Killer Bees! is a 1983 action video game written by Bob Harris for the Magnavox Odyssey², known in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000. Players take on the role of a swarm of bees who must sting five robots to death while avoiding swarms of enemy bees. It was developed by Magnavox and published by Philips who also released it for the Philips Videopac+ G7400. In North America, the game is compatible with "The Voice of Odyssey²", an expansion module that adds synthesized voice lines.

Harris, better known as Bob Harris or RoSHa, created the game as his second project at Magnavox after Nimble Numbers Ned! It was also his second and final Odyssey² game. Harris found inspiration after hearing a voice line that resembled the sound of bees buzzing. He was also inspired by Centipede and the scoring systems in pinball machines.

It was highly praised by a variety of different publications for its originality, addictiveness, and smooth difficulty progression. Reviewers often describe it as standing out graphically from other Odyssey² games and for its high quality sound. It is recognized by several reviewers as one of the must-own games for the system.

Gameplay

Killer Bees! is an action game in which the player takes on the role of a swarm of bees. The goal of each round is to sting all five of the robots known as Beebots that wander the stage until each one into a gravestone. Harris was a former Milton Bradley employee. He was hired by Magnavox in 1981 along with fellow Milton Bradley employee and returning Odyssey² programmer, Sam Overton. Although other Magnavox programmer helped test the game, Harris ultimately had full creative control over the project. It was his second Odyssey² game following Nimble Numbers Ned!

The game includes a voice synthesis feature compatible with an expansion module known as "The Voice of Odyssey²". Harris was inspired to create Killer Bees! after hearing one of the sounds included with the voice module, which was supposed to be a cartoon spring sound but which Harris thought sounded more like bees buzzing. It was included in the game at the start of each round. In Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, Art Levis called the game "stinging good fun" and bemoaned how few people would get to play a game with "great play value", "great sound effects", and a lack of common cliches. Michael Blanchet, in his syndicated newspaper column Win at Video, said the game was "nothing new" but added that it was "one of the best action games" available for the Odyssey². He saw the graphics as a marked improvement over previous Odyssey² games.

E.C. Meade and Jim Clarke writing for Videogaming and Computer Gaming Illustrated thought the graphics were "about as sparse as you can get" but called the gameplay "excellent". They went on to say it was "fun, fast, highly original, and sporting excellent buzzing and voice effects."

The Video Game Update thought it was "very simple" and criticized the lack of alternate modes, considering it great for kids but skeptical about its appeal to adults. Eleven year old published author of The Kid Vid's Book of Home Video Games, Rawson Stovall, thought the game was very hard with mediocre gameplay and graphics, though he did like the sound effects. Alan R. Bechtold of The Logical Gamer criticized it for ending too quickly and thought it was too difficult to tell the player's swarm apart from the enemies but thought the graphics were an "interesting departure for [Philips]." He also found the game to be very addicting, but thought there were better Odyssey² alternatives, such as K.C. Munchkin or UFO!. Fellow The Logical Gamer reviewer Mike Wilson said it was a "very fine game" and "a refreshing new challenge" with "some of the best graphics [Philips] has turned out." German magazine, Telematch called it one of Philips' best action games and gave it the second best possible score.

Brett Weiss in 2011 called the game "highly innovative". He complemented the difficulty progression calling it "smooth as honey" and thought the graphics were an "unusual look for the system." Videogames Hardware Handbook written by Retrogamer staff called Killer Bees! an essential game for the Videopac G7000, praising the "imaginative, deep, and involving gameplay."

References

  • Killer Bees! at The Odyssey² Homepage
  • "Bob Harris And The Secret Of The Killer Bees", Dieter Koenig, archived at classic-consoles-center, retrieved 2023-07-11
  • Bob Harris: The Fantastic, Fantastic World of Bob - Experiencia Odyssey