A Collection of Activision Classic Games for the Atari 2600

"A most excellent collection of classics"

There were plenty of classic gaming systems, back in the day. Yes, young ones, games were around before the NES came to us. But one of them stood above the rest. Atari. With its simple control, and lots of different games, it began to dominate, until the NES came around. In this collection, Activision, the same makers of Tony Hawk and Spider-Man, relive their past glories, with 30 Atari 2600 games.

Graphics: 10/10
Back when the Atari came out, there simply were no better graphics than this. By today's standards, they are terrible, but it wouldn't be fair to rate them against newer games. You'll have no problem telling things apart from each other (in Pitfall!, for example, you can clearly see the difference between, say, a fire, and a snake). Even today, the looks aren't going to make you vomit, but they may strain your eyes if you come into play this after a round of Counter-Strike.

Sound: 8/10
The sound is nothing really intense. Moslty just little beeps here and there. None of the games have any background music, except maybe little tunes when you accomplish something.

Control: 10/10
The Atari controller was very simple, containing a joystick and a single button. This has been masterfully duplicated on the PlayStation. Controls feel just right, with the only real exception being KaBoom!, where they feel a little loose.

Replay value: 10/10
With thirty games, I can assure you that you will not be bored with this game anytime soon. In case you were wondering what games are on this collection, here's a complete listing:

Atlantis
Barnstorming (a game about flying planes through barns)
Boxing
Chopper Command
Cosmic Commuter (my second favorite game on the collection)
Crackpots
Dolphin
Dragster
Enduro
Fishing Derby
Freeway (a clone of Frogger with chickens and less fun)
Frostbite
Grand Prix
Hero
Ice Hockey
KABOOM!
Keystone Kapers
Laser Blast
Megamania
PITFALL! (One of the greatest games ever, and the best one on this disc)
Plaque Attack (Controlling a tube of toothpaste, defeat the junk food before it destroys the teeth)
River Raid
River Raid II
Seaquest
Skiing
Sky Jinks
Spider Fighter
Stampede
Starmaster (Quite possibly the most complicated Atari game ever)
Tennis

Whew! That's a lot of games!

Tally:
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Control: 10/10
Replayability: 10/10

Final score (NOT AN AVERAGE!): 9/10

The final Word:
Anyone who considers themselves a fan of Classic Games, simply cannot live without this collection. And, now that even this collection is a couple years old, you should be able to find it for a bargain bin price (my copy, BRAND NEW, only set me back $10). That's a lot of bang for your gaming buck!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/01, Updated 10/15/01