Activision Anthology

Infobox VG
title = Activision Anthology


developer = Activision
publisher = Barking Lizards (PS2)
Contraband Entertainment(PS2)
MacPlay (PC, Mac)
Aspyr (GBA)
Nikkō Europe (digiBLAST)
released = PS2 flagicon|Europe November 19, 2002
flagicon|USA November 25, 2002
PC/Mac flagicon|USA October 6, 2003
GBA flagicon|USA December 8, 2003
DigiBLAST flagicon|Europe December 31, 2005
PSP
flagicon|USATBA 2006
genre = Compilation
modes = Single player, two player
platforms = Playstation 2, Windows, Mac, Game Boy Advance, digiBLAST, PSP

"Activision Anthology" is a compilation of most of the Atari 2600 games by Activision for various systems. It also includes some games originally released by Absolute Entertainment and Imagic, as well as some homebrewed games. The Windows and Mac OS X versions are titled "Activision Anthology Remix". The PlayStation Portable version is entitled "Activision Hits Remixed".

The game features the original classical gameplay of the Atari 2600 emulated on modern machines, however after achieving high scores in some of the games, the player can unlock special modes, where the colors are distorted, or the game is projected on a rotating cube as added difficulty.

The "Anthology" features a virtual tape deck with several licensed 80s music tracks. The sound of the virtual tape recorder can be mixed with the original game sound, so both sounds are hearable to simulate playing the game on TV while having your tape running in the background.

The "Anthology" features a virtual kid's room as a main menu. The player zooms to several viewpoints to check highscores, choose a game from a rotating stand, change the background music on the virtual tape deck, or change game settings while being zoomed in on the virtual VCS 2600.

Six Atari 2600 titles were not added to the "Activision Anthology" games, likely because Activision doesn't have the licenses for these series. The excluded games are "Commando" (rights held by Capcom), "Double Dragon" (Million Corp), "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II" (both held by Columbia Pictures), "Kung Fu Master" (Irem), and "Rampage" (Midway Games). Capcom granted Activision rights to put "Commando" on the PS2 version of "Activision Anthology", though not the other versions. "Ghostbusters II" was not officially released by Activision, though Salu released it in Europe under their name in 1992.

As well, "Pete Rose Baseball" was credited simply as "Baseball", though it's unclear whether this is due to licensing rights or due to Rose's gambling scandal.

Portable versions

Of the portable versions, the Game Boy Advance version has the most games, including several homebrew games that do not appear on the PS2 or PC versions. It does not include "Commando" or the Imagic titles, nor does it play music during gameplay. It does have some custom 80s-style songs that play in the menu screens, however.

The PlayStation Portable version has the Imagic titles ("Demon Attack", "Atlantis", "Moonsweeper"), full-speed emulation, and 1980s tunes featured on the PS2 and computer versions, but does not include "Commando" or the homebrew titles.

Game list

There are a total of 58 games in each version combined. Some games do not appear in some versions, and are mentioned accordingly.

*"Barnstorming"
*"Baseball" (originally titled "Pete Rose Baseball")
*"Beamrider"
*"Bloody Human Freeway"
*"Boxing"
*"Bridge"
*"Checkers"
*"Chopper Command"
*"Commando" (PS2 version only)
*"Cosmic Commuter"
*"Crackpots"
*"Decathlon"
*"Dolphin"
*"Dragster"
*"Enduro"
*"Fishing Derby"
*"Freeway"
*"Frostbite"
*"Grand Prix"
*"H.E.R.O."
*"Ice Hockey"
*"Kabobber" (previously unreleased)
*"Kaboom!"
*"Keystone Kapers"
*"Laser Blast"
*"Megamania"
*"Oink!"
*"Pitfall!"
*""
*"Plaque Attack"
*"Pressure Cooker"
*"Private Eye"
*"River Raid"
*"River Raid 2"
*"Robot Tank"
*"Seaquest"
*"Skateboardin"'
*"Skiing"
*"Sky Jinks"
*"Space Shuttle"
*"Spider Fighter"
*"Stampede"
*"Starmaster"
*"Tennis"
*"Thwocker" (previously unreleased)
*"Title Match"
*"Tomcat F14"
*"Venetian Blinds"

Imagic titles:

*"Atlantis"
*"Demon Attack"
*"Moonsweeper"

Homebrewed games (GBA version only):

*"Climber 5"
*"Okie Dokie"
*"Oystron"
*"Skeleton+"
*"SpaceThreat Deluxe"
*"Vault Assault"
*"Video Euchre"

Reviews

*Gamespot - 7.3/10
*Gamespy - 80/100
*Gaming Age - B-
*Gaming Target - 8.5/10
*IGN - 8.5/10

External links

*
* [http://colba.net/~lucm/pix_aa_guide/ Unofficial manual for GBA version, including maps and secrets.]
* http://ps2.ign.com/objects/491/491542.html IGN's page of the game