Smash TV

The gameplay is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with twin-joystick controls and a series of single-screen arenas. While most of the enemies in Robotron are visible at the start of a fight, in Smash TV they enter the arena in waves.

In each arena, players shoot hordes of enemies that enter via doorways on the four walls, while collecting money, temporary power-ups, weapons, and gift-wrapped prizes. When all enemies have been killed, one or more exits appear, leading to additional arenas. After completing the first arena in a level, a map shows the overall arrangement of the level and the location of the end-of-level boss. Players cannot backtrack to previously completed areas.

The game takes place in a dystopian televised game show, described as "the most violent game show of all time", in the year 1999. One or two contestants survive by shooting waves of attackers while collecting money, temporary power-ups, and various prizes such as toasters and VCRs. After an arena has been cleared of adversaries, the contestants choose an exit, which leads to another room. One room contains an end-of-level boss; defeating this boss enables the players to progress to the next level.

The show is overseen by a sadistic host, whose verbal interjections frequently punctuate gameplay, including "Total carnage! ", "Big money! Big prizes! ".

In a 1995 interview with GamePro magazine, programmer Mark Turmell recounted: "When Hasbro pulled the plug on an interactive movie project I was working on, I went to Williams to design coin-op games. I moved to Chicago, hired John Tobias, and together we did our first coin-op, Smash T.V." The announcer in the game is voiced by sound designer Paul Heitsch. The script was written by the game's composer and sound designer Jon Hey.

The arcade game originally shipped without the Pleasure Dome bonus level implemented, although dialogue in the game alluded to its existence. The design team excluded the level from the game's initial release, fearing that not enough players would make it to the end of the game. However, many players who reached the end of the game lodged complaints with arcade operators after being unable to complete the final level. Upon being informed of these complaints, Williams sent a revised game to arcades that included the Pleasure Dome level.

Smash T.V. was generally well-received by critics and the public. It received the "most innovative game" award from the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) in 1990. The various ports of Smash TV to home entertainment and computer systems received positive to mixed reviews.

The Amiga version scored 895/1,000 in a review by Advanced Computer Entertainment magazine, and the Spectrum magazine CRASH awarded the ZX version 97%, dubbing it a "Crash Smash".

The 1992 Williams arcade game Total Carnage, named after one of the catchphrases of the antagonistic video game host in Smash TV, shares many gameplay elements with Smash TV and was also programmed by Turmell, but is not a sequel.

Smash TV was included in Arcade Party Pak, a compilation of six arcade games released for the PlayStation in 1999.