Mr. Roboto		Grade: A
	Publisher: Ted Szczypiorski (2006) Reviewed: 2006/6/21

Obviously inspired by Archon (Electronic Arts, 1983) and taking its name from that cheesy Styx song, Mr. Roboto delivers some of the most entertaining two-player action you'll experience on any classic console, much less the Odyssey 2. Each player controls a set of robots on a grid, protecting their respective "CPU". The CPUs resemble a monitor with Matrix-inspired green characters moving down them - nice touch! The game itself is a superb combination of strategy and reflexes. Players take turns moving their robots one square at a time, and can also inject "viruses" into opposing robots to slow or weaken them. When two robots attempt to occupy the same square, they are transported to a "combat screen" where both run around shooting at each other while avoiding star-shaped "power surges". The last robot standing wins the square. Should a robot reach the opponent's CPU, he must then navigate a totally new screen with shifting "firewalls" and firing cannons (controlled by your opponent). For an Odyssey 2 title, this is remarkably sophisticated, but it's the audio that really steals the show. The "voice" prompts you during each turn, and during battles, it shouts funny lines like "Mercy, run!" and "Owww stop!" To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this derivative title, but my friends could not get enough of it. The contests are not only highly competitive, but often border on hilarious. Mr Roboto even offers an options screen and a solid single-player mode with respectable AI. Simply put, if you own an Odyssey 2 and don't own this cartridge, there's something wrong with you. 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. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Nightmare		Grade: F
	Publisher: Magnavox (1983) Reviewed: 2005/10/1

Referring to Nightmare as a "video game" is being pretty loose with the language. This pitiful title was never released in the USA, probably because it's so absolutely, positively horrible. You control a guy situated at the bottom of a big box that's supposed to symbolize a house. The object is to reach the "escape hatch" at the top while avoiding wandering ghosts and "lightning balls". "What's a good horror game without lightning balls?", I say sarcastically. Your character doesn't look so bad, rendered in three colors. The ghosts look decent, but the hollow "house" negates any potential for strategy. The ghosts move side-to-side in predictable patterns, and I was able to elude them indefinitely by simply moving diagonally in alternating directions. The controls and collision detection are flaky, and the game is so unpolished it often appears to be broken. Apparently, there are occasion opportunities to "catch" the ghosts, but the rules of the game are confusing. Nightmare looks and plays more like an ill-conceived, half-baked project. You'd have to be pretty hard-up for entertainment to derive any sort of enjoyment from this crap. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Out Of This World / Helicopter Rescue		Grade: F
	Publisher: Magnavox (1979) Reviewed: 2001/12/20

The first half of this dual-game cartridge is billed as "a graviteasing space race!". Who was the marketing wizard who came up with that one? In fact it's just a two-player Lunar Lander clone. You try to be the first player to move your lander between the mother ship and the planet surface ten times. The planet is flat and the mother ship looks like a small arrow. Your only control is pushing the fire button to thrust. The graphics and sound effects are sparse, to say the least. It doesn't get much weaker than this! The other game, Helicopter Rescue, is equally uninspired. You simply carry people one by one from a building on the left side of the screen to a platform on the right side as many times as you can within two minutes. Your green helicopter is large and chunky, but I do like the way it rotates. Still, this cartridge is a turkey all the way. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

P.T. Barnum's Acrobats		Grade: D
	Publisher: Magnavox (1980) Reviewed: 2001/5/10

It's no secret that many Odyssey 2 games were blatant remakes of Atari titles, but this one is particularly shameless. Simply put, this is Circus Atari for the Odyssey 2, but it pales in comparison to the original. You have two "clowns" bouncing each other off a little teeter-totter trying to pop rows of balloons on the top of the screen. Magnavox even licensed a real circus for this game, as if that could add any more credibility. At least the balloons aren't square. Some variations include barriers that are unfairly low. The voice synthesis is pathetic! The guy (who sounds a bit creepy, if you ask me) makes all sorts of inappropriate comments, like "hurry!", "oh no!", and "ahhh!". I think they re-used a bunch of voice effects from K.C.'s Krazy Chase. This is one game I could live without. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Pachinko		Grade: C-
	Publisher: Magnavox (1980) Reviewed: 2003/6/22

I was expecting the game from the Price Is Right, but Pachinko is much different. It resembles a pinball game played by two players, each moving a man with a flipper across the bottom of the screen. Scattered above are buckets of various point values. Two balls bounce around the screen. When you touch a ball, it changes to your color, and any points it scores are awarded to you. Sometimes a ball can bounce into several buckets before coming back down, racking up some big numbers. The point values of the buckets change periodically, and the first player to make it to 100 points wins the game. Pachinko is a simple game that requires more luck than skill, but it's still somewhat enjoyable for some unknown reason I haven't been able to figure out. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Pick Axe Pete		Grade: B-
	Publisher: Magnavox (1982) Reviewed: 2001/2/7

Here's a fun little game in the tradition of Donkey Kong. There are seven platforms and three doors located at the top, middle, and bottom of the screen. The doors disperse bouncing boulders. Armed with his axe, Pete begins in the middle of the screen, where he can strike the boulders for points. When his axe disappears, he has to dodge or jump over the rocks. Using ladders and gaps in the platforms, Pete can climb or descend the levels. Keys appear on the upper level, allowing Pete to exit through one of the doors and progress to the next round. Additional pick axes appear on the lower level. I don't quite understand the design of this game; why would you want to go to the lower levels when the keys only appear at the top? Regardless, Pick Axe Pete controls very well and provides a decent challenge. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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1 player

Pocket Billiards		Grade: F
	Publisher: Magnavox (1980) Reviewed: 2001/3/1

You know a pool game is bad when both players root for each other to make the shot. But not as an act of support - only to bring this God-awful train-wreck of a game to an end! Before you remind me that this is just the Odyssey 2, I should let you know that I HAVE played a very GOOD pool game on the Atari 2600 (Trick Shot)! The graphics and sound effects here are minimal. The physics and shooting angles are completely unpredictable and grossly inaccurate. For some reason, the balls tend to roll either up-and-down or side-to-side. Every shot is soft; you can't even shoot the cue ball the length of the table! There are two game variations, eight ball and rotation, but both are two-player only. This is one SORRY game. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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2 players

Popeye		Grade: D+
	Publisher: Parker Bros (1983) Reviewed: 2002/6/25

I know these Odyssey games tend to re-use the same character shapes over and over, but no way is that generic "man" shape going to pass as Popeye! Even worse looking is Bluto - that big, blocky, green thing looks more like Frankenstein. This is one sad-looking version of the popular arcade hit. I didn't even recognize this game. At least Olive Oyl looks somewhat respectable (in a pixilated kind of way), and the things she tosses do look like hearts -- if you tilt your head a certain angle. There are some tiny stairs on the lowest level, but to reach the higher platforms you'll need to utilize the "elevators" (which look like division signs) moving vertically on each side of the screen. Although the graphics truly suck, the gameplay really isn't a far cry from the original game. You move across platforms, collect hearts, eat spinach, and punch Bluto off the screen every now and then. Bluto at least makes an effort; he jumps around, swats at you, and throws things, but overall he's not too bright. You can loiter around the bottom level collecting hearts for quite a while before he finally gets a hold of you. Unlike other incarnations of Popeye, this has only one screen. Reaching new screens was a major appeal of the arcade game, so this shortcoming is a major flaw. At least Parker Bros. managed to incorporate the part where you can drop a bucket on Bluto's head, but it's difficult to execute and really not worth the effort. Also included is a two-player mode where the second player controls Bluto. The sound effects are decent and include a nice rendition of the Popeye theme. Popeye for the Odyssey is hideous for sure, but if the graphics don't scare you off you're in for a fair amount of arcade action. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Power Lords		Grade: C
	Publisher: Magnavox (1983) Reviewed: 2002/2/23

Power Lords looks pretty exciting at first, but there's really not much to the gameplay. The screen features a huge volcano in the center, with a big cobra lurking in the crater. Meteors rain from above. You control a little red ship trying to shoot a white star that periodically appears on the volcano. You'll also need to avoid the meteors and attacks from the snake. Unless you stun him, the cobra will try to blast you with lasers that shoot from its eyes. It's a pretty impressive graphic effect for the Odyssey 2. Another nice effect is the lava that pours out of the volcano when it erupts. You can move your ship off one side on the screen and appear on the opposite side, and you'll want to utilize this strategy to maintain your distance from the cobra. A gravitational ray kicks in during the later stages, adding to the difficulty. I love the nifty graphics, but they can't hide the mediocre gameplay. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

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1 player

Q*bert		Grade: A-
	Publisher: Parker Bros (1983) Reviewed: 2001/7/6

I'm surprised the Odyssey 2 got a version of this arcade favorite. I'm even more surprised at how well it turned out! The graphics are certainly a step down from most other home versions, but at least none of the gameplay elements have been sacrificed. All the balls, enemies, and flying disks are here. There's even the little intro before each level to demonstrate what you need to do. The blocks are rectangular, not diamond shaped, but otherwise the game looks fine. The characters are nicely drawn and the animation is much smoother than most other home versions. There are several game variations, including some two-player modes. My biggest beef is that Ugg (one of the nasties you have to avoid) often appears without warning on the bottom edge of the screen, resulting in some undeserved deaths. Otherwise I'm pleased with this fine translation. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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1 or 2 players

Quest For The Rings		Grade: C+
	Publisher: Magnavox (1981) Reviewed: 2001/3/1

Wow, this game gets an A+ for effort! Part board game and part video game, Quest for the Rings comes with a nice game board, finely-crafted plastic and metal "tokens", a keyboard overlay, and an oversized, beautifully illustrated manual. Heck, even the box looks like a work of art. Evidentially a lot of resources went into creating the elaborate maps and engraved tokens. Too bad they didn't spend more time on THE FREAKIN' VIDEO GAME! Geez, you'd think it was an afterthought or something! Quest is a two-player cooperation game. Players traverse the map on the game board, switching over to the video game to hunt for rings in monster-infested dungeons. There are four characters to choose from: a sword-wielding warrior, a spell-casting wizard, a wall-penetrating phantom, and a "changling" who can turn invisible. It's nice to have a choice but let's face it, without weapons the changling and phantom aren't much fun. Before beginning each dungeon, both characters are shown entering into a "time warp", depicted by some downright irritating visual and sound effects. There are four types of dungeons, each one screen in size. These can feature normal walls, moving walls, walls that are deadly to touch, or invisible walls. Monsters include the human-shaped orcs, giant spiders (which look like octopi), "bloodthirsts" that look like pterodactyls, and large fire-breathing dragons! These dragons put those hollow ducks in Adventure to SHAME! Unfortunately, only the orcs can be killed! In theory, a "dungeon master" is supposed to use the keyboard to specify the content of each dungeon based on board movement. But I'd recommend abandoning the board altogether and letting the computer generate random dungeons for you. Both players can work together, but the action isn't too deep. Getting a ring usually requires one player to act as a decoy. Your characters move like snails and can only attack from the side, making them highly susceptible to monsters approaching from above and below. The collision detection is highly questionable, and close proximity to a bad guy usually means death. The graphics aren't bad at all. When a large monster eats your character, he is depicted as being consumed with his legs still twitching! That's a nice touch I haven't seen in any other classic games. But ultimately Quest for the Rings just isn't very fun, and that's too bad. Despite the numerous "extras", the gameplay rarely rises above mediocrity. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

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2 players

Robot City		Grade: A-
	Publisher: Magnavox (19??) Reviewed: 2002/6/25

It's a crime that this Odyssey game was never released, because it's remarkably good! You control a jackhammer/helicopter-looking thing moving around a generic maze. The object is to destroy four wandering tanks that can fire at you. So far it sounds like every game you've ever played right? Well, wait - there's more! Each tank is protected by a shield that surrounds it on all sides except for the back! You need to sneak up behind these guys to take them out. That's not so easy, because the tanks tend to rotate whenever they reach an intersection. Once shot, a destroyed tank forms an impenetrable barrier which alters the maze and may force you to alter your strategy. But the best part of Robot City is how you can lure the tanks into shooting each other (like Berzerk!). This adds a layer of complexity you won't find in most Odyssey games. Each stage has a short "intro screen", in which the stage number is introduced by a large (but pixilated) tank. It's a nice touch. The initial stage is somewhat slow and methodical, but the pace picks up in a hurry. The sound effects are pleasing to the ear, and they change with each stage. You'll find Robot City on the Odyssey 2 multicart. Don't miss out on this one. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

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1 player