Odyssey 2 Reviews G-L

High Water Patrol isn't very hard, and I was unable to determine the significance of the Defender-like scanner at the top of the screen. The shooting is repetitive, and by the time the game kicks into high-gear you may have already lost interest. The highlight of the game is what my friends refer to as "3D sound effects". In addition to beeping sounds from the TV, you hear amazing explosions coming from the voice module.

Patrol won't win any awards, but Scott says it's still better than Killzone for the PS4 (oh no he didn't!). The cartridge also contains a second title called Sea Rescue Voice Edition. Don't be deceived by the name - this is not the same Sea Rescue I reviewed last year. No, this is a better-looking, turbo-charged Sea Rescue that runs about ten times faster than the original! The idea is to protect people swimming toward your ship by shooting sharks with a speargun.

The controls are tight but there's little margin for error. Voices you'll hear include "go!", "thank you!", "oh no!", and even the occasional pirate "aargh!" Clearly impressed, Brent declared, "I don't know how anything could be better than this!" (although in fairness, he may have been talking about his beer). If you're an Odyssey 2 fan, you owe it to yourself to track down this nifty two-in-one cartridge. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.

Hockey/Soccer's gameplay is slow, choppy, and generally repulsive. The players are controlled individually. They move erratically and often come to a screeching halt for no apparent reason. When you pass or shoot, ball/puck pixel comes to a dead stop, after moving about an inch. You know, it's perfectly normal to hate Odyssey 2 sports games. They suck so badly that my friend Scott was inspired to coin the phrase "Life is too short for Odyssey 2 sports games". How true that is. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

There's a silhouette of a babe on the pink cartridge label, and the instructions feature a number of pin-ups in "come hither" poses (no nudity). Hot Love actually came with a condom, although it's unclear whether you're supposed to wear it while playing or place it over the joystick. You really can't be too careful these days.

Hot Love seems pretty risque until you remember this is the Odyssey 2 we're talking about. Sexual themes in super-low resolution are only good for laughs. Your aroused character must traverse a three-story burning building with moving "flames" for the chance to get lucky with a heavily-pixelated babe. The screen flickers like crazy (to simulate fire I assume) and my friend Chris swears up and down that it gave him epilepsy. The controls are responsive enough as you hop over the flames, but you can only jump straight up so your timing has to be perfect.

Hot Love looks deceptively easy, and the brief games demand you try "just one more time". My friend Steve and I must have played this about 30 times in a row, and boy oh boy were the expletives flying. Once you finally reach the top and see what happens, the replay value drops substantially. I'm not going to give anything away, but you'll want to have the voice module attached. Classic systems and adult themes go together like oil and water, and Hot Love tries to have a little fun with that fact. © Copyright 2012 The Video Game Critic.

These UFOs are aggressive shooters and the playfield is filled with floating "planets" (as big as your ship!) which provide cover. When you shoot a planet, it changes color. By making planets the color of your ship, you create spare lives for yourself. Although the manual offers some single player "challenges," this is unquestionably a two-player game. I found it to be shallow and absolutely devoid of fun. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

Unlike Pac-Man, dots actually move around the maze. You have your choice of several interesting maze configurations, and those with dead ends force you to rethink your strategy. A randomized maze is also available, and if that's not good enough, you can program your own damn maze!

The controls are perfect. When you release the joystick you abruptly stop, allowing you wait for the opportune moment to chow down on a power pill. Just don't forget to immediately move upward to begin each round. In contrast to Atari's Pac-Man the graphics are flicker-free and smoothly animated. K.C. Munchkin is no pushover thanks to elusive enemies and a quick-ramping difficulty. By the fourth screen the action is downright frantic, with dots moving as fast as you!

Games tend to be short but addictive, and the high score displayed on the bottom goads you into trying "one more time". The fact that you only have one life adds a sense of urgency and makes you think twice about glory-seeking. K.C. Munchkin may have been conceived as a Pac-Man clone, but the final product turned out to be much, much more. It's easy to see why Atari wanted this one off the store shelves! © Copyright 2015 The Video Game Critic.

There are some nice graphical touches in this game, like how K.C. rolls when he moves and "waves" goodbye when he dies. Krazy Chase is just as fun as K.C. Munchkin, and even features voice synthesis if you have the voice module. The voice is pretty annoying actually, imploring you to "run!" and "hurry up!" on a constant basis. It adds nothing to the actual gameplay. K.C.'s Krazy Chase provides five mazes and gives you the option of building your own. It's a lot of fun. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.

The first features a simple house among trees, but subsequent stages include pyramids in a desert, a castle in the snow, a tropical island, and even a massive train. Each stage contains progressively larger objects to protect, providing larger targets for the alien onslaught. There are a nice variety of aliens that appear randomly in the sky, and some even feature nifty rotation effects! As you blast the attacking aliens and their bombs, you also have the opportunity to snag power-ups which can increase your shot speed, slow the aliens, or replenish your shield.

The controls are perfectly responsive, and you can even fire diagonally in addition to upwards and sideways. Navigating the upper reaches of the screen provides an ideal shooting angle, but it also makes you susceptible to alien "respawns". I love how your bonuses are added to your score between waves, and "Perfect" is displayed after completing a flawless wave. Initially I suspected the lack of a difficulty select would be problematic, but the gameplay is nicely tuned so even if you breeze through the initial waves, the later stages are always a challenge.

It's hard to find fault with KTAA, but I suppose one could argue that the amount of power-ups is overly generous, and the game does tend to run a bit long. But all in all, this is an absolutely stellar effort. If you're an Odyssey fan or a classic gaming enthusiast, do not hesitate to purchase Kill The Attacking Aliens (KTAA), now available from Packrat Video Games. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.