Ludography
Jumping Acrobats cover

Video game

Jumping Acrobats

1981 video game

Released
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Platforms
Magnavox Odyssey 2
Genres
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Developers
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Publishers
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About

T. V. for the Philips Videopac G7000, also known as the Magnavox Odyssey². It is very similar to Exidy's arcade game Circus, itself a rethemed version of Atari's Breakout.

T. Barnum by the Odyssey Software Development Group for its North American release. This version also included compatibility with "The Voice of Odyssey²" expansion module.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Two acrobats take turns bouncing each other off a see-saw in order to pop as many balloons as possible. Balloons appear in three rows and move slowly back and forth across the screen. Every time an acrobat touches a balloon in the air, it pops and they get launched back in the air briefly. In the single-player mode, one player takes control of the see-saw at the bottom of the screen and must catch the other acrobat before they hit the ground.

In the multiplayer mode, each player controls one acrobat and takes turns controlling the see-saw on every successful jump. Alternatively, players can alternate each time the see-saw misses an acrobat. Players get ten chances to gather points without hitting the ground before the game ends.

Reception

Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz of Electronic Games said there was "nothing startlingly new about the game" but it was still a "must buy" for Odyssey² owners. In Arcade Express, they said it was a "well-implemented" version of Circus and gave it an eight out of ten. The Video Game Update recommended the game and called it "highly entertaining." Perry Greenberg writing for Video Games said "the exciting sound effects", "colorful graphics", and "the antics of the amusing acrobatic figures" made for a "welcome addition to the Odyssey game library" and would make P.T. Barnum proud.

JoyStik gave the game one star and called it a lackluster clone of Circus Atari. The considered the controls "difficult and imprecise" and the voice enhancements generic and unmemorable. Editor of The Logical Gamer, Alan R. Bechtold, grew tired of the game quickly and criticized the graphics.

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.