"Aim Low! Join the US Barnstorming Force!"

Steve Cartwright, of Activision brings us the focus of our discussion today, ''Barnstorming.'' This was Cartwright's freshman effort for Activision, and it turned out pretty well for him.

In ''Barnstorming'', you take the controls of an old school biplane, and attempt to pilot it through a series of barns. You are hindered in this effort by tall windmills that temporarily stun your plane and flocks of geese which will slow you down.

''Barnstorming'' is very graphically advanced for it's era. The colors are bright and vibrant, the barns and windmills are sharply defined, and the geese have a very nice ''flapping'' animation. Your biplane is very highly detailed. There is a sunset in the background that is stunning for the abilities of the 2600. Other Activision designers were so taken with the sunset effect that they reused the code in other games.

Activision clearly went with the ''less is more'' approach when adding the sound. The hum of your plane motor is ever present, increasing when you accelerate. There is a variation on the hum as you fly through the barns that is probably intended to approximate what the motor would sound like in an enclosed space. It doesn't succeed on that front, but they make up for it with a nice simulation of the Doppler effect that would occur if you flew a plane through a barn. Activision wisely resisted the temptation to include a ''geese bumping'' sound, which could have made the sound in this game pretty annoying. As it stands the only really annoying sound is the crash noise you get if you bump into a windmill or the side of a barn, and crashes are supposed to be annoying.

There are 4 different courses on the ''Barnstorming'' cartridge. 3 of them are predetermined routes, and the 4th is a randomized course. This enhances the replayability considerably, although, the randomized course is the longest course. It would have been nice to have randomized courses of varying lengths. You also have the option to raise or lower the clearance of the barns with the difficulty switches. This doesn't really add much to the challenge factor, but it might break up the monotony once you can play through the predetermined courses blindfolded.

''Barnstorming'' is currently available on the ''Activision Anthology'' collection for the PS2, and also appears on the ''30 Classic Games'' collection for the PS1. Of course, ''Barnstorming'' alone is not enough to justify the purchase of either collection, but it might justify a rental, and who knows, you may find a few other enjoyable classics on there as well.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/03, Updated 02/22/03