Alien Invaders - Plus!

Also known as: Alien! (South America), Space Monster (Europe), Le Monstre de l'Espace (Europe), Monster (Europe),  Envahisseurs Extra-Terrestres! (Canada)

Developer: Magnavox

Alien Invaders - Plus! is probably what you'd expect it to be for a game released around when Space Invaders was taking arcades by storm. This is, mostly, the Space Invaders formula with some minor changes. First, the story here is that you're not in a spaceship battling other alien spaceships. You're instead a robot that's controlling a laser cannon…which is a large, blue triangle. Your goal is to destroy the enemy robots at the top of the screen. Basically, you'll be firing at three layers but only the top layer counts. The bottom layer are shields that you can't shoot through. The middle layer shapes are the guns that the aliens are firing at you with - eliminate the guns and you've eliminated their means to attack you - though that step is an optional one. The top layer are the aliens. Every now and then, the "Merciless Monstroth" appears on the screen to come after you, too. Unlike the other targets that you're firing at, the Monstroth can dive down below, and it can fire at you, gun or no gun, so it's best to shoot it down as quickly as you can when it appears. You've got three "laser shields" at the bottom of the screen to protect you from fire. These shields don't break down like in Space Invaders. If you're hit during the shootout, you lose the ability to fire and you'll see that you've turned into a plain, ol' robot. To be able to shoot again, you need to sacrifice one of your laser shields so that you can get your laser cannon back. It's a neat concept where you sacrifice your defense in order to use some offense. The odd thing about this game, though, is that you're not going for a high score. Instead, you're competing against the aliens. If you eliminate them, you get a point. If they destroy your robot, they get a point. The goal is to clear them the aliens out ten times to be able to claim that you've won the war. Overall, this isn't an awful Space Invaders clone. It has some original ideas to help it stand out a bit, but it's also nowhere near the quality of the original.

Review added: 11/30/2025

Alpine Skiing!

Also known as: Ski (Europe), Skiing (Europe), Ski Alpin! (Canada), Esqui nos Alpos! (South America)

Developer: Magnavox

Alpine Skiing! sounds amazing when you read the manual. Each event has 55 gates for you to make your way through, and the cartridge generates each course randomly, so you'll effectively be racing on one of over 195,000 possible courses each time you play. The downside, though, is that the skiing here is pretty bland and slow-paced. I don't know if most folks would want to make their way through 55 gates…and if you are one of the people who do, good luck finding a second player that would want to make their way through 55 gates, since this, unfortunately, is a two-player-only game. You can technically play by yourself and just let the second controller do nothing…but it's a little distracting to see them hitting trees and tallying up violations while you attempt to race. Either allowing for a computer-controlled second player or an option with no second player would have been nice. There are various game modes to play…though they all largely feel the same. The Downhill is a speed-based game with the skier making it down the mountain the quickest (or with the least number of violations) being the winner. The Slalom has you also going for the top speed, but with the need to twist between every pair of gates along the way. The Giant Slalom is the same, but a longer race and the gates are farther apart. Combined Competitions is like a typical olympics-style game, where you play one of each event, or multiple of the same events, if you want. Timekeeping is for the folks that want to time their descent of the mountain down to a tenth of a second. Overall, Alpine Skiing! is a passable game, but it's also not very exciting or anything that I think most folks would look forward to playing.

Review added: 11/30/2025

Armored Encounter! / Sub Chase!

Also known as: Air-Sea War / Battle (Europe), Armada (Europe), Bataille Navale (Europe), Bataille de Blindés! / Chasse Aux Sous-Marins! (Canada), Os Panzers Atacam! / Batalha Aeronaval! (South America)

Developer: Magnavox

Armored Encounter! / Sub Chase! was the opportunity for Magnavox to exclaim two game titles at you instead of just one. There's not really a reason to exclaim either one, though. They're both merely passable. The first game, Armored Encounter! requires the player to hit the A button to begin the game, not the usual numeric button options. Anyway, once Armored Encounter! starts, it feels like you're playing a poor clone of Combat on the Atari 2600. It does have some neat features not found in Combat, like guided missiles, limited ammo, and the ability to play in a minefield…but it also features a control scheme that is meant to emulate how a real tank would control. That idea sounds nice, but results in awkward movements and more struggling than one may want when they're supposed to be firing away at their opponent. The next game is a bit faster-paced, Sub Chase! That's a weird name for a game, by the way…because one person is controlling a jet with the goal of firing bullets down at the submarine on the bottom of the screen. However, the other controller is controlling that same sub, firing bullets up at the jet. So if you're controlling the sub, wouldn't it be Jet Chase! for you instead, then? Anyway, Sub Chase!, in my opinion, is the slightly better game of the two on this cart. Instead of just having a faster, more chaotic pace, it also has neutral ships floating by that will get in everyone's way. If either player happens to hit one of those neutral boats, they get a point deducted from their score. Getting a successful hit on their opponent adds a point. So, if you're frantically trying to rack up your score before the timer runs out, you could wind up subtracting from your score rather than adding to it, if you're not careful. Shooting does take some getting used to, as well. Basically, once you fire, you can control it to a degree by moving left or right…by doing that, you're also moving your jet or sub. So, while you may be lining up your opponent for a shot, you may also be putting yourself right into their line of fire while you do. If you don't like that option, you can also change it so that your shots fire straight down, but two of the three Sub Chase! variations uses that "guided missile" way of firing your shots. Overall, this is a pair of so-so two-player games…unfortunately, there's no single player options here. But whether you want to battle a buddy in a slower, more strategic match, or a faster-paced, chaotic match, you'll probably find mild enjoyment in both games here.

Armored Encounter!

My Score

6.0

Avg Score

6.3

Placement on the List

Sub Chase!

My Score

6.0

Avg Score

6.3

Placement on the List

Review added: 12/01/2025

Atlantis

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Imagic

When Atlantis was first released on the Atari 2600, it was a solid shooter for the console. Imagic would eventually reimagine Atlantis for two more consoles - the Intellivision and the Odyssey 2. While Imagic went ahead and improved and expanded upon the game for Mattel's home console, they kind of went in the opposite direction for Magnavox's console. While it's not an awful port of the game, Imagic did have to simplify it a bit to make it work on the Odyssey 2. The center cannon, for example, has been removed here. The game is also the least-impressive looking of the three console ports…though, in fairness, it still looks pretty nice when you compare it to other games on the Odyssey 2. Also, while this version of Atlantis does feel like it's lacking when compared to the others, it does have one unique feature that the other variations lack. Once per level, you're able to use a blitz bomb to clear the screen of all enemies - which can be useful if you know that you're near the end of the stage and find yourself in danger of losing your last building. The catch, however, is that if you're going for a high score, using the blitz bomb will not net you any points for trips destroyed. Anyway, this version of Atlantis is the weakest version of the console entries, however, it's also still a decent game overall, and one well worth picking up if you own an Odyssey 2 and are looking for a solid shooter for the console.

Review added: 06/27/2026

Attack of the Timelord!

Also known as: Terrahawks (Europe), Senhor das Trevas! (Brazil)

Developer: Magnavox

At a time where most shooters were set in outer space, Attack of the Timelord! decided that it was about time to change things up…pun intended. In Attack of the Timelord!, you're controlling and firing from a time machine, and you'll travel through time, trying your best to shoot down the Timelord's Time Ships that he sends after you. Defeating all Time Ships sent after you will result in you advancing on to the next level. As you advance on in each level, the firepower of the Time Ships will increase, making your survival more difficult. For example, in level one, you've only got missiles to worry about. In level two, however, antimatter mines are send your way. That's followed by "lethal anihilators" in level three (yes, that's how the game's manual spells annihilators) and "nucleonic time killers" in level four. In total, there are 256 levels in this game, with faster ships and greater fire power waiting for you the further on that you go. In my opinion, this is the best shooter available on the Odyssey 2. The ship movements make this game more challenging than other, similar games of the time, and as a result, keeps your interest longer than other, similar games of the time do. It's a shame that the Odyssey 2 didn't have games like Attack of the Timelord! back when it was first released several years prior, otherwise I feel like it would have been a much more successful console here in North America. Still, though, it's games like this that helped the console go out with a bang, rather than a whimper.

Review added: 06/27/2026