Mad TV

Mad TV is a television station management game developed and published by Rainbow Arts in 1991 for Amiga and MS-DOS.

If someone were to tell me that Mad TV has a video game, I would typically think, "will it be an action game? Comedy? something bizarre?" You can imagine my surprise when I played it and found out that the title is about a program director with questionable morals who must manage TV shows and buy gifts for a girl. Still, please do not close the tab; the other thing that surprised me is that this is very funny! Welcome to Mad TV (the game).

As I said before, the title was developed and distributed in 1991 by Rainbow Arts. Many might not remember the name of the developer, but this was the creator of the Turrican saga, games that, in my case, I am very fond of.

The protagonist of the game is Archie, a lonely man of whom we do not know much. His life takes a big turn when he sees Betty in the cultural program, with whom he falls in love at first sight. Archie doesn't hesitate to get into his car and driving off to declare his love for the girl he has just seen on TV. As he enters the building, the protagonist meets the station manager who has just thrown the former program director out of the window. Firing people this way is not a very advisable thing to do if you don't want to be sued, but I guess he did it for the lols. Then, he meets Archie and, for some reason, decides to hire him to take the newly vacant position. It's worth noting that they never met in their lives, and the employer didn't even know what he was doing in the building. As far as he knows, Archie could be a serial killer, and because of his motivation to be there, I still don't rule out that possibility (let's be honest, the man left his life to declare his love to a girl he saw on TV). So, our player begins to work at Mad TV and not only has a new world of opportunities to take the network to its splendor but to conquer Betty.

To win the love of the hostess, the player must do two things. First, give her space on the network for her cultural programs. Second, he must also buy her expensive gifts. In theory, it seems easy, but it really isn't. The player must correctly administer the money she has, buy the rights to the movies and, along with the rest of the programs and commercials, know what schedule will give the best results. Placing cultural programs in this equation is not easy, since even though they are the favorites of our romantic interest, they are the ones that generate the least amount of audience, therefore the least amount of income. As the game progresses, better opportunities will arise, such as better brands for commercials or the purchase of antennas to get more audience. As if this wasn't enough, Archie will have to deal with two other competing companies coexisting in the same building, which will do everything possible to outperform Mad TV, even sabotage it as much as they can.

On a graphic level, the delivery has everything you would expect from a Mad game. The colors are very varied and intense, so navigating the same building throughout the game never becomes monotone. Also, the title has a time progression system in play. Apart from performing a role in the gameplay regarding the television schedule, it also graphically causes the background colors to alternate between day and night, where the city is illuminated at sunset. Then, every room Archie enters is drawn in a caricatured and exaggerated manner. The colors are much more over-saturated than in the rest of the adventure. A much warmer palette predominates, primarily in the characters' skin, which is dyed in an almost reddish pink.

In short, although I think the plot of the story is somewhat questionable, Mad TV is an entertaining game. It may lack action, but the constant fight for the rating and the economic level of the player is much more intense because it never ends. Besides, the extravagant and colorful pictures remind you all the time that you are playing a Mad TV title. If you want to revive or give this administrative adventure a try, you're just a few clicks away! For my part, I'm going to play it again, but without sound and with the soundtrack of "Cape Fear" in the background, I still think the plot of the game deserves it.