Q*Bert

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Parker Bros.

There's an old saying that you should never judge a book by its cover. I feel like that statement fits the Odyssey 2 version of Q*Bert very well. While not necessarily ugly, this is easily the most simplistic-looking port of Q*Bert that Parker Bros. put out. Instead of cubes, in this version of the game, Q*Bert simply jumps on rectangles. As the orange, legged turkey baster hops onto a rectangle, it changes color. Like the arcade game, your goal is to change all rectangles to a specific color. While it has a very simplistic look to it, this port of Q*Bert still plays very well. To me, it shows off how solid of a game that Q*Bert really is. Strip away the neat, colorful, rotating cubes and focusing purely on gameplay, Q*Bert is a very solid game for the time. And while this port isn't perfect visually by any stretch of the imagination, most aspects of the gameplay remain intact here. The end result is an excellent arcade port on the Odyssey 2, right up there with Frogger, and a must-own title for the console if you're a fan of that orange, hopping, foul-mouthed creature and his action-based puzzle gameplay.

Review added: 07/06/2026

The Quest for the Rings

Also known as: Die Suche Nach Den Ringen (Europe), Em Busca dos Anéis Perdidos (Brazil), Jagten på Ringene (Europe), Spertocht Naar De Ringen (Europe)

Developer: Magnavox

The Quest for the Rings was a big hit with critics back when it released in 1981. Not only was it a big hit, but it helped put a spotlight back on the Odyssey 2, an old console that was attempting to resurrect itself amidst a boom period in the home console market. While trying to put the console back into the spotlight, developers of the Odyssey 2 began to think outside the box. With Quest for the Rings (and Conquest of the World), the developers didn't just think outside of the box, they also thought outside of the television set. Mixing concepts of a board game, Dungeons & Dragons, and playing a video game, Quest for the Rings creates a very unique experience that players fell in love with. Now, I've never participated in a Dungeons & Dragons session…or anything similar, for that matter…but I did have a roommate in college that was really into it, and he would have parties every now and then where they would play. I was invited, but I was happier playing the then newly-released Final Fantasy X in the background while I watched them make fools of themselves. Had their role-playing romps included Quest for the Rings, then maybe I would have been coerced to join in. However, if you're reading this and thinking, "Man, I don't wanna play no board game, man. I don't wanna play no Dungeons & Dragons, man. I just wanna play a video game without having to worrying about anything else, man. Know what I mean, man?" I do know what you mean…and stop saying, "man," man. The nice thing about Quest for the Rings is that if you want to ignore all of the extra stuff, you can do that, too. While it's not a pick-up-and-play game, once you get the hang of Quest for the Rings, it's actually quite a fun game to play, and some of the enemy designs and animations are pretty amazing for the hardware…and there's even four different environments to adventure in. Put this whole package together and you've got one of the more memorable video games from the early 80's, and one that lives up to the hype that you'll likely hear from the people who have played it. Whether you play it purely as a video game, or play it as the hybrid that it was designed to be, The Quest of the Rings is a quest that you'll likely want to go on again and again.

Review added: 07/05/2026