Page 37 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #5

its loopiest, with a most original and
voice similar to that unusual game ever
of K.C.’s Krazy released under the
Chase bleating such quasi-prestigious
helpful platitudes as Challenger Series
“Come on turkey, hit banner, Killer Bees!
it!” was a surprise; a
North American fast-moving game
Phillips finally stuck from a series of fun,
a single toe into the but occasionally less
waters of licensing than original games
by getting permis- Smithereens inspired by popular Amok!
sion to tie a new Cir- coin-ops.
cus Atari-style game Throughout 1983, self with freshly-programmed cartridges
called Acrobats to the Ringling Bros.’ Bar- Phillips was leaking glimpses of a new and emulator ROMs for the ColecoVision
num & Bailey Circus. The game became console, the Odyssey 2-compatible Odys- and Vectrex, released a new game called
P.T. Barnum’s Acrobats!…but was, es- sey 3 (which also boasted the basis of a Amok! which certainly lived up to the tra-
sentially, a barely-disguised copy of Cir- more general-purpose computer system), dition of the finest Challenger Series
cus Atari, right down to the two clowns complete with new games such as Flash- games for the Odyssey 2.
and the mobile see-saw. point and enhanced-graphics versions of In Amok!, the player’s lone gunman
Toward the end of 1983, North Ameri- Pick Axe Pete and other older titles. But dodges through twisty mazes, with killer
can Phillips finally grabbed the first ar- the home video game industry’s demise robots lurking around every corner.
cade license ever for the Odyssey 2 – after the disastrous Christmas 1983 Touching the robots, their laser fire, or
and it also turned out to be the only such shopping season had claimed the Odys- even the walls results in death – and if
license sought by the Odyssey’s parent sey division before the Odyssey 3 could the player lingers in one maze too long, a
company. Phillips acquired the rights to hit the stores. The Odyssey 2 also went bouncing smiley face emerges from the
the little-known Stern coin-op Turtles, and down in flames as a result, with a final side of the screen to deliver a happy dose
truth be told, the Odyssey version was Challenger Series cartridge, Power of death.
actually one of the better cartridges for Lords, appearing in very limited numbers. If you’re thinking this sounds a lot like
the console. Reproducing everything A license tied to a series of action figures Berzerk, you’re right on the money.
down to the intermission screens be- and comic books, Power Lords boasted Berzerk is one game that the original
some of the better origi- Challenger Series
nal graphics seen in an games never even
Odyssey 2 game; for approached. And
the most part com- even though North
pletely breaking away American Phillips had
from the console’s pre- a licensing deal with
programmed set of Stern for Turtles,
characters. Power Berzerk’s rights had
Lords was a so-so already been sold to
game, but now fetches Atari (for home con-
power-draining prices in sole games) and Mil-
eBay auctions, espe- ton Bradley (for a Vec-
Acrobats cially for cartridges that trex Berzerk). Stern
still come complete with sold the rights to the
tween levels and even a tiny chunk of the their original bookcase Berzerk sequel game,
arcade game’s attract mode, and reveal- boxes and instruction Frenzy, to Coleco. But
ing a new use for the Voice (playing manuals. Amok! is a good ap-
strangely disjointed but amusing music With the Challenger proximation – even if it
throughout the game), the Odyssey port Series of Odyssey 2 is much faster than its
of Turtles was a gem. And aside from games, it was proven inspiration!
Parker Brothers’ ultra-rare Odyssey ver- that the Odyssey could Amok! features no
sions of such games as Frogger, Popeye, handle some more fran- speech synthesis.
and Q*Bert, it was the only arcade trans- tic, action-packed, arcade-style game Dondzila had originally hoped to use the
lation made available. play…and it also proved (sometimes Voice to provide robotic voices, à la the
One of the very last Challenger Series painfully) how close one could come to original Berzerk, but eventually aban-
games released, the strangely addictive copying a popular game without getting doned the idea.
Killer Bees! casts the player in the role of burned. The Amok! ROM can be downloaded
a swarm of bees who from John Dondzila’s web site (http://
must sting a room full The Last www.classicgamecreations.com) for play
of robots to death, and Challenge? on an Odyssey 2 emulator, but Dondzila
lure other bees into the Is the also sells very nice, professionally-
sights of a laser Challenger packaged and personalized Amok! car-
blaster. The other Series truly tridges from his web site. I highly recom-
bees – supposedly the dead? Per- mend the latter – an Odyssey 2 game just
killer bees of the haps not. isn’t an Odyssey 2 game without the real
game’s title – would In 1999, console – and I’m proud to add Amok! to
sting the player’s programmer my Odyssey 2 game shelf. Even though
swarm to death, one John it’s not a real live Challenger
bee at a time, and Dondzila, Series game, it upholds that
when the player ran who had al- proud tradition which made
out of bees, the game ready made a the Odyssey so much fun.
was over. Possibly the name for him-
Killer Bees
Classic Gamer Magazine December 2000 37