Hello to you and how you be… Dan Ryan here… you there. Thank you so much for checking out this post and if you like what you see please share around. A few years ago we started a segment on the pod called Stone Age Starter Kits. The idea was Kris and I would pretend we had $100 to start a retro game collection with. The question was, if you had the console and the controllers, what games would you/could you get? The entire piece of business took a few years to complete since we started with the 2600 and went all the way up to the last generation, Generation 8. (PS4/XBone/WiiU) Now, we didn’t cover each and every system released in each generation since one, we didn’t have the necessary experience to cover say the Amstrad GX4000 and two, that would have been inauthentic and you all deserve more than that. All that being the case I thought a good idea for a new segment on the pod would be the Stone Age Standouts; the top 5 games you should buy for each system regardless of price. And, since we have some really outstanding ways to play many of the titles covered on the show, wouldn’t it be a good idea to make this post, recapping the episode and letting non-listeners in on the fun? Last month’s Stone Age Standouts focused on the Intellivision, a system I knew but didn’t really know, you know?. And sure, my proverbial skirt remained in a decidedly not blown-up position, but I was thankful for the knowledge gained. This month we covered the Magnavox Odyssey 2, a system I knew even less about. Just how far up were my skirts blown? (lots of me in a skirt imagery this post, you’re welcome) Submitted for your approval this is Stone Age Standouts: Magnavox Odyssey 2.

Three years ago I started collecting vinyl records. I’ve always been a huge music fan and went from a massive tape library to a massive cd library, thanks Napster/Limewire/Kazaa, to a big box of shiny plastic coasters sitting in my attic thanks to digital streaming. And while streaming is great, mostly, I missed the physical connection to my music. So, vinyl. My local shop, Abbie Road, is wonderful and always full to bursting. What never ceases to amaze me is just how many records I see that are completely foreign. I consider myself a deep well of musical information and yet, every single time I’m digging, I come across tons of artists I’ve never heard of. And I’m realizing the same is true, to a lesser extent, with retro gaming. Kris, for his infinite knowledge of retro gaming, has a few gaps as well. We decided to take this opportunity to rectify that. So, the Magnavox Odyssey 2.

The Odyssey 2 was released in 1978 in North America. The Odyssey 2 shipped with a full membrane keyboard on the console and two wired joysticks. The joysticks weren't great though, if only some sort of USB controller existed that could do a much better job if you were playing these games on your PC… Unlike its predecessor, the Odyssey 2 had the ability to switch game cartridges putting it directly in competition with other home systems at the time, namely Atari’s 2600. Its built-in keyboard gave it a unique gameplay experience, combo video and board games. A speech synthesizer also gave the Odyssey 2 unique features over its competitors. I had a lot more fun than I realized going through the catalog and found a few games that I was genuinely surprised by. The Odyssey 2 certainly has its own DNA so to speak, for better or worse.

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K.C.’s Krazy Chase! (1982): K.C.’s Krazy Chase! is a maze game that sees players steering the titular K.C. through obstacles and munching on things to clear each level. The twist in Krazy Chase is that K.C. has to munch the six segments of the Dratapillar, all while avoiding the two attacking drats, sprouting trees, and Dratapillar’s head, in order to clear the level. Which means you chase the Dratapillar and munch from behind. Doing so turns the two drats white allowing K.C. to attack them and render them harmless for a few seconds. More than a mere Pac-Man clone, Krazy Chase features interesting maze design, a solid gameplay loop, and an interesting twist on the maze game formula that was ever present at the time.

K.C. Munchkin! (1981): Calling Munckin! a Pac-Man clone does a grave disservice to the game, not that that stopped Atari from suing Philips. Sure, it’s definitely inspired by, but what makes Munchkin! different, and really fun, is the game design. Here players are tasked with guiding K.C. through a series of mazes to gobble up munchies while avoiding the three Munchers. The trick is that the munchies move around the screen, getting faster the less of them there are. And the maze has dead ends. And when the player character dies the score resets to zero. Unfortunately the courts sided with Atari and Munchkin was pulled.

Killer Bees! (1983): When I was a kid in the 80’s I was convinced that quicksand was going to be my downfall. If I was somehow lucky enough to survive those sandy deathtraps, killer bees would obviously be the next most logical thing to take me out. Anyway Killer Bees! for the Odyssey 2 puts players in control of a swarm of earth bees taking on the ferocious Beebots and their swarms of killer not earth bees. Each time you swarm over a Beebot they die and leave behind a gravestone. Said gravestone affects the movement of the remaining Beebots and adds a fun bit of strategy to a unique experience.

Pick Axe Pete! (1982): This game was described to me as a version of Donkey Kong which I suppose is fair insofar as a starting point. It’s a platformer with boulders instead of barrels and a pickaxe instead of a hammer. Pete is a prospector, smashing boulders and finding keys to make his way through ten levels and reach the high score. The difference here is that your pickaxe can time out leaving Pete the ability to run, jump, duck, and slide to avoid the falling boulders until they crash into each other and create a new pickaxe, or the key needed to reach the next level. It’s a great mix of platforming and survival unique to the Odyssey 2.

UFO! (1981): UFO! is another unique Odyssey 2 experience. In UFO! the player controls a ship with a wild firing system. As you move around the screen a field orbits your ship. Your ship will fire in the direction you are moving as long as your field matches. It creates a strange at first but engrossing once you get it mechanic that kept me coming back. I’ve never played anything like it before or since.

And that’s my list. To hear what Kris had to say make sure to check out the pod through whatever catcher you use or on our very own Youtube channel. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.