The Magnavox Odyssey 2, my first 2nd gen system. Short reviews too, esp. feat. UFO!

[Kamahl]

You're right about the 2600 having better audio, but it can do this? I doubt it... and plus, Atari graphics often seem to look like they're made out of little lines, I think, while O2 graphics look like solid shapes.

http://www.packratvg.com/Pictures/ktaa3.gif (impressive O2 homebrew work)

There's tons of Atari 2600 games with much better graphics than that, and i'm not even talking homebrew...

[ThugsRook]

yea we laughed at this junk, and then went to the arcade to play real (Sega) games.

there was no "Video Game Crash", it was just that ppl realized what horrible crap they were tryin to sell us and we stopped buying!

[A Black Falcon]

Of those 2600 videos, I will certainly agree that Solaris looks quite good, but most of the rest... they really show off exactly what I meant by "everything looks like it's made of little [horizontal] lines". The O2's graphics actually look like objects, instead of things made up of horizontal lines. I do think it's a better look.

yea we laughed at this junk, and then went to the arcade to play real (Sega) games.

there was no "Video Game Crash", it was just that ppl realized what horrible crap they were tryin to sell us and we stopped buying!

I know you're just being silly, but seriously, Sega's early '80s arcade and 2600 games were exactly the same as anyone else's. Unless you're THAT much of a fan of stuff like Tac/Scan, Thunderground, and Congo Bongo?

[j_factor]

I think a lot of Sega's early '80s arcade stuff is pretty sweet.

[NeoZeedeater]

I'm not a fan of that "generation" at all, but the 2600 has a big enough library that you can find something decent anyway. I'll take Colecovision or Atari 800/XL/XE over either console any day.

I definitely liked the CV more than the 2600 back in the day but now I think the 2600 has more to offer. In retrospect, the CV's weakness is not having many exclusives. That would be fine if it always had the best versions but I prefer the 2600 versions of River Raid, Pitfall II, HERO, Fathom, Q*bert, Frogger (Starpath version), Omega Race, and Dragonfire. The CV ones are usually more detailed but sometimes slower or more clunky to play.

The Donkey Kong games were a major plus in the CV's favour, though. I still really love CV DKjr, moreso than the arcade version even. Zaxxon was cool at the time but once the C64 version came out, I found it hard to go back to the choppy scrolling on CV. Smurf's best on CV. Zenji's just as good as the other versions. It's one of the best early puzzle games and it never had a 2600 port.


Anyway, back to the O2. I think the 2600 easily beats it in graphics. I can see how some people might prefer the clean simple look of the O2 for some games (like how early flat-shaded polygon graphics can look better than some later textured stuff) but I don't think the O2 would be able to pull off games like Solaris or Kung Fu Master.

[Thierry Henry]

I've got one of these systems together with "Voice" add-on module. Mainly bought it as a type of "novelty" item, that and the fact that it was pretty cheap even for a complete boxed system with games included.
Thing is I've had it for the longest time but haven't been able to hook it up to the TV and play it yet. lol
It seems I need one of those "F" to Phono Plug Adapters so the RF cable can be compatible with my TV.

So about the only thing I can say on it so far is that I much prefer the US packaging/cases in terms of looks with regard to the games.
The Euro cases were much more sturdier, but the the artwork on the US stuff is more detailed and colorful.

[A Black Falcon]

So yours didn't come with the RFU? But isn't it hardwired to the system?

[TrekkiesUnite118]

I don't know about yours Falcon but mine requires a TV box that came with the system. That as an RCA jack on it that the RF cable hooks into and then on the other end are VHF connectors that go on the back of your old style TV. On there is a switch you flip when on Channel 3 which makes it work.

[goldenband]

Mine just has a standard hardwired RCA-type RF connector, like the Atari 2600.

[A Black Falcon]

Mine has a twin-lead to standard coax adapter connected to the end of those two leads, so I can just plug that into the TV (or, in my case, into the RF adapter going to my Master System and NES 2). If you don't have one of those, I'm sure they are quite cheap at Radio Shack or something similar.

I can't use it as a passthrough, because the TV in part is also VHF and it didn't come with an adapter there, but fortunately I don't need the TV to come through it (since I have it attached to the VCR, while I have the cable line hooked up to the TVs),so I just leave the manual switch on "Game"; no reason to switch back to TV afterwards when there's nothing connected to the TV end, and couldn't be unless I bought an adapter.

[A Black Falcon]

This bump was well-timed... I recently got a few new games for the O2, so here are two new summaries. Expect a few more reviews, and some re-reviews of a few games I already have, once I get a The Voice addon; I also picked up a few of the games that require The Voice, so I obviously can't review them yet. I'll have to get the addon for sure. I know that these two reviews are long-ish, but they're detailed, and I think the games deserved it. I've been playing quite a bit of Turtles since getting it.


NEW GAMES
--

It's another classically awesome O2 cover... and it reflects the gameplay well, too!


Ingame screen. The left player (on the top bar) is currently the paddle, as that "-" indicates (no, it isn't a negative score), while the right player is the wall guardians, as the little guy indicates. The ?? spaces by them will be filled in by their best scores once there are some. The timer is in the middle.

Blockout! / Breakdown! -- 1980, One or two player. Blockout! / Breakdown! is, as the name suggests, a Breakout-inspired game with its own twist: it's all two player! Despite the unique elements, it is clearly Breakout-inspired at a glance. Notice how "Break" is in one mode's name, and "Out" is in the other... clever, huh? Anyway, as the name suggests there are two modes, but the basic game mechanics are the same in both. Released in 1980, this game is from before the Challenger Series, but, despite its simplicity, it is one of the better games from the first half of the O2's life, that is, the 1978-80 part, when the games were simpler and often not as good as the later ones. This game is an exception to that. The game also has both single and multi player support, so this is NOT a multiplayer-only game, fortunately -- there is AI. You can even have the computer play itself if you want.

And on that note, yes, the most unique element in this game is that the game is a versus game. It's not one paddle against another like Pong, though; instead, one player is the paddle, and the other one defends the wall. So, even though there are a million Breakout clones out there, and many are on systems that Well, this game is limited in longevity, as both modes are timed -- there are 60 seconds max per round for one mode, 90 max for the other. Now a full round really is twice that, as you play two separate phases, each that length, but still, each "game" is 2-3 minutes long, or less. That's all you get here. Fortunately the game is pretty good, so the replay value is high, but still, there's no Breakout-style infinite score-based mode, only these two timed versus challenges. The games graphics are decent, but are good enough. I like that the blocks are large, and close to the paddle; the original Breakout's huge field of tiny blocks, far from your paddle, is tough to deal with, and the fact that you'll only ever hit one block each time the ball goes up the screen in that game makes playing it VERY tedious. I love Arkanoid, but find Breakout incredibly boring. Fortunately, this game entirely avoids that issue. It does have its own block-hitting quirks, as I will describe, but it is a fun game.

There are two different modes in this game, as the title says. Each game in either mode consists of two parts, where each player plays one round as the paddle, and one as the wall's demon guardians. Both modes are endless -- this game has no defined end, unlike the "to 10 games" O2 multiplayer games which do end. As usual in such O2 games, the manual tells you to decide on a number of games to play to, and call that the "end" once you reach it. Oh Magnavox writers, you're so good at what you do...

Anyway, Blockout! is the main mode. In this mode, the ball bounces off of the blocks when it hits them. The way this works is quirky, though -- the ball only bounces away if it hits a block from the bottom. If you hit blocks from the top or sides, the ball will continue through the blocks as if they weren't even there, though yes, they will be destroyed as it passes through. It's interesting and makes the game a bit different; I don't mind this. It's better than Breakout's "passes through and goes down without breaking them" tedium, by far, and it's fun to destroy more blocks. The round ends if the player controlling the paddle gets through the wall and reaches the top of the screen. Yes, in this mode you don't need to destroy all the blocks to progress, you just need to get through. You have 90 seconds to do this. If you succeed, your best time so far will be displayed on the screen, with the other player (or computer)'s best time on the other side. Note that these scores are for the player as the paddle only -- the player as the wall demons doesn't get an individual score, but instead is trying to make the paddle player fail to get through. I will address how, exactly, you defend the wall below, but essentially, as the picture shows, each of the four rows of blocks has a separately controllable demon on it. Move to the edges of the screen to start blinking and get the power to fill in a space, and move into a gap while blinking to replace that missing block. If a demon is knocked off the screen, that line will be without a fixer for a little while, before a new one comes on. The defense controls are confusing and take getting used to, but work reasonably well once mastered.

In Breakdown!, the goal is for the player as the paddle to break all the blocks on screen. Unlike in Blockout, in this mode the ball doesn't get stopped when it hits blocks; instead, it passes right through them. So yeah, it's like one of those Arkanoid bonus stages, or when you get the powerup of that same effect. The ball, and the demons, both move twice as fast in this mode as they do in Blockout, so it's a much more frenetic game. You have 60 seconds to clear all of the blocks on screen. The controls and visuals are largely the same as the other game, though. The game's tougher than it may sound, as hitting every block in such a short time isn't easy, when the wall is also being rebuilt at the same time. Destroying a row doesn't get rid of it for good, either; after a little while the block on the right, and the demon in it, will respawn, so you've got to hurry to win this. Your score is based on how many blocks remain when time runs out.

One of the most important issues any blockbreaking game is how the paddle controls. Now, as anyone who knows the O2 (or has read my summary above) would know, the O2 has only one controller, its digital joystick. It's a good stick, but it isn't a rotary or mouse/trackball controller, it's just a digital stick. Don't expect analog precision from the controls. However, you do get used to it, and paddle controls here work about as well as they could, given the limitations; the paddle is a bit slow, but it works otherwise, and the game does have the ball bounce off the paddle at different angles depending on where on the paddle it lands, which is great. There are also some design elements that help out in making the game work better than it could have. Most notably, you have infinite balls; the only limit is the timer, not a life counter. As a result, if you miss the ball because you couldn't get there because of the slow paddle or poor paddle positioning or what have you, don't worry, just press the button and get a new ball.

When playing as the demons defending the wall -- and yes, the manual makes clear that they are called demons, even though it's the usual O2 "little person" sprite -- as I've said above, the controls are odd. First though, remember that the O2 joystick has notches cut into all eight corners, so that you can easily hold the stick in any one of the directions. This game relies heavily on that fact. In order to move the lowest-tier demon, push the stick to the lower-left or lower-right corners to move left or right respectively. To move the second from the bottom level demon, push left or right. To move the third row up demon, push up-left or up-right. And to move the top row demon, press left or right while holding down the button. Yeah, it's about as complex as one-button-and-a-stick controls can be, but thanks to the notches in the joystick well it does make sense, after some practice. Expect to do badly at first on defense, but you will get better. Just remember to always go to either edge of the screen to get a block; walk out with one of those guys while not flashing, and you'll just fall off and lose that row's guy for a while.

Overall, Blockout! / Breakdown! is a simple, short, and fun game. I know I wrote a lot about a very simple game, but it's pretty fun, and a unique and original take on one of gaming's most popular second gen era game concepts, so it's worth the time. This game is cheap, too.

Decent box. The art is silly.


Game screen, the first map. The player is on the right. The six ? spaces are marked. The small x in the center is the bomb refill spot. Placed bombs are also xes, but differently colored. There are three beetles, in blue mode, on screen. Bottom bar, left to right: Lives Remaining, Bombs, Points, Turtlets Saved (total), and Level (that you are currently on).

Turtles! -- 1983, One player, The Voice enhanced. Turtles is one of the last US-released O2 games, and it's Magnavox's only internally developed arcade port, too. That is, this game really is a port of a Pac-Man-style arcade game from Konami, not a game inspired by, but not a port of, an arcade game, like the rest of their arcadelike games are. The back of the box claims that it was a "superhit arcade game!", but that's a blatant lie; Turtles is quite obscure, and like many people, I'd never heard of it before looking into the O2's library. If Turtles was such a "superhit", then why is the game only on home consoles on the O2, Arcadia 2001, and Entex Adventurevision, and not on any of the most popular consoles (2600, 5200, Colecovision, Intellivision... no for all four.)? Heh. So yes, there are several ways that Turtles stands out among Magnavox's O2 library: it's their only direct port of an arcade game, it's one of the only arcade-style O2 games where you get multiple lives (you get four lives per game here, plus an extra life every 5000 points), too. And on that note, scores here will be much higher than in your usual O2 game. It's also got a different intro from anything else they did on the system, as I will explain below. And of course, as one of the last releases for the system here, it's interesting for that reason as well.

Fortunately, though, even if it was not popular, Turtles IS a quite good game. This game is easily in the upper tier of O2 games. It's a classic example of second-gen game design across the board: it's simple, repetitive, addictive, challenging, and fun. The game has very little variety, but more thank makes up for it with its high challenge and fun factor. This is the kind of game that second-gen fans love; I've never been one before, and I do find this game very repetitive, but I must admit that I can see the attraction. And while it's in the Pac-Man genre, this is its own game; the goal isn't just to pick stuff up, but to get things (turtlets) and bring them to the houses that randomly appear on the sides of the map. Also, you can drop bombs (mines, really) behind you to attack the enemy with. Only one bomb can be on screen at a time, but still, being able to fight back like this is great, and the strategic thinking of where to place the bomb at any given time helps add to the fun, and the challenge.

In Turtles, you play as a mother turtle who has to go into a large house, or hotel, or something, in order to rescue the many kidnapped baby turtlets which have been brought there. In your way are evil bugs, which are trying to stop you from rescuing them. The building has eight floors, so each loop of the game is eight levels long. There are simple little "going up a floor" scenes between levels, too, a nice touch. Getting to the end of a loop will be no easy task, though, that's for sure -- this game is hard! Hard but good, though. It even starts with a little intro scene, something almost never seen on this system. It's a very simple one where your turtle walks across the screen and into the building, but it works. That intro is here in lieu of a "Which Game?" screen; yes, this game doesn't have that. Just press any direction on either joystick to play. It's a one player only game, but you can play with either controller.

One important note: Unlike KC Munchkin, this game is NOT tile based. That is, you have free movement, and aren't stuck with that game's simpler "press the direction to move to the next square" design. This is great, and really helps with your control over the action. So yeah, in the game, your goal is to navigate the maze, dealing with enemies along the way, as you try to rescue all the baby turtles. The game starts with three or four enemy bugs on screen, but more can be added later. The six questionmark spaces are always in the same place in all four levels, so your goal locations are the same. Similarly, the bomb refill item is always in the center. In order to play, first you go to a questionmark space, then quickly retreat -- some contain enemies! If there is a turtlet there though, go back and pick it up. Now, a house will appear somewhere on the edge of the screen. You will need to get there, without dying, in order to rescue the turtlet. If you do die, it will be reset to its space. You clear the level once all turtlets in the current stage have been saved. The map changes every other level; the second map is quite similar to the first, but the new stage design in level 5 will really be quite a shock, the first time you get to it -- it's a very different, and MUCH more challenging, layout. Good luck getting through the second half of the game, you're going to need it! Unfortunately this game does not have a map editor, unlike KC Munchkin,

One more unique element is the way the enemies work. They start out blue; blue enemies will just move around randomly. After a little while, though, they will turn yellow. Yellow enemies can now see you along straight lines, and will usually chase you on sight. Finally, they will later turn red. Red enemies can see around a corner, to home in on you from even farther away. If you hit a bug with a bomb, though, it'll be reset to blue, and will be momentarially stunned so you can pass over it. You cannot permanently kill enemies. When there are five enemies on screen, all moving around in different directions, some chasing you, as you try to get to a house, the game gets crazy. Fun stuff.

For graphics, your turtle does look like a turtle, and the green background is decent, but the bugs leave something to be desired. They're just circles, which occasionally blink over with +es. That's it. I know that enemies like this are common on the O2 (see UFO!, etc.), but still, come on, couldn't they have drawn something with legs at least? The graphics definitely are basic; the maze looks about on par with KC Munchkin, but the circle/+ enemies aren't as visually interesting as that game's baddies. Your turtle does look nice though, and does animate, which is cool.
Also like KC Munchkin, this game uses a 9x7 map, as far as the wall layout goes. The original Turtles arcade game had a 9x9 square playfield, but the O2 version is cut back a bit. The level maps are different from the arcade game, though. Other than the smaller field, there are also now only six questionmark points where turtlets can be, instead of eight like the arcade game, and the level designs are all altered as well. They are recognizably similar to the arcade levels, but are not the same. At least it does still have four different mazes, like the arcade version, though; this game isn't one of those cut-back arcade ports, like the O2's single-screen-only version of Popeye. There are two different basic floor layouts, with two variants of each, but the arcade game is similar in that respect.

As for the sound, the audio is your basic O2 stuff, as expected. The "Warning!" tone when you have no bombs is annoying, but helpful -- it's good to know when you're out. There is one interesting thing here, though: Turtles makes innovative use of the O2 The Voice addon to make music. Without it there's no music, as usual on the O2, but with it, the game actually does recreate the arcade machine's music. Very cool!

Overall, Turtles is a great game with plenty of challenge and depth. As it was a late release this game isn't cheap, but it's not overly expensive, either; be patient and you should be able to get a copy for as little as $10, maybe $20 on the high end. Turtles is highly recommended! This game may be obscure, but it's a great game, and this is maybe the best home version of it around.

[Thierry Henry]

So yours didn't come with the RFU? But isn't it hardwired to the system?

The RF connector of the Odyssey 2, the end of it that plugs into the TV, looks like this,





Our TV's over here have this type of connection with regard to RF,





So that RF from the Odyssey wont fit.
At first I thought I might need a type of adapter to make things work. But another way (and I have to thank you for this thread in giving me a push up the backside to finally find the solution), and this was kinda starring me in the face all along, was to find my RF lead that I use for my C64, Intellivision, etc, and literally just plug that in.





I have no idea why I didn't think of that before. lol

So I got out a socket wrench and opened the unit up.







So aside from removing a hex screw which is holding firm the cord inside the unit, it's literally just a simple process of unplugging the existing cord and fitting in the other one.


BTW, I found that somehow I have a couple of Odyssey 2 A/C Adapters. I literally do not remember having two of them.
The one on the left is kinda strange because it's of the dual tip variety.






So I set the unit up and tested to see if everything works.
I grabbed a "Voice" compatible game to test that module out as well.

The Odyssey works great. The Voice add-on is fully functional as well.

I must say I got a kick out of this Voice peripheral. I mean for it's time (what are we talking here, early 80's?) it must have been helluva impressive! It's a vast improvement regarding sound capabilities over the beeps and boops of its contemporaries.

[A Black Falcon]

I didn't know that Europe used a different kind of RF connection plug from the one the US uses. Odd. But yeah, it's pretty cool that you finally got it working! Have fun. I do have Sid the Spellbinder, but can't play it until I get a Voice module... and on that note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0cN2Hne1Is Here's a video of Turtles running with The Voice module. Using the speech synthesizer for music is pretty interesting... I'm not sure if any other games do the same (maybe something homebrew?), but this one does at least, and the results are interesting. I'd definitely like to get a Voice module.

Also, at the end of the video you can see the quite tough third maze.

[Thierry Henry]

......and, especially, Smithereens. That game is the Odyssey 2's "killer app", at least for two players, and it really takes off if you have the Voice which is incredibly well-used in this case

I can't comment as to whether it's the best game on the system (currently I only own 17 games for the O2, and I only recently started playing those) but it sure is quite addictive and very enjoyable. It's overly simplistic, yes, but the fun factor is definitely there.
And as you point out, with the enhancement of the Voice module, that adds to the enjoyment.

I do have Sid the Spellbinder, but can't play it until I get a Voice module...

Yeah the module is definitely a cool peripheral to own.
I only just now noticed that it has it's own self-contained speaker (the voices do not come out of the television), with a volume slider.


BTW, I was talking before regarding the different packaging of the games from the various regions.

I have games from the US and Canada to compare.
You can clearly see the more detailed and colorful look of the US game (on the right) on both the box and the cart.








This is the back of that Canadian game.
I watch many of the vids of MN12BIRD on youtube, I wonder if that "Value Village" sticker is from the same store that he's shown in a few of his vids? It's a small world.

[NeoZeedeater]

Looking at my collection, Canadian cartridges appear in both colours.