Odyssey 2: Under Appreciated?

[Cybergoth]

Of course, most of the genius of Adventure is in the underlying logic, not in the graphics.

 

Well, personally I think Adventure sucks, so even if the O2 had one, I wouldn't have liked it anyway

[NovaXpress]

Wow jbanes, yuor so smrt. I totally wouldn't have known what probability or the uncertainty principle were unless you'd helpfully hyperlinked them. Gosh.

Um, yeah. That would be for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know and wants to get the gag. This is a public forum, remember?

Anyone on this board who doesn't know what probability and uncertainty principles are deserves to miss out on the joke.

[ZylonBane]

jbanes is obviously very proud of himself for knowing what those terms mean.

 

Or at least, thinking he knows what those terms mean.

[jbanes]

Yep, definitely can't tone down the abrasiveness. So much for humorous banter.

[rxd]

I don't understand why some people don't understand PickAxe Pete. Is the concept of a high score difficult for classic gamers to understand? Is clearing rows of static space invaders inherently more interesting than this dynamic, fun game?

Every other platform game in the world has some sort of objective-- get to the top, get to the end, gather all the loot, kill all the enemies, etc. But PAP (hmm, now that's an unfortunate acronym) has no goal to work toward. Sure, you can collect a key and go to the next identical level if you want, but there's no strong motivation to do so, and you don't even have to work for that key... you just wait for it to randomly show up. And the gameplay sure is thrilling when your pickaxe disappears and you have to stand around waiting for a new one.

Your motivation is the number at the bottom of the screen. There's another number there which is the best anyone has done in that session. Try to beat it. Just like the arcade, except Pete lets you enter 6 characters instead of initials.

 

Running through the door happens to be the fastest and easiest way to rack up points. Going through the door resets the speed of the level so you don't get knocked over by a rock. The longer you stay in a level, the bouncier and faster everything gets. Every time you enter a new level, a piece of floor is taken away, making it that much riskier because the boulders are more likely to collide and reverse direction.

 

Pete only gets one life. Once you're in an open mineshaft with a lot of bouncing going on, the game gets white-knuckle tricky and you need to use the various jump and duck options presented to you. Sometimes, you'll need to fall to avoid the rocks -- fortunately you can't be killed when falling -- which means you'll have to fight to the top to get the key back.

 

If you're standing around waiting for the key, you're not far enough into the game to really get into it -- and from your lack of interest, it's unlikely that you're going to really get into this game. It's not like a Nintendo game where you play to get to the next level and the eventual ending. We'll have to agree to disagree on this, but in my opinion, Pick Axe Pete is one of the great "zoner" games a good player can get into and enjoy for long stretches and incredible scores, just like Pac-Man, Galaga, Tempest, and Defender.

 

The invisible mines are sheer brilliance, too. I don't know if the VCS could do the multiple boulders flying around in different directions, but it would be neat to see a Pick Axe Pete remake, even just in Flash.

 

Actually, it's funny but I recently got an O2 and a multicart and started going through the games. Some are outstanding in my opinion (KC Munchkin, Turtles, KC Crazy Chase, etc) but I tried Pick Axe Pete and I said "Boy this sucks!!"

 

But I kept reading that alot of people considered it a great O2 game so I kept trying it. And I kept saying "Boy this sucks!!!"

 

Finally, I don't know what happened, but something clicked. Now I think it's a great game! Let's face it, it doesn't make much sense, but what video games do? Now I love it. I can actually see both sides of this argument though. For a long time I just didn't "get it", so I hated the game. Now I do "get it" and I love it.....

[kirin jensen]

 

Yeah. That's the kinda reaction when I tried Pick Axe Pete in emulation. Then I looked over the instructions and played again. Liked it a little better. Then I hit about 600-700 points. That's when I started thining, "This game rocks!"

 

Ed Averett's games are sneaky like that. One you get up to 400-500 points on KC Munchkin (usually maze #3 for me), the game takes on a whole new feel. Get over 100 points on UFO and you can feel yourself getting into the groove.

 

Glad to have another O2 owner out there. Check out the homebrews too.

[Flojomojo]

Ed Averett's games are sneaky like that.

True. Modern games just don't have that kind of design. Nowadays they throw the mechanics at you little by little, making things more comlpex as things move forward, but never really faster or manic like the classic games. The oldies are like Othello ("a minute to learn, a lifetime to master") where you have all your special abilities up front and you need to make do with what you've been given, again and again and again and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster until you lose your one life and do it all over again without even having to press start because the Challenge Series games are just crazy like that with an exclamation point where the keyboard is key!

[Thomas Jentzsch]

BTW: http://www.videogamecritic.net/oddmr.htm#Mr._Roboto

 

The Mr. Roboto contest is still running!

[Gabriel]

To me, there's only 4 O2 games really worth it:

 

KC Munchkin

KC's Krazy Chase

Quest for the Rings

and some Galaga style shooter game that uses the voice

 

I'll probably be hunting for an O2 after I get my recently acquired Colecovision settled in and fed.

[kirin jensen]

To me, there's only 4 O2 games really worth it:

 

KC Munchkin

KC's Krazy Chase

Quest for the Rings

and some Galaga style shooter game that uses the voice

 

I'll probably be hunting for an O2 after I get my recently acquired Colecovision settled in and fed.

 

The shooter is Attack of the Time Lord! Also known as Terrahawks.

 

No Killer Bees?

No Pick Axe Pete?

 

To each his own I guess...

[Gabriel]

To me, there's only 4 O2 games really worth it:

 

KC Munchkin

KC's Krazy Chase

Quest for the Rings

and some Galaga style shooter game that uses the voice

 

I'll probably be hunting for an O2 after I get my recently acquired Colecovision settled in and fed.

 

The shooter is Attack of the Time Lord! Also known as Terrahawks.

 

No Killer Bees?

No Pick Axe Pete?

 

To each his own I guess...

 

Honestly, I'm not sure if I've ever played those.

 

But, in any event, I'm glad the O2 isn't as appreciated as other consoles. It makes it cheaper to get one off ebay when the time cimes.

[Flojomojo]

I haven't had an O2 for a long time, but I still like these games (note the exclamation points):

 

Pick Axe Pete!

K.C. Munchkin!

UFO!

P.T. Barnum's Acrobats!

Attack of the Timelord!

Killer Bees!

Freedom Fighters!

 

I would also prefer Monkeyshines! or even Out of This World/Helicopter Rescue! than some of the shovelware on other systems ...

[NovaXpress]

I would also prefer Monkeyshines! or even Out of This World/Helicopter Rescue! than some of the shovelware on other systems ...

I prefer to not play shovelware at all, no matter what system.

[jbanes]

The Mr. Roboto contest is still running!

What contest?

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Although everyone loves this game, I had to dock Mr. Roboto a half-grade due to some technical issues which may or may not be limited to my system. The cartridge is very temperamental when used with the voice module. It has to be inserted a certain way, and is prone to locking up during games.

I have to agree. During extended sessions, this title can lockup. After spending some time trying to diagnose the problem, I came to the conclusion that the cart is actually overheating. :!: I don't know if it's just me, or if others are having the same issue. But it's certainly weird to blow into a cart and get a puff of hot air in return.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

What contest?

http://www.tedfoolery.com/o2/contest.html

[phil_vr]

In europe back in early 80's the Philips Videopac G7000 (US- Odyssey 2) seemed to be everywhere, while the

first woodgrain 2600 I saw in Greece was a 4 switch and it was an import (i think england) that one of my friends

had. Philips, was a huge european brand, so you could find the Videopac even in stores with stereo systems, tv

systems, lighting stores.

 

It was never a 2600 and it never claimed to be a rival. I love my 2600, but I seem to be addicted to the simplicity

(or lack of hardware power) of the Odyssey2. One thing I never got to understand, is the difference between the

game boxes of Videopac and Odyssey2. Videopac had a hardcase and an inlet, with awesome graphics while the

Odyssey2 ones had this generic fake-3d image plus some colorful sketches. They look pretty cheap and it adds

to the simple orientation of the Odyssey2. And I still hate the power button on my Odyssey 2 and I still hate the

plugged in joystick cables.

 

Good thing is the interchangable carts between US and europe region which work without problem. That alone is good

enough for someone in europe to get carts from the USA for his Videopac system in europe.

 

My Videopac is still boxed and in safety space and after about 25 years of use it still works faultlessly. It is not much

of a big deal now, but it was good enough to bring this "whoao" feeling when I was a kid. I believe most of us people

collecting classic video game consoles do it for emotional reasons before all. Having this in mind I show the same

respect to someone collecting Fairchild stuff just like someone with a Genesis..

 

To me, my Videopac and Odyssey2 is the best video game console ever, for all the reasons I mentioned above, and

for all the reasons that started back in early 80's and I still cant understand.

 

My all time favourite games for this system:

Air/Sea War Battle

Gunfighter

Stonesling

Munchkin

Pick Axe Pete

[rxd]

Well I finally tracked down a Voice thingie for my Odyssey 2. It's actually kinda cool. Realy doesn't change the game play at all but I'm impressed with the technology considering when it came out....

[Mister-VCS]

On 6/24/2006 at 10:54 PM, Gabriel said:

To me, there's only 4 O2 games really worth it:

 

KC Munchkin

KC's Krazy Chase

Quest for the Rings

and some Galaga style shooter game that uses the voice

 

I'll probably be hunting for an O2 after I get my recently acquired Colecovision settled in and fed.

Q*bert is a fantastic game on the o2

[+pboland]

This is one heck of a bump! 15 year old topic.

 

None the less a good topic.

 

Yes, the OD2 is under appreciated. At least here in the states. Back in the day I think the OD2 was more prevalent than people tend to give it credit for these days. In '79 I knew just as many people with an OD2 as I did an Atari 2600 (3 vs 3). By the end of X-mas season 1980 I started seeing more people that had 2600 vs OD2. I don't think it was until the release of Space Invaders for the Atari 2600 that sales went crazy for the Atari 2600 (that's looking back at it as an adult).

 

The games we liked to played BITD on the OD2:

 

- Pic Axe Pete

- Attack of the Timelord

- K.C. Munchkin (2600 Pac-Man sucked)

- UFO

- Quest for the Rings

- Armored Encounter! / Subchase
- Cosmic Conflict
- Freedom Fighters
- Killer Bees

 

Once I started collecting as an adult I wish we had the voice with "Smithereens". I play that one with my kids from time to time.

 

I always felt the keyboard function was way under utilized. "Quest for the Rings" used it well (it came with a keyboard overlay). I would have loved to have seen more games back in the day that used the keyboard as a way to expand game play.

 

[+slx]

2 hours ago, pboland said:

This is one heck of a bump! 15 year old topic.

 

Now that you dared to bump I'll add my 5 cents...

 

The Odyssey was big in Europe as it was marketed by Philips and was on sale in a lot of "household electronics" stores that stocked Philips TVs, stereos, etc. 

 

Cosmic Conflict was the "killer app" for me as the VCS did not have a "3D" or "first person view" shooter at the time. I had played it on another friend's machine but was quite dismayed when I found out that it was quite easy to memorize the pattern and play a perfect game thanks to the 1000s time limit. 

 

I had about 15 games and liked to play them but once I saw what my friend's VCS was capable of, I did regret choosing the Philips. Adventure, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Superman & Yar's Revenge were so much better than any O2/G7000 game and even simpler games like Night Driver and Indy 500 felt better than O2 racing.

 

In the end UFO was my favorite O2 game and I enjoyed leaving the console running for hours to see what score it would achieve when left alone. 

 

Can't judge K.C. Munchkin, I was never much of a Pac-Man fan.

 

 

 

[Leeroy ST]

Might as well join in too.

 

On 6/23/2005 at 6:45 AM, classicgamingguy said:

Hi, all.

 

I am getting a Odyssey 2 shortly, and I was wondering something for the select few that collect and enjoy this system. Do you think this system is under rated and under appreciated? I've heard several post comments about this system on this site, and most seem negative about the Odyssey 2.

 

My friend, years back, had this game system and he and I would play countless hours of Quest for the Rings. Another favorite of mine was UFO! and Alien Invaders Plus!

 

For those that own the system, and even those that don't, what do you personally think of this game console? IMO, it's very enjoyable and playable, but I'm really curious as to what others around here think.

 

Penny for your thoughts!

 

Steve

I've owned and played the system before mine broke down years ago. Still have the games somewhere.

 

Outside of being a great influence on the console/computer hybrid scene, there really wasn't much to the Odyssey 2 outside of its time of relevance when you look back from today. It had a few good games but they were basically knock-offs and while some had a few twists they weren't enough. The rest of the library had varying quality.

 

When compared to the more superior "knock-off" games, hit arcade conversions and original titles of the 2600 and late Mattell and Coleco, and may as well add the computer systems, it really puts a giant fork in rose-tinted glasses for the Odyssey 2. it's a fairly similar position that Fairchild is in looking back, but at least for the time they had some original tiotles, were first, and had a unique controller format. It also was notoriously unreliable compared to the Odyssey 2 (outside the years of its relevance. It's long-term durability is trash controllers excluded.)

Edited August 26, 2020 by Leeroy ST

[BassGuitari]

4 hours ago, slx said:

Cosmic Conflict was the "killer app" for me as the VCS did not have a "3D" or "first person view" shooter at the time.

 

https://www.old-computers.com/museum/software_detail.asp?id=409

 

?

[toiletunes]

the sound kills it for me. It's the same five or six tones, plus a noise/crash sound. Yes, there are exceptions here and there, but the average game- dooboobeep! Crash! Deeboo, deeboo...

[bah]

The Odyssey 2 was cancelled too early in the US.  Try playing some of the later games released in Europe.  Atlantis (uncommon here), Demon Attack (again, uncommon), Frogger, Q'Bert, Super Cobra, Tutankham (proto), Spiderman (proto), Loony Balloon, Air Battle, Blobbers.  I also love many of the modern homebrews.  The system was under appreciated because it was killed off before reaching it's full potential. 

[+pboland]

23 hours ago, bah said:

The Odyssey 2 was cancelled too early in the US.  Try playing some of the later games released in Europe.  Atlantis (uncommon here), Demon Attack (again, uncommon), Frogger, Q'Bert, Super Cobra, Tutankham (proto), Spiderman (proto), Loony Balloon, Air Battle, Blobbers.  I also love many of the modern homebrews.  The system was under appreciated because it was killed off before reaching it's full potential. 

After Xmas I'm hoping to buy some repro's that I saw from this topic:

 

Odyssey2 reproduction cartridges and manuals for sale

 

Thanks for reminding me.