Football!

Also known as: American Football (Europe), Foot Américain (Europe), Futebol Americano! (South America)

Developer: Magnavox

Football! has some good aspects to it, but it also has plenty of bad that hold it back from being a game worth playing. The first bad thing that you'll find is that being touched means that you've been tackled and the play is over. You may wonder why that's a bad aspect of the game. Well, by itself, it's not a bad thing. However, when you realize that touching your own teammates counts as a tackle, well that's not great programming. Likewise, if you pass the ball to a teammate who is next to another player, it's an automatic tackle….and that seemed to be what normally happened while I played. Either that, or I'd pass the ball and it would pass right through my receiver. I actually had the most luck by not passing the ball and just running towards the endzone. The endzones, by the way are not visible. You basically need to run past the line furthest left or right to get a touchdown. Speaking of running, this game feels very slow on the recommended speed level that the manual suggests. If you select 2 on the keyboard, you'll get Pro speed, which is a bit more enjoyable in terms of game speed. Go ahead. Ignore the manual like me. Be a rebel. Anyway, outside of the standard ball passing and running, this game also allows you to kick field goals, so if you don't think you'll be able to pull off a touchdown, you can at least try to nab 3 points instead of 7. There are also a selection of plays/formations available, which is also nice for the time. Anyway, Football! has all the options that SHOULD have made it a good football game for its time. Unfortunately, options don't mean a whole lot if the gameplay isn't there, and the gameplay simply isn't there. With the options and features, Magnavox made it to the 4th down with this game, but the gameplay was a sack that made them lose yards.

Review added: 12/02/2025

Frogger

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Parker Bros.

While this game was never released in North America, over in Europe, where the Magnavox Odyssey 2 lasted a bit longer as the Phillips Videopac, Frogger found itself a home on the console. This is a surprisingly competent port of Frogger, too. It's a shame that we never saw it get released here in North America. Seeing the limitations of the Odyssey 2, and how it would not allow both the road and the river to be on the screen at the same time, Parker Bros. decided to split it into two screens - the road is one screen and the river is a second screen. So, when you begin the game, you'll only see the road, but after making your way across safely, you'll find yourself on the river bank, ready to hop on over towards your goal on the other side. This clever trick keeps Frogger looking impressive for the console that it's running on, and playing just as well as it looks. The end result is a very solid game of Frogger that very well could keep you coming back for more, far longer than you had anticipated. There are better ports of Frogger out there, if you're looking for a version to play at home, but if you're limited to the Phillips Videopac, and you live in Europe, then this version of Frogger will likely be more than enough to leave you feeling content.

Review added: 06/24/2026