Radica Play TV Legends Space Invaders

When you look at the graphics, sound and immersion of today's video games it's hard to believe that they developed from such simple origins. The bump mapped, spectral lit, high resolution Dolby 5.1 world we know today was a thing of science fiction when video games were first invented. Two rectangles hitting a square back and forth to the tune of a few beeps was the work of a genius. For those of us old enough to remember Pong and Space Invaders, Radica have released an arcade stick infused with a good dose of nostalgia and a one way ticket to memory lane.

The Radica Play TV Legends Space Invaders is a replica of an old arcade machine joystick and buttons which plugs into the television set via standard RCA cables. Once turned on, it displays a menu of 5 games, one of which is the classic "Space Invaders". While the other games aren't nearly as famous as Space Invaders they are all instantly recognizable once you start a game.

The games are exactly as you remember them, with the same graphics and sounds except you don't have to pump money into them, nor do you have to hang out at the local fish and chip shop to play them. The joystick is very responsive in most games and the buttons work well but they don't seem to be as high quality as the stick, which tends to bring down the aesthetic appeal of the Play TV.

The unit is sturdy and well-built and can't be faulted in this department. Where it can be faulted is the picture quality. The usual RCA problems are prevalent but also seem to be a little amplified, meaning much of the finer detail in the text is replaced by an annoying haze. While normally in a system like this, a mediocre image is somewhat expected but at this price point it seems as though corners have been cut in the design process. It's a real shame, because the Play TV has the potential to be a high quality product worthy of the nostalgia it spawns.