming, this show is defiantly a good history lesson. And if your a retro gamer then this show is a great nostalgia trip. Starcade scores high.

Rating: 4 stars

Starcade came out in 1982, right in the golden age of video arcades. If you weren't alive for this time, this was when you could find video arcade machines EVERYWHERE. Gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, shopping malls, no matter where you went, you could find arcades. As this new hobby was becoming a craze, Ted Turner, who was looking for programming for his fledging new cable network TBS, was fascinated by it and bought the concept from a husband/wife team based out of San Francisco. That's how Starcade was born.

Video game based game shows, in my opinion, have not been good. This one, however, is the exception. The game sticks to video games, from the trivia questions asked, to the overall concept. It's two contestants, or two teams depending on the episode, playing against each other to see who could score the most points in the popular games of the time. Stone cold classics like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Galaga were on the program, but so were more obscure titles like M. A. C. H. 3, Cliff Hanger, Bubbles and Holey Moley. Each episode featured contestants playing three of the five games on the program, and whoever had the highest score would play one of the two remaining games, attempting to beat a score in a time frame for a grand prize, which was either an arcade machine, a robot or a jukebox. They also had a "mystery game" which if selected won a prize and a "name the game" mini game for another prize if you could name 3 or 4 out of 4 screens.

Besides the fact that the game stuck to video gaming, it did a few other things I liked. The host, Geoff Edwards, who took over from the stiff, robotic Mark Richards, seemed to genuinely care for the contestants and video games. He didn't try to come off like a fake, hip dude like future video game game show hosts would do. He even played all the games himself, grew to enjoy video games, and gave out his own tips. The other thing was the contestants varied in age, gender and more. You had kids, adults, teens, moms, dads, uncles, aunts and much more. It was very cool and made it appear that video games were a hobby EVERYONE could enjoy. Unfortunately, after the NES came out, Nintendo made it a toy and focused on preteen boys. It wouldn't be until around the PS3/Xbox 360 where gaming once again was accepted as something anyone can enjoy, not just kids, but Starcade was a very early example of this.

Unfortunately, the show only lasted one season, as the video game crash made anything video game related toxic, but it was a wonderful program that should be revived, as video games now are more popular than pop music and movies. There is an audience who would watch and enjoy this program.

humanoid your moves are so fresh. your presence is requested for the ultimate quest. hop on board and turn my key. we're gonna flash back to eighty-three. rock my controller, don't get played. you are the new master of starcade.

i love this show. it was on every morning at 8:00 on G4 (now G4techtv). i could only watch up until the name-the-game board, since i had to go to school. the games they play, the questions they answer, the prizes they win. frickin sweet! to be on the game show, playing video games and winning money, is any kids fantasy. i know it was mine! i would like to see an updated version of this show with modern arcade games or even console games like halo, hydro thunder, silent scope, dance dance revolution, super smash bros. melee, etc.

When Starcade made its debut in 1982 on Superstation TBS, it was the first game show to utilize a video game theme. The host was Mark Richards but he was replaced by a veteran who guided the show smoothly even though he didn't know about video games before he took the job Geoff Edwards. Edwards guided the show when it returned the following season in weekly syndication.

On the plus side, home viewers could test their knowledge of video games against the contestants, even during the "Name the Game" round. But on the minus side, it gets rather boring for the viewer when the teams play video games. The viewer becomes a spectator instead of an active participant.

Though Starcade didn't have a long run, it was a valiant attempt to capitalize on the video game craze. After two seasons, it was Game Over.

Starcade is a very good show. Viewers are able to watch contestants play various popular arcade games, that were very much new to the market in the year 1983. An interesting piece of modern history, really. Try your best to watch episodes of Starcade on the G4TV cable channel.

I've only seen a few episodes but it drives me nuts. Not only would I win every show, I would get the grand prize game on every how too. And I was never all that great at many games. Back then I had a few that I was REALLY good at, but most I rarely played. And some of these games I have never played before, and I downloaded them to play on MAME just to see and I STILL beat the contestants at it. You would think that if you were going to try out to be on the show, you would have SOME hand eye coordination. Apparently not.

This is the best Game Show in the history of TV. I like it a great deal, and watch it daily on G4TV. This program was on the air during the year 1983, and only lasted for one season. Contestants compete in a number of different rounds to score enough points, in order to when an Arcade video game machine! Each round, contestants play a number of different Arcade games, including Miss Pac-Man and so on...

Plenty of Atari games are showcased on this program as well, and this Game Show aired at exactly the same time video Arcades were opening up across the US. Great show! Great piece of history! More important than Saving Private Ryan!