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Now You're Playing With Odyssey²... Again!
The guys over at Now You're Playing With Podcast have published the second half of their Odyssey² deep-dive. Listen along as they struggle mightily with Alien Invaders—Plus!, completely misunderstand Monkeyshines!, and are blown away by Killer Bees. At the end they even get into a few European releases.
For those who prefer to listen with their eyes as well as their ears, the entire podcast has also been edited into a YouTube video.
Get Ready to Climb the WALLS!
2600 Connection has released WALLS!, a new game for the Odyssey². WALLS! is a new game created and designed by Chris Read. Chris also is the author of GOSUB and FATSO!.
In the game, you have to defend your home from the evil balls. You press the joystick in the direction of an approaching evil ball, and a wall is formed and the evil ball is blocked! You're safe! Wait - there's another one coming at you, and another one, and yet another one. This all continues at a frantic pace! Can you endure? How long can you defend your home?
Only 50 numbered cartridges are being made, and over half have already been reserved. Act quickly if you want one! The price is $25 plus shipping. Includes a color manual and a plastic storage box with cover artwork created by Rafael Cardoso.
More information, including a gameplay video, an be found on the 2600 Connection web site.Mage 2 Coming Soon!
Revival Studios has announced Mage 2, the sequel to last year's impressive Odyssey²/Videopac homebrew game. Mage 2 will be available in both an easier Light Edition and a more-challenging Dark Edition. Seventy-five copies of each edition will be available, while 20 copies of a special Collectors Edition (complete with keychain and poster) will be produced. Only six Collectors Editions are still available; the eligible buyers will be randomly selected soon, so e-mail Revival Studios now if you are interested.
More information on the game will soon be available on Revival's web site. (It seems to be experiencing technical problems at the moment, but will hopefully be back online soon.)
Now You're Podcasting With Odyssey²!
Now You're Playing With Podcast, a relative newcomer to the burgeoning video-game podcast universe, has dedicated their latest broadcast to the Odyssey². The podcasters tackled the O2 library in a clever way: they recorded themselves playing all the U.S.-released O2 games in (estimated) release order, and then watch themselves playing, broadcasting their reactions and observations as they go. Check out the first half of their O2 deep-dive in Now You're Playing With Podcast Episode 19.
I've listened to most of the first episode and it's pretty entertaining. The release-order conceit is a great method for developing a historical perspective on the O2, but does unfortunately mean that the first hour or so is loaded with the system's weaker early titles. It won't be until Part II of the podcast that they get to most of the best games. Despite this, us O2 fans should be pleased that NYPWP isn't just taking cheap shots at the system for two hours; they seem to enjoy the games and make an attempt to appreciate them in the proper context. Of course, some games (Basketball for example) don't get off easy – not that they deserve to!
Hop on Board the Piggyback Planet!
Odyssey² and Videopac homebrew publisher Videopac Is @live has been hard at work lately! Their latest offering, Piggyback Planet! by Rafael Cardoso, is a horizontal space shooter with a feature very rare in the O2 world: a boss battle! Here are details from the release announcement:
A new release for Odyssey² and Videopac+ is coming in June: PIGGYBACK PLANET! by Rafael Cardoso. Limited run of 25 copies (each version).
You can pre-order NOW and you could pay 29€ for your copy by PAYPAL to videopac.is@live.be
You can choose the shipping method:
Europe: 6€ or 10€ with tracking
World: 8€ or 12€ with tracking.
Each version of the game contains the same program stored inside the cartridge. The label, the instructions booklet, the indexcard (Odyssey²) and the back cover (Videopac+) are different.
Owner lists are available at the Videopac Is @live site. If you want one, hurry! Not many are left!
New Revival Studios Release: Stairrunner!
Revival Studios, which has been cranking out new O2/Videopac releases left and right, has another new game starring the hapless young wizard-in-training, Wizzy. Here are the details from the release announcement:
Remember Young Wizzy?
This time around he tried practicing an elevation spell and as a result the elevators in his neighborhood are out of control!
Help Wizzy reach the top of each building and undo the damage being caused by his spell!
Use the right joystick to move Wizzy left and right. Note that after you start moving you cannot stop until Wizzy reaches the end of the floor or goes back to the start of the floor. Wizzy will automatically climb the stairs at the end of each floor.
Game features:
- Playable on Videopac and Odyssey² consoles
- Different Videopac+ backgrounds for each level
- Digitized speech using The Voice add-on
- Internet high-score uploading
- Online rewards system
Stairrunner is available now on cartridge for 39 euros + 5 euro S&H. An additional plastic Videopac box is available for 5 euros. Fans that own Revival Studios' other Videopac games will receive a 4 euro discount!
For more information about the game, including screenshots, packaging shot and more, check out Revival Studios' Stairrunner page.A New Multicart for a New Year!
Odyssey² and Videopac tech wiz René van den Enden has produced a new multicart packed with rare prototypes and homebrew games. Dubbed the C7060 Game Selector, this one cart boasts over 200 games, including the legendary prototype Sherlock Holmes and recently discovered titles like Himalaya and Linguaduc. It also contains an exciting feature that previous multicarts have not had: an on-screen menu for selecting games, complete with a search function!
- Contains more than 200 games
- Contains all Philips Videopac and Magnavox Odyssey² games, and a lot of prototypes and homebrews
- Contains several games that haven't been available before on a multicart or the Internet
- On-screen game menu
- Works on all Videopac, Jopac and Odyssey² consoles
- Works with The Voice
- Automatic PAL/NTSC selection for some games
- Search function
- only new PCBs, new EPROMs and new components have been used
The complete game menu can be found here.
In addition to the C7060, René and Bas Kornalijnslijper worked together to produce the Voice+ Module, a hardware "extender" which allows The Voice unit to function on a Videopac+ G7400. Unfortunately all Voice+ Modules have already sold out, but the hardware gurus are considering a second run if there is enough demand.
You can order your C7060 Game Selector and inquire about the Voice+ Module at this post over at the Videopac.nl forums.
Thanks for your hard work, René and Bas!
Interview with O2 Case Designer Jay Rogers
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with a genuine Odyssey² veteran over the phone: Jay Rogers, who worked as a plastics designer for Magnavox in the late '70s and early '80s. Jay was part of the approximately ten-person design team responsible for the Odyssey² mainframe's physical shape, and he also helped design The Voice of Odyssey². In a phone conversation, he was kind enough to answer a number of questions and share many stories from his time at Magnavox. Each one will be of interest to Odyssey² fans. Ever wonder what inspired the shape of the system's famous cartridge handles? Now you can find out!
Go Get Gosub!
2600 Connection announced a few days ago that Chris Read's Gosub! is now available for purchase! The release is limited to 50 copies (25 Odyssey² style and 25 Videopac style and PAL). The $25 price includes box and manual. Shipping costs are $6 within the continental U.S., $10 for Canada, and $15 everywhere else.
There are still copies available. For more information or to place an order, visit 2600 Connection's Gosub! page.
Another New Release! Mage - The Enchanted Crystals
Revival Studios, which recently brought us the homebrew games AstroDodge, ColorClash and Mayhem, already has another new release planned, and it sounds like a big one! Here are details from the press release:
NEW RELEASE! Mage - The Enchanted Crystals
Join Wizzy, the son of the Wizard of Odyssey, in his first adventure!
While working on a powerful spell, Wizzy's father was being watched by others. As a precaution he captured the spell inside a crystal and divided it into 4 pieces, which he buried inside the mines, just south of your village. It is now up to you to collect these pieces and bring them together inside the enchanted chest to ensure the spell doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
More than 20 times the normal amount of development time has gone into making this game, to make sure it will push the boundaries of what is possible on the dear old Videopac and Odyssey² systems!
Check out the trailer here.
Game features:
- Playable on Videopac and Odyssey² consoles
- High resolution background on Videopac+ consoles
- Multicolored backgrounds and sprites
- Digitized speech using The voice add-on
- Internet highscore uploading
- Online rewards system
Release information:
This game is available on cartridge with a limited release of 100 copies. Price: 39 euros.
For more information and photos, visit Revival Studios.
Welcome to the Jungle, Girl
Videopac Is @live, the publisher that recently brought us the homebrew releases Fatso! and Sea Rescue!, is now taking payments for a new game: Jungle Girl!. In this game from author s0c7, you're a fierce spear-carrying female (think Sheena, Queen of the Jungle) protecting an innocent native from vicious lions. The author provides more details about the game in this forum post.
The cartridge run of Jungle Girl! includes a cartridge, instruction book, index card, and a small catalog of Videopac-Odyssey² games. It's limited to 50 copies, and very few are left! Check out Videopac Is @live for contact info.
More About GoSub and Its Contest
The publisher of GoSub has provided some more information and a screenshot to assist those of you entering the game's label-design contest:
GoSub!
You are a submarine driver in search of sunken treasure off the coast of Cape Chammawingiwakauguflidplitargoknotz. Your job: Get the treasure chests and be rich! But there are dangers: it seems the treasures are well protected because there are walls. Don't hit the walls!
GoSub is a new homebrew game by Chris Read, who previously programmed FATSO. You pilot a submarine and must navigate a perilous maze to reach the exit. Touching the walls will destroy your submarine, so you must pilot your craft with great skill! And as if the narrow passages were not enough danger, in the maze lurks a monster octopus determined to crush your sub with its mighty grip! Can you escape with your life and your wits?
Contest entrants: please help yourself to this Odyssey² label template (7.8 kb, BMP format). Photoshop users can download this layered PSD version (3.71 mb). These templates are courtesy of yours truly, who plans to enter the contest if I can come up with a good enough idea.
Design a Label and Win GoSub!
The unprecedented spate of new Odyssey² releases is just not slowing down! Coming next to our beloved consoles is GoSub, a new release from Chris Read, programmer of Fatso!. Like the earlier game, the release of GoSub is being promoted with a label-design contest. Here are the details:
Hot off the heels of releasing ALIEN GREED 4 for the ATARI 2600, the USA team consisting of programmer Chris Read and game publisher Tim Duarte are getting ready to release GoSub on cartridge for the Odyssey² and Videopac systems.
We are having a label contest. The winner will receive a free game of GoSub.
Per Gertk, (on www.videopac.nl) here are the measurements:
The square space on the cartridge is 70 x 70 mm. (or 2.754 inch) on both Odyssey² and Videopac cartridges. The label itself is slightly smaller:
- Odyssey² label: 68.6 mm or 2.700 inch square
- Videopac label: 69.5 mm or 2.737 inch square
Please email the submission to timdu@hotmail.com and also send it to atari2600land@yahoo.com.
We will pick a winning entry on Wednesday, August 1.
More info soon on a release date. Good luck to all!
Men Overboard!
The parade of new homebrew games continues! The latest author is Rafael Cardoso, who brings us Sea Rescue!, a game where a stranded submarine crew must swim through shark-infested waters toward a waiting rescue vessel. Can you guide them to safety? Watch the YouTube video to find out what challenges await.
Rafael states that a Sea Rescue! release is planned for June or July. Keep an eye on the Videopac Forum for announcements. In the meantime, you may download the BIN file to try out the game on O2EM. Congratulations to Rafael for bringing another new O2 title to market!
Update: More information about Sea Rescue! and Sea Rescue+ is now available. The game will be limited to a run of 40 copies. The following ordering options are available:
The game is for sale 29 €:
- NTSC Odyssey² version: The cartridge, the booklet and the index card.
- PAL Videopac+ version: The cartridge, the booklet and the back cover.
A classic plastic case can be added for € 4 more. A "crystal" case for Videopac+ can be added for € 8 more.
You can choose the shipping method:
- For France 4 € (with tracking = 8 €)
- For Europe 6 € (with tracking = 10 €)
- For the rest of the World: 9 € (with tracking = 12 €)
Payment by Paypal to videopac.is @ live.be (pay as a gift = Paypal fees at your charge).
Information on upcoming "Videopac Is Alive" releases (including a new one, Jungle Girl!) can be found here.
Hey Fatso! Design This Label!
Fatso! is a new Odyssey² and Videopac game being developed by Chris Read. Based on the semi-classic Atari 2600 title Fast Food, Fatso! puts you in control of a pair of ravenous lips chomping down pretzels, cookies and other fattening delicacies in a quest to consume as many calories as possible. But look out for the deadly red pickle – eat one and your snacking days are over.
Fatso! will release with a limited edition of 25 cartridge copies. Ordering information and screenshots can be found on Chris Read's Fatso! page. To promote the release, Chris is holding a label design contest. For details and crucial specifications, head on over to the Videopac / Odyssey2 Forum.
It's a great time to be an O2 fan right now, as recent months have brought us several new game releases. And if you still crave more, Chris is working on another homebrew game called Ants!.
Another New Homebrew: ColorClash!
The parade of new releases from Revival Studios continues with ColorClash, a puzzle/shooting game based on one of Revival's original Vectrex games. Here are the details from the release announcement:
In Colorclash, the player has to shoot the various colored gems that are falling down from the top of the screen. The gems are marked with symbols and the player has to match up the symbol on his ship with the symbol on the gems. The speed of the game will gradually increase, but by strategically shooting the right gems the player can have 4 of the same gems on screen at once.
Upon shooting 4 similar gems in a row, the speed of the game will decrease and the player will be rewarded extra points.
Game features:
- Playable on Videopac and Odyssey² consoles
- High resolution background on Videopac+ consoles
- Digitized speech using The voice add-on
- Internet highscore uploading
- Online rewards system
ColorClash is available for 39 Euros plus shipping. For more information about the game, including how to order a cartridge, go to the ColorClash page at revival-studios.com.
Videos Revived
Acting on some reader requests, I have totally revamped the Videos section. Now you can stream the videos directly through your modern browser – no downloads required. I've also added a number of new clips and re-edited the ones that were already there. Now most of them are larger, with better color and audio.
New clips include an early Magnavox commercial featuring Football, two European Videopac commercials, a shot from the Odyssey booth at the 1983 CES, even a clip from the classic '80s cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends that features Odyssey² sound effects. Of course, old favorites like the Wizard of Odyssey commercials and 1983 Odyssey3 Command Center promo video are still available for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
It's Homebrew Mayhem!
Hot on the heels of Astro Dodge, Revival Studios has announced another new homebrew game for Odyssey² and Videopac consoles: Mayhem. In this reflex game, which ever-so-slightly resembles the arcade classic Food Fight, you control Wizzy, son of the famed Wizard of Odyssey. The young mage-in-training must dodge a dizzying array of enchanted, rotating sticks while on a quest to grab spinning coins. Here is more detail from the official release announcement:
Now Wizzy, the little wizard, is in trouble! He attempted a spell to produce fire, but the sticks he wished to see burn now fly all around him. You must help Wizzy to collect the coins while avoiding the bewitched wood!
Check out the game trailer here.
Game features:
- Playable on Videopac and Odyssey² consoles
- High resolution background on Videopac+ consoles
- Digitized speech using The voice add-on
- Multicolor sprite animation
- Internet highscore uploading
- Online rewards system
- Hidden gameplay mode
Mayhem is available for 39 Euros plus shipping. For more information about the game, including how to order a cartridge, go to the Mayhem page at revival-studios.com.
The Munchkin's Middle Name
Some time ago, I posted the true name of the man who inspired K.C. Munchkin's name: the late Kenneth C. Meinken Jr., one-time president of Magnavox. At the time of my post, I had learned that his last name was actually "Meinken" – not "Mencken" as had previously been reported online – but I wasn't able to discover his middle name. However, last week I was contacted by Mr. Meinken's grandson, who informed me that Meinken's middle name was Charles. So now we finally know our favorite's munchkin's "real" name! I've updated the Odyssey² Essentials FAQ with this information.
According to his grandson, Meinken was a self-made man who started off selling transformers in Chicago and worked his way up to become president of Magnavox and vice president of North American Philips. All in all, he sounds like a worthy namesake for our hardworking munchkin.
Can You Survive the Onslaught?
Revival Studios has announced an ambitious new game for Odyssey² and Videopac consoles: Astro Dodge. In this reflex game, you dodge a relentless barrage of asteroids that threaten your spaceship. This may sound like fairly standard fare for a classic console game, but Astro Dodge features some truly 21st-century elements: online leaderboards and achievements. Details from the official release announcement:
In this game you are controlling a nice multicolored spaceship, having to dodge the hordes of asteroids coming towards you.
The game is playable on all Videopac, Videopac+ and Magnavox Odyssey² systems, but also includes additional support for high resolution backgrounds on Videopac+ systems, and digitized speech through The Voice module.
More than that, players could also submit their high scores and achievements online through the use of a code, something has not been seen in any videopac/Odyssey² game before.
Check out the trailer here.
Game features:
- Playable on Videopac and Odyssey² consoles
- High resolution background on Videopac+ consoles
- Digitized speech using The Voice add-on
- Animated multicolor sprites
- Internet high score uploading
- Online rewards system
- Hidden gameplay mode
Astro Dodge is available for 39 Euros plus shipping. For more information about the game, including how to order a cartridge, go to the Astro Dodge page at revival-studios.com.