Odyssey2

[NeoZeedeater]

I don't think TNL has had a thread devoted to this system before so here goes.

In 1978 Magnavox released their first programmable console, the Odyssey2. It never experienced much commercial success in North America as the Atari VCS and Mattel Intellivision dominated the market although it was supported there until 1983.


Here are some significant games for it:

Speedway!Spin-out!/Crypto-Logic!
This was the pack in cartridge for the system consisting of simple racing games and a cryptogram game where you enter a word and it scrambles it for a second player to figure out. I think most people would agree this wasn't a good cartridge to include with the system when Atari had the excellent game Combat with theirs.




Killer Bees!
This is probably my favorite game on the system. You have to move your bee swarm to take out robots while naturally avoiding evil bees. It's fast paced and addictive.


Turtles!
A port of the Konami arcade game. The graphics aren't as good as the arcade but the gameplay is still excellent.


K.C. Munchkin!
This is probably the most well known O2 game because of its historical significance. Atari won a lawsuit claiming that game was a rip off of Pac-Man and Magnavox was forced to discontinue the game. It's not that hard to find copies of it though.


K.C.'s Krazy Chase!
Munchkin's sequel didn't resemble Pac-Man as much and that's part of the reason I like it more. It's a really good original maze chase game.


The Quest for the Rings
This multiplayer dungeon crawler was the first console attempt at the Action/RPG genre and could also be played as a board game hybrid.


Pick Axe Pete!
The O2 didn't have anywhere near as many platform games as its competitors but this one stands out in gameplay despite unimpressive graphics. It can get pretty intense when you lose your axe and have to duck and jump away from enemies.

I'm curious if this game came out before or after the arcade game Kangaroo as they both seem like they could have been the first platformer with the ability to duck and stupid little details like that interest me.


Smithereens!
A two-player game where you had to destroy your opponents base.


Cosmic Conflict!
Fun shooter but way too easy.


Frogger
It's worth noting that Odyssey2 in Europe(known as the Philips Videopac) received a few arcade ports like this and Q*bert.


Attack of the Timelord!


Personally, I think the Odyssey2 has a weaker game line up overall than the VCS and Intellivision but there are a few games I really love for the system.

Some good O2 fansites -
http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/index.asp
http://www.thelogbook.com/odyssey/index.html

I find the voice samples amusing- http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/media/sounds.asp

What are your thoughts on the system?

[kingoffighters]

I have Quest for the Rings complete, and The Great Wallstreet Fortune Hunt (great graphics, btw! in near mint condition, not sure what to do with them since I have gotten rid of the O^2 so long ago.

[Kidnemo]

I can never see any of the pics that Neo posts when I use firefox.

[Yoshi]

I can never see any of the pics that Neo posts when I use firefox.

User error.

[Cowdisease]

I can never see any of the pics that Neo posts when I use firefox.

Download the latest Firefox program from Mozilla's website and install the browser over your current one. Maybe that will fix your image problem.

[Kidnemo]

User error.

Fleshware issue for sure.

[Diff-chan]

lol @ Odyssey2 graphics

Magnavox = noobs

[kingoffighters]

lol @ Odyssey2 graphics

Magnavox = noobs

Looks good in 1981.

[Port]

Looks good in 1981.

Not really.

[Grave]

This thread is awesome. My sister and I had an O2 we used to play all the time, along with the neighbor's Intellivision. The O2 was sold at a yard sale years ago. I guess it's good that I was able to part with some of the clutter that exists in my game collection, but I kind of miss it sometimes. It'd be fun to play one again, but probably not enough to justify me buying another one, so I'm content with the good memories.

The Great Wallstreet Fortune Hunt

My dad used to love that game. That and Sonic the Hedgehog on Game Gear are the only video games I recall him ever playing, heh.