Activision Anthology

"Holy flashback, batman! This is Old-School heaven!"

When I first heard about this collection, I must admit that I was not that impressed. After all, who wants to play a bunch of Atari 2600 games on a hand-held? After I acquired a copy and gave it a go, it's the most-played title in my small hoard.

Gameplay: 10 Yes, that's right ... a 10. These games were made during a time when super-slick polygonal graphics weren't even a twinkle in a developer's eye. They had to rely on a little-known secret gaming mechanism: FUN. Most of the 56 titles consist of simple d-pad moves and pressing the A button. The collection includes racing, shooting, flying, bouncing, exploring and catching genres.
There's even a few home-brewed titles as well. I must re-iterate the key word here folks: FUN.
Two features that add to the greatness of this collection are the saving of high scores (never had that on the original Atari 2600) and unlockable ''patches''.
On some Activision games, you could photograph your high score, and send away for an embroidered patch celebrating your accomplishment. In this compilation, the original score requirements, when met, unlock a picture of these patches. Cool!

Story: N/A Nothing to report here people. Each title has its own 'background story' which explains, to a degree, why you're moving around these colored blocky sprites ... just don't expect any gripping plots or dramatic tales of adventure.

Graphics/Sound: 6 To be fair, the graphics are ... well, they're just simple sprites ok? As it's been said, most of the games here were made in the early 80's, so they look appropriately dated. The sounds/music go the same way ... OLD. Don't get me wrong though, I genuinely smile whenever I hear the 'next level' sound in Spider Fighter, or the cheesy tarzan 'yell' in the original Pitfall. These are the games I was weaned on during my wayward youth, and playing them again is a sheer joy.
One note: you will need to turn up the brightness a bit (in the options menu), as the screens are all way too dark on default settings.

Play Time/Replayability: 10 With 56 titles and many patches to unlock, you will have many hours of gameplay with this anthology. This is a true pick-up-and-play game, and I find myself grabbing a quick game of Enduro or Stampede in-between my other console games.

Recommendation/overall score: 9 What's that? Not a perfect 10?? Well, I shaved off a point because a tiny few of the games don't really translate too well with the GBA D-pad control scheme (Kaboom instantly comes to mind ... it just isn't the same without that cool-ass analog paddle controller). Many young people (under 25) will likely hate these games; calling them 'ugly, boring, kiddie' or other mean-spirited, uninformed euphemisms. I strongly suggest you at least rent it (if you can) .. you may be surprised just how much fun these 'Old-Fogey' games were.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/03