Just got a Videopac (Odyssey2), advice needed.

[liveinabin]

My wife came running into my work today saying that she'd seen a Philips Videopac G7000 (The Euro version of the Odyssey2) in a thrift store for £12. So one quick errand later, I have a console that I've never even seen before.

On first impressions, I have to say I love it. Love the design and love game carts with pull handles on them and the sound and picture clarity are both great (much less RF interference than a 2600)

 

So....I've heard a lot about how bad most of the Odyssey2 library is, but what's the good stuff?

I already have a few carts, KC Munchkin, Killer Bees and Crazy Chase - all loads of fun (Munchkin is SO much better than Pacman), Terrahawks, Space Monster and some unlabelled Fruit Machine game which are all fairly crap.

 

Oh yeah, only one of these games (Space Monster) makes use of the right hand controller, and it only seems to read the stick being pushed to the left, not right (no idea about the vertical axis). So I would imagine I have a faulty stick (and it's hardwired, damn).

Any way to fix these sticks?

[jbanes]

So....I've heard a lot about how bad most of the Odyssey2 library is, but what's the good stuff?

I already have a few carts, KC Munchkin, Killer Bees and Crazy Chase - all loads of fun (Munchkin is SO much better than Pacman),

Um... those ARE the good games.

 

There's a lot of love for Pick Axe Pete as well. The rest are all a mixed bag that are sometimes fun in two player mode, and sometimes not. One thing you DO need to do is hit Packrat and pick up Mr. Roboto and Planet Lander. I've also heard good things about KTAA, but I've never played it before.

[SteveW]

Looks like you got the best games for the system. There's also Attack of the Timelord, which is a Demon Attack style game. I haven't played Monkeyshines, but I've heard that it's pretty fun too.

 

I'd use the phrase 'hit and miss' when referring to the Videopac/Odyssey2 game library, but that's a bit misleading. I think the proper phrase would be 'incredibly rare hit and nearly all miss'. At least that's what I've found.

 

Check out this forum. http://www.videopac.org/forums/index.php Phosphor Dot Fossils hangs out there a lot. He's really into the Videopac/Odyssey2. He's one of the incredibly few owners of the Wico Trackball for the O2.

[Ze_ro]

I've always liked the Odyssey^2 as well... it had a sort of charm to it that made it likable in my opinion, even if it wasn't as powerful as it's competition.

 

Some of these have already been mentioned, but here's my list: Pick Axe Pete, Monkeyshines, Killer Bees, KC Munchkin, KC's Krazy Chase, Turtles, and Smithereens. There are also a lot of games for the system that are basically ripoffs of other games that were popular at the time, but often with a twist that makes them different enough that they're worth trying, like UFO. Stay away from the sports games though... they weren't very good back when they were new, and they really haven't aged well.

 

Conquest of the World, Quest for the Rings, and The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt are kinda neat, but you'll need to find all the crazy junk that came with them to actually make a game out of it... and you'll also need someone to play with.

 

--Zero

[Dusk2600]

So....I've heard a lot about how bad most of the Odyssey2 library is, but what's the good stuff?

I already have a few carts, KC Munchkin, Killer Bees and Crazy Chase - all loads of fun (Munchkin is SO much better than Pacman),

Um... those ARE the good games.

 

 

thats so funny and true

 

i wish i had killer bees tho

[liveinabin]

Are Odyssey2 games compatible with the videopac? I know INTV games aren't bothered if they're running on PAL or NTSC systems (and 2600 NTSC carts work on PAL, but with odd colors), no idea about the O2.

 

Oh yeah, since I have exactly no games that require a second stick, I opened the console case and unplugged the second stick, saves it lying uselessly by the console like some grisly cojoined twin Still, I'd like to buy a stick off someone sooner or later.

 

Oh, that Quest for the Rings game. How hard is it to find one with all the pieces? I like the sound of that.

[Gabriel]

 

Oh, that Quest for the Rings game. How hard is it to find one with all the pieces? I like the sound of that.

 

Not too hard. I was able to grab one almost immediately upon getting a new O2. It put me out about $20 when all the shipping and stuff was said and done.

 

The O2 multicart is a pretty good thing too.

 

http://www.classicgamecreations.com/multicart.html

[jbanes]

Are Odyssey2 games compatible with the videopac? I know INTV games aren't bothered if they're running on PAL or NTSC systems (and 2600 NTSC carts work on PAL, but with odd colors), no idea about the O2.

My understanding is that they use the exact same cartridges. KTAA says "Videopac+", but that just means that it has enhancements that only work on the upgraded O2 system that saw an (extremely) limited release. Those enhancements are disabled on a regular O2/Videopac.

 

Oh yeah, since I have exactly no games that require a second stick, I opened the console case and unplugged the second stick, saves it lying uselessly by the console like some grisly cojoined twin Still, I'd like to buy a stick off someone sooner or later.

That will probably change, soon enough. The majority of the O2 games required the second stick. You might want to open up the controller and see if you can fix the problem. It's probably just a misalignment or sticky switches or something.

 

Oh, that Quest for the Rings game. How hard is it to find one with all the pieces? I like the sound of that.

It's not hard at all. The pieces are punched on most of the boards, but there are enough people out there (mostly those who stuck it in a closet and forgot about it ) who saved all the pieces. If you do get a set with a few pieces missing, you can create your own pieces from the pictures in the manual. They're not anything special, so don't be holding your breath. The full manual can be found online.

 

Note that the way the game is structured, the cartridge can actually be played by itself. A lot of players prefer to ignore the game board in favor of multi-player dungeon crawling.

[Scumdogg]

I recommend Pick Axe Pete, Alien Invaders Plus, and Monkeyshines. There's also a good version of Demon Attack for this system. Did your console by any chance have the voice module? That thing plus Type & Tell has increased my Oddyssey 2 love times 10.

[Student Driver]

There are also a lot of games for the system that are basically ripoffs of other games that were popular at the time, but often with a twist that makes them different enough that they're worth trying, like UFO. Stay away from the sports games though... they weren't very good back when they were new, and they really haven't aged well.

 

I know UFO! was supposed to be a rip-off of Asteroids, but it's different enough to me to consider it a different type of game, and (once I got the concept of using the shield as a battering ram) it became one of my favorite games on the system. It's probably my highest recommendation for the system.

 

As for sports games, I kinda liked Pocket Billiards-- definitely moreso than Imagic's Trick Shot for 2600...

[ubersaurus]

Demon Attack and Atlantis, the Imagic games, rock hard. The Parker Bros library is a mixed bag-Frogger and Qbert are really good ports, Popeye and Super Cobra less so(though still not bad).

 

As for Phillips branded games, Killer Bees, Smithereens, both KC games, Terrahawks, Turtles, Space Monster, and Pick Axe Pete are all games I can recommend. I know there's more games over in Europe than here, but i can't remember most of them. Dam Buster is a good version of Breakout, Monkeyshines is a pretty wacky title, and the rest of the library is pretty much individual tastes things.

 

Homebrews for the console rock, though. Planet Lander, Kill The Attacking Aliens, and Amok are all games I can personally recommend(KTAA is one of my favorite games for the machine), and I've heard good things about Mr. Roboto. Getting a multicart may be the best course of action for you-lots of the rare and unreleased games for the machine are actually pretty damn good.

Edited September 29, 2006 by ubersaurus

[kirin jensen]

Definitely get the multicart. Super Bee and Robot City rock.

[pumbaaj]

I love my Odyssey 2! I just played Frogger and Q-Bert. Frogger is incredibly difficult on this . When the frog gets run over, it's kinda gross. The splat is a little more graphic than on the Atari 2600, IMO.

 

I'd highly recommend Monkeyshines. The tag games can be confusing in a good way.

 

Have you tried "KC's Crazy Chase" ?? That's another outstanding game. it's like a combo between Centipede and Pac-man.

 

Do get "Quest for the Rings". The whole concept of combining a board game and a video game is very cool, especially in the 1980's. This game actually won an award.

 

Don't be discouraged by bad reviews you may hear. It just means that there will be more games out there for us O2 fans! LOL

[liveinabin]

This sounds great. I'm really glad I picked one up.

I tried to take that stick apart, I have no idea how to remove the actual stick mechanism (and it's circuit board) from the joystick base.

[jboypacman]

I really enjoy Pick-Ax Pete myself.