Activision Anthology
Before Nintendo, Sony, Sega, and Microsoft got into the game, there was Atari. And before Activision established itself with games like Tony Hawk, it started as the first third-party publisher, creating games for the Atari 2600. The industry has come a long way since those days, but it's always great to see the roots with compilation packs of classics released during the early years of gaming. Activision Anthology is the latest pack of classics for the Game Boy Advance, and Aspyr has created a fantastic compilation with an excellent easy-to-navigate interface and a slew of extras...including a handful of original games created well after the fall of the 2600.
Features
More than sixty 2600 games running on an emulator
Unlockable patches
Cartridge save for high scores
Link cable support for two players
More than sixty Atari 2600 games are in this pack, spanning Activision's early years:
Barnstorming
Boxing
Checkers
Chopper Command
Cosmic Commuter
Crackpots
Dolphin
Dragster
Enduro
Fishing Derby
Freeway
Frostbite
Grand Prix
H.E.R.O.
Ice Hockey
Kaboom!
Keystone Kapers
Laser Blast
Megamania
Oink!
Pitfall!
Plaque Attack
Pressure Cooker
Private Eye
River Raid
River Raid 2
Seaquest
Skiing
Sky Jinks
Spider Fighter
Stampede
Starmaster
Tennis
Title Match
Baseball
Beamrider
Bloody Human Freeway
Bridge
Decathlon
Pitfall 2
Robot Tank
Skateboardin'
Space Shuttle
Tomcat F14
Venetian Blinds
Kabobber
Thwocker
There are also several homebrew 2600 games included in this pack:
Climber 5
Okie Dokie
Oystron
Skeleton+
SpaceThreat Deluxe
Vault Assault
Video Euchre
Activision Anthology is an incredibly close representation of the compilation pack of the same name released on the PlayStation 2 system last year. The PS2 version was actually used as a blueprint for the GBA project's presentation, as it shares similar interface. Games are selected via the same rotating cartridge stack, but they're now listed alphabetically instead of by year...a definite improvement. Some changes had to be made to get the package to fit on a Game Boy Advance cartridge: cartridge and box art archives are now limited to lower resolution scans instead of 3D modeled versions, and the instruction manuals are now simple text-based versions instead of scans of the original. And the wonderful licensed 80s soundtrack has been nixed; in its place are five original tunes that feature a very 80s flavor. They're no Flock of Seagulls, sure, but the new music definitely fits the "retro" theme.
Due to some licensing issues, Atlantis and Demon Attack -- two Imagic games -- have been removed from the PS2 Activision Anthology They've replaced with several homebrew originals programmed by members of the retrogaming community. These extras a great addition and expand the pack, but they really should have been given their own section instead of mixed in with the other games, since they have absolutely no relation to what Activision created for the Atari 2600 during those years.
Features
More than sixty 2600 games running on an emulator
Unlockable patches
Cartridge save for high scores
Link cable support for two players
More than sixty Atari 2600 games are in this pack, spanning Activision's early years:
Barnstorming
Boxing
Checkers
Chopper Command
Cosmic Commuter
Crackpots
Dolphin
Dragster
Enduro
Fishing Derby
Freeway
Frostbite
Grand Prix
H.E.R.O.
Ice Hockey
Kaboom!
Keystone Kapers
Laser Blast
Megamania
Oink!
Pitfall!
Plaque Attack
Pressure Cooker
Private Eye
River Raid
River Raid 2
Seaquest
Skiing
Sky Jinks
Spider Fighter
Stampede
Starmaster
Tennis
Title Match
Baseball
Beamrider
Bloody Human Freeway
Bridge
Decathlon
Pitfall 2
Robot Tank
Skateboardin'
Space Shuttle
Tomcat F14
Venetian Blinds
Kabobber
Thwocker
There are also several homebrew 2600 games included in this pack:
Climber 5
Okie Dokie
Oystron
Skeleton+
SpaceThreat Deluxe
Vault Assault
Video Euchre
Activision Anthology is an incredibly close representation of the compilation pack of the same name released on the PlayStation 2 system last year. The PS2 version was actually used as a blueprint for the GBA project's presentation, as it shares similar interface. Games are selected via the same rotating cartridge stack, but they're now listed alphabetically instead of by year...a definite improvement. Some changes had to be made to get the package to fit on a Game Boy Advance cartridge: cartridge and box art archives are now limited to lower resolution scans instead of 3D modeled versions, and the instruction manuals are now simple text-based versions instead of scans of the original. And the wonderful licensed 80s soundtrack has been nixed; in its place are five original tunes that feature a very 80s flavor. They're no Flock of Seagulls, sure, but the new music definitely fits the "retro" theme.
Due to some licensing issues, Atlantis and Demon Attack -- two Imagic games -- have been removed from the PS2 Activision Anthology They've replaced with several homebrew originals programmed by members of the retrogaming community. These extras a great addition and expand the pack, but they really should have been given their own section instead of mixed in with the other games, since they have absolutely no relation to what Activision created for the Atari 2600 during those years.
Activision Inc.
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