Whos got an Odyssey 2?

[Niku-Sama]

I'm getting around to finally testing mine out from PRGE '14 and I want to play conquest of the world finally after having it about 10 years, I think I got it from some one on here a long long time ago.

any thing I am missing? any tips and/or tricks?

[Steve W]

I've got one. Two, actually. I bought my first one out at the Oklahoma Video Game Expo back around 2006 or 2007, paid $40 with a dozen games. Got them home, played each game for around a minute, and put the system in my closet for years. There's a distinct lack of fun in a lot of them. Not all the games are dull, mind you. Attack of the Timelord was fun, Monkeyshines was pretty good, and Killer Bees was pretty fun and unique. The two K.C. Munchkins games are interesting takes on the Pac-Man formula, and Pick-Axe Pete is okay. I've heard that Turtles is supposed to be really good, although I've never played it. The rest of the game library? Meh. I would like to get ahold of a complete copy of Quest For the Rings, that one's supposed to be a winner. I've got a loose copy, and no idea how to play it without the other stuff.

[Niku-Sama]

ah so the $5 bucks I paid for it might be a decent investment in terms of fun factor. it had sat there for the entirety of PRGE 14 in a box with make offer. last minute I tossed them $5. they didn't want to move it, they didn't know if it worked, they probably didn't know how to test it. all the games were atleast boxed so theres that.

it came with pachinko!, armored encounter!/sub chase!, ufo!, speedway!/spinout!/cryptologic!, alien invaders -- plus!, cosmic conflict!, and k.c. munchkin!

why do they make all the names end with an exclamation point?

I tore the whole thing apart and cleaned it out and checked thing over visually, it checked out ok, no broken/cold solder joints so I didn't feel the need to test for continuity with the dmm.

I thought it was interesting that it used a intel 80-48 and that it and a co processor were socketed on the board and the rest weren't

[Edmond Dantes]

I remember owning one as a kid. My folks say we still have it, but its in storage... somewhere. I remember hooking it up and playing it as late as 1995.

Monkey Shines was my favorite game on it, even if I have absolutely no clue what you're doing in that game. I also seem to remember some weird strategy game whose cover showed a tentacle alien attacking an astronaut, and I never quite figured that game out.

[retroman]

I have one also, and have not hooked it up in about 16 years. Just did not have to much fun with this system.

[Emperor Megas]

I have one. I bought a boxed system with a bunch of games in the late 90's but I never played it once. I think that I might have lost it in Katrina, or a house fire, and the one I have now was a later mixed lot acquisition which I've never played once either.

[Tupin]

The system just does not have much fun tied in with it or its games...the only thing I think I've played less is my Aquarius.

[Gameguy]

It's hard to believe this console came out after the Atari 2600. You'd think it was still earlier based on the games.

[davidbrit2]

It's a neat system, but as previously stated, a lot of the library can be rather uninteresting. Pickaxe Pete is amusing for a little bit, but I think it's way overrated. Parker Bros made some valiant efforts at a few arcade ports. They mostly look like crap, but seem to capture the gameplay at least. The three board games seem to have potential. I've got Quest For the Rings, but haven't really had occasion to give it a proper play.

If you do get an O2, I'd advise looking for a model with detachable controllers, and building some adapters to use Atari sticks. It's just a simple pin remap.

[DK1105]

I'm quite fond of the odyssey considering I grew up as a Genesis kid. I have 3 of them boxed with about 30 games most of them with boxes. Me and my buddy are quite fond of War of Nerves. Its best explained as a really early RTS.

[AdamAnt316]

I've had a couple of them. One of them had only the pack-in cartridge with it, had the hard-wired joysticks (one of which was broken), and would reset itself if you so much as looked at it funny. I have a second one with the plug-in joysticks (why weren't they all like this?!) and several more games, but haven't done much with it.

I got to visit Ralph Baer (creator of the original Magnavox Odyssey) a couple of years ago, and he actually had an Odyssey^2 (with box) near his replica of the "Brown Box" prototype (the original of which, of course, is in the Smithsonian). Apparently, he did some consulting on the O^2, along with some promotion, but had little hand in its overall design.
-Adam

http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/brownboxodyssey.jpg

[Niku-Sama]

Well unless i get super into it I'll use it as trade bait. There's a reseller around here that does some serious price gouging but he uses eBay prices for everything and a working system on eBay lists for quite a bit

[AdamAnt316]

I would at least give it a whirl. Despite its flaws, it had a pretty solid following, particularly in Europe (where it was known as the Philips VideoPAC G7000 (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=2&c=1080)). I really should dig one of mine out one of these days, and play around with it.
-Adam

[davidbrit2]

I'm quite fond of the odyssey considering I grew up as a Genesis kid. I have 3 of them boxed with about 30 games most of them with boxes. Me and my buddy are quite fond of War of Nerves. Its best explained as a really early RTS.

I think I bought a copy of that a while back, actually, but haven't tried it yet. I'll have to try it out with my wife next time I've got the O2 hooked up.

[goldenband]

Smithereens + The Voice is the Odyssey²'s killer app. There's nothing like it on any other system from the period, and the commentary is priceless. Terrific two-player/party game.

Killer Bees and Loony Balloon are also well worth playing, and I have an odd fondness for Blockout/Breakdown. Pick Axe Pete is fun, nothing amazing.

The system also has some of the worst games I've ever seen, e.g. Hockey/Soccer which is literally unplayable (and I don't use that word lightly).

I have all three of the board game hybrids; the only one I've really played, Conquest of the World, was very disappointing -- shallow and pretentious, with poor integration between the video game and the board game. I'll give the other two a shot at some point.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, I have an O2, got it a couple of years ago. It's a pretty cool system; the graphics are simple, but I find that the games are often really fun. The KC games, Quest for the Rings, UFO, Alien Invaders Plus, Freedom Fighters, Turtles, Acrobats, and Blockout/Breakdown are all solid, fun games. UFO is my overall favorite game, but Quest for the Rings and Turtles are up there as well. It's a pretty good system for the time.

I really wish I had a The Voice unit, but sadly I don't. They're a bit pricey... I'll get one someday, though. I actually have all three carts that require it, the two educational games and the 'type it and it says it back' cart, but can't get much out of them without The Voice. :p


I would like to get ahold of a complete copy of Quest For the Rings, that one's supposed to be a winner. I've got a loose copy, and no idea how to play it without the other stuff.
In my review of the game I cover how to play it without needing the board and such: http://www.blackfalcongames.net/?p=135 (I do have it complete, but the board game version requires other people to play with, while it CAN also be played solo). I found it to be a really interesting and very ambitious game for 1981. It's one of the first fantasy action-adventure games ever on a console.


If you do get an O2, I'd advise looking for a model with detachable controllers, and building some adapters to use Atari sticks. It's just a simple pin remap.
No way, the O2's controller is pretty good, and the ones with the notched octagonal well are ESSENTIAL for Blockout/Brickdown or Pick Axe Pete!

[Niku-Sama]

Notched octagonal what?

[RP2A03]

Notched octagonal what?

I think he is referring to the gate.

[A Black Falcon]

I think he is referring to the gate.

Yeah, that's what I meant. The eight notches in the gate are essential for those games because of the way they control. For instance, in Blockout/Breakdown, when playing defense, you use left or right with no button to move the guy on one of the four lines, left/right plus button for a second line, diagonal up-left/up-right for a third, and diagonal down-left/down-right for the last. Having eight points you can lock in to makes these controls work MUCH better than they would with, say, a square or circular gate.

I also like that the joystick actually moves around a bit, as opposed to the very stiff Atari 2600 joystick.

[Niku-Sama]

oh I see ok, that reminds me, one more joystick to clean and check and I should be plugging er in.

I read NES adapters work, hope they are right.