1982 · Magnavox · Arcade · Platformer

Pick Axe Pete!

You play a miner named Pickaxe Pete, and you start off in the middle of the screen with a pick-axe. There are three doors from which boulders are coming, bouncing down the mine-shafts; every time Pete destroys one of these he gains 3 points, although the axe wears out after a while and disappears. When two boulders collide, they explode, and out comes either a pick-axe which floats to the bottom of the screen, a key which floats to the top, or nothing. If Pete has no axe, you can either jump over boulders (gaining him 1 point), or get to the bottom of the mine to retrieve a new axe (gaining a 5-point bonus). If he collects a key then he can enter the doors, which lead him to the next level.

Released: 1982
Platforms: Magnavox Odyssey 2 Odyssey Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000
Genres: Arcade Platformer
Developers: Magnavox
Publishers: Koninklijke Philips NV
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Languages: English

About

Pick Axe Pete!, known in Europe as Videopac 43 - Pickaxe Pete, is a 1982 platform video game released for the Magnavox Odyssey², also known as the Philips Videopac G7000. It was created by American programmer Ed Averett and his wife Linda and published by Philips. The player takes the role of the miner Pick Axe Pete who searching the Misty Mountain Mine for gold. A national high score competition was held at the 1982 World's Fair. In Brazil, it was titled Didi na Mina Encantada (Didi in the Enchanted Mine) based on the character Didi from the TV series Os Trapalhões.

It is consistently compared with the arcade hit Donkey Kong, though most critics consider the gameplay to have made enough changes for the title to stand on its own. It is considered one of the best games for the Odyssey², especially by retrospective reviewers. While the gameplay is frequently praised as compelling and addictive, the graphics are often criticized as underwhelming.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls a miner named Pick Axe Pete who is traversing the Misty Mountain Mine is search for gold. Pete starts in the middle of the screen with a pick-axe. Ladders occasionally appear and disappear which allow Pete to traverse the level's seven floors. There are three doors from which boulders emerge, bouncing down the mine-shafts.

These doors also serve as exits for the boulders that pass by. Every time Pete destroys a boulder, he gains 3 points, although the axe wears out after a while and disappears. When two boulders collide, they explode, and out comes either a pick-axe which floats to the bottom of the screen, a key which floats to the top, or nothing.

Reception

Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz of Electronic Games thought Pick Axe Pete! combined "elements of several of today's hottest coin-ops while managing to be totally unique and absolutely captivating." They echoed this sentiment in their 1983 Software Encyclopedia while adding that the graphics were "a little sparse" but still "quite attractive and engaging." In a December 1982 review, US magazine Joystik called the game "Odyssey's new entry in the Donkey Kong lookalike contest". The reviewer gave it a 3/10 for graphics and 7/10 for gameplay and concluded:

We're not overly thrilled by the graphics of this game—there's just nothing spectacular about the way it looks. But we think most "level game" fans will enjoy Pick Axe Pete's challenging game play.