Activision Classics

The graphics of the games is identical to that of the Atari 2600, but that's about all that's exactly the same. I have to admit, it is a bit different trying to control these games with a controller instead of a joystick. Once you get used to it, that won't be a problem. The only major drawback I found in this game is that in some of the ones I have for the Atari 2600 such as Megamania and Pitfall, the sounds aren't the same or they have been left out.

If you grew up with the Atari 2600 or used to play it a lot, I would recommend getting "Activision Classics." But if you haven't ever played the 2600, you might not be too fond of these games. If you're a longtime fan of Atari, this will bring back a lot of great memories.


Entertaining but imperfect.   July 18, 2000
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

For the money, this is a decent deal; 29 Activision games and 1 Imagic game for less than a buck a pop. As anyone who remembers the Atari will tell you, though, these kinds of games aren't usually engrossing; half the fun is being able to play a game for a few seconds or minutes and then popping in a new game. The more games you have, the more you're likely to do this. So, you'll find yourself constantly stopping games in progress and starting up others...

The overall package has some problems. First, considering the small size of the ROMs, there is no reason Activision couldn't have fit their entire catalogue on here, including Imagic and Absolute games (minus the licensed titles). It might have been difficult to emulate Pitfall II since it contained a separate sound chip, but everything else could have been included easily.

Second, the loading times are bizarre- these games are only 4-8k in size originally; the load times are so long that it seems the emulator is being loaded up fresh every time- this makes switching between games annoying. It would have been a lot more efficient to simply load the emulator into memory first, and then just load a ROM into memory as needed.

Third, an option to use the PSX mouse/trackball or analog/Dual Shock for Kaboom! would have been nice. Kaboom! was a paddle game originally, and digital controls just don't cut it.

Fourth, I would have loved to see some multimedia content. Considering the paucity of the instructions in the manual, scans of the original manual would have been nice; interviews with programmers and/or a multimedia history segment would have been really nice.

For the joystick games (all but Kaboom!), the controls are pretty good. It sometimes would help to have a joystick like the original Atari one, because a control pad doesn't offer the same amount of precision.

Overall, a decent entry in the retro/emulation category. More of a selection than any other title except Activision's Intellivision Classics. A little more polishing and it would have been a 4 star game; as it stands, though, it gets just a 3 for being a plain but competent compilation.


Not as much fun as you remember   June 7, 2000
 1 out of 7 found this review helpful

This game gives you many games for a good price but once you play it you realize that these classic games were lame. But good for nostalgia.


Man, bring on the new playstation games!   March 19, 2000
 3 out of 11 found this review helpful

The overall nostalgia of the game is overwhelming...for about two seconds. After realizing that all the games are based on the same concept, I found trying to play these games fatiguing and frustrating. I do remember playing these games on the old atari system, but I can't say that they are missed after battling through this endless pit of maddening fun. I say, bring on the new playstation games, and leave the past where it is.


I'm ten again! I'm ten again! Oh no, i'm thirty-one.   March 18, 2000
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is a wonderful look back on the way I wasted my early teens. I bought the disc for my 16-year-old brother and we spent the entire night playing Pitfall, Enduro, Chopper Command, River Raid, you name it. I only wish Atari would put together some of their own classics: Joust, Berzerk, Combat, Asteroids, or Space Invaders. Oh no, I'm thirty-one.