Software:Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit!

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Short description: 1994 video game
Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit!
Developer(s)Imagineering[1]
Publisher(s)Absolute Entertainment[1]
Designer(s)
  • Dan Kitchen
  • David Crane
Programmer(s)
  • Jason Benham (lead programming and design)
  • Andy Rogers
  • Bill Jannott
  • David Lubar
Composer(s)
  • Dan Foliart
  • Jim Wallace
  • Steve Melillo[2]
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! is a 2D platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System based on the sitcom of the same name. A Sega Genesis version was planned but never released.[3][4][5]

Plot

On a special broadcast of the show Tool Time, Tim Taylor prepares to unveil the new Binford ultra power tool line named after him, the Binford-Taylor Turbo Power Tool Line. He goes to retrieve the tools, only to discover that they are missing. A note is left in their place demanding Tim to traverse the different sets where other shows are being filmed to recover the tools.

Gameplay

The player's weapons include modified tools such as a nail gun, a blowtorch (used as a flamethrower), and a saw which hurls energy waves. These weapons are used to fight dinosaurs, acid-spewing mummies, robot sentries, and other enemies. The game is broken down into four worlds of four levels, each world containing a boss level. The game had no real instruction manual, in its place, a fake manual was used with a sticker reading "Real Men Don't Need Instructions", a message which also appears on the splash screen.

Development

Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! was published by Absolute Entertainment, which Disney hired the company to produce the game after it completed another video game based on a Disney property, Goofy's Hysterical History Tour (1993).[6] It was presented at the 1994 winter Consumer Electronics Show.[7]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM33/50[8]
GamePro14/20[10]
Nintendo Power12.2/20[11]
Electronic GamesB[13]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[14]

Reviews at the time were generally mixed-to-positive, while the sitcom adaptation's concept of Tim Allen fighting through fantastical enemies such as mummies, dinosaurs and robots led it to appear on several all-time lists of weirdest video games, such as those of PC Magazine and Rolling Stone, in later years.[15][16][17]

GamePro gave Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! a mixed review, calling it "like Pitfall with power tools". They commented that the game plays well and is easy to pick up on, has solid graphics, but features mediocre music, and concluded that it would be fun for side-scrolling fans and enthusiasts of the TV show, but is not challenging enough for hardcore players.[10] Mike Weigand of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "an intriguing action title, with some cool weapons and excellent graphics".[8] Less favorable towards the game was Entertainment Weekly, which was turned off by the concept of Tim Allen fighting enemies like dinosaurs and "alien beasties";[14] and Nintendo Power, claiming that despite its "fun worlds" and many type of attacks, it suffered from "awkward" controls", "poor placement of objects" that artificially increased the difficulty, absence of humor from the TV series, and the fact that the "gameplay never rises above standard jumping, shooting and the collecting of items".[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Gabe Soria, who wrote the main review of Home Improvement for Video Games, gave it a 7/10, while three other editors who provided brief comments all gave the game a 6/10.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Home Improvement Release Information for Super Nintendo - GameFAQs". https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/588375-home-improvement/data. 
  2. ↑ Composer information for Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! at SNES Music
  3. ↑ "Welcome To The Next Level: 1994 And Beyond... - Sega Genesis". Sega Force (Sendai Publishing) (5): 8–26. July 1994. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:SegaForce_US_1994-07.pdf&page=22. Retrieved 2020-12-04. 
  4. ↑ "CES News - CES Directory: Your Guide To The Show". Mean Machines Sega (EMAP) (23): 12–14. September 1994. https://archive.org/stream/mean-machines-sega-magazine-23#page/n11/mode/2up. 
  5. ↑ "News - Front Page: TimeLine". Game Players (Signal Research) (47): 8–11. December 1994. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:GamePlayers_US_0712.pdf&page=12. 
  6. ↑ Ceccola, Russ (March 1994). "Home Improvement: A look at Absolute's take on the hit sitcom". Electronic Games 2 (6): 56. 
  7. ↑ "Las Vegas CES: The Winter Consumer Electronics Show, 6–9 Jan 1994". Super Play (17): 25. March 1994. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Review Crew: Home Improvement". Electronic Gaming Monthly (67): 32. February 1995. https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20067%20%28February%201995%29/page/n31/mode/2up. Retrieved August 19, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Lucas, Victor (June 30, 1995). "Home Improvement". Electric Playground. http://www.elecplay.com/arch95/homeimp.html. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Larry, Scary (March 1995). "ProReview: Home Improvement". GamePro (68): 70. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Home Improvement". Nintendo Power (71): 102, score on 105. April 1995. 
  12. ↑ Soria, Gabe (March 1995). "Home Improvement". Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine (74). 
  13. ↑ Ceccola, Russ (February 1995). "Manly Gaming". Electronic Games: 84. https://archive.org/details/electronic-games-1995-02/page/84/mode/2up?q=%22Home+Improvement%22. Retrieved August 19, 2021. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Strauss, Bob (December 23, 1994). "Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit". Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/article/1994/12/23/home-improvement-power-tool-pursuit/. 
  15. ↑ Dashevsky, Evan (February 4, 2017). "18 Bizarre Video Game Adaptations That Actually Exist". PC Magazine. https://www.pcmag.com/news/18-bizarre-video-game-adaptations-that-actually-exist. 
  16. ↑ Langley, Alex (July 15, 2014). "10 Weirdest Video Games Based on TV Shows". Arcade Sushi. https://arcadesushi.com/weirdest-video-games-based-on-tv-shows/. 
  17. ↑ Stuart, Keith (August 23, 2016). "8 of the Weirdest Super Nintendo Games Ever Made". Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/8-of-the-weirdest-super-nintendo-games-ever-made-249444/. Retrieved September 2, 2020. 
  • Home Improvement (SNES) at GameSpot
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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