Amok!

Amok was the first homebrew Odyssey² game, created roughly 15 years after the last commercial game was released in the United States. The author, John Dondzila, is a prolific developer of games for classic systems, notably the Vectrex. He also created the first Odyssey² Multicart. Amok is an O2 take on the arcade classic Berzerk.

Dondzila announced Amok in a post to the Usenet group rec.games.video.classic on Aug. 27, 1998. RGVC was the online hub of classic video gaming in those days. For a limited time, Dondzila offered to personalize the game for each buyer; the buyer's name and the cartridge serial number were added to the scrolling message on the title screen. The exact number of personalized Amok cartridges is unknown, but the Homebrew Release thread reports there were at least 54.

Dondzila sold Amok through his web sites and at conventions like Classic Gaming Expo. It was distributed in Sega Genesis-style plastic boxes with printed paper covers. It originally sold for $20. Dondzila no longer makes games, but the Rack Test version of Amok is still being sold by publisher 2600 Connection.

Marcelo Ribeiro imagined what it would be like if Amok! had been released in the Brazilian style. His Portuguese title for it is Fúria Assassina! ("Murderous Fury!"). He assigned it part number 06 AV 9601, and designed a virtual Brazilian box. To my knowledge, no authorized physical releases bearing this artwork, name or number have ever been created.