Issue 36: Oct 2003
Features
- | Foreword
- | Tip of the day
- | Digiscoping Or How I Saved $68,000
- | JagFest UK 2003 Aftershock
- | Mod Shop Horrors
- | Broadband ST
- | Atari Goes Metal: 2
- | ABBUC Highscore Chat
- | Activision's "Forgotten" Years
- | Keep That Atari!
- | MiNT And I
- | Atari Logo Evolution Continued
- | Atari In Argentina
Reviews
- | Painter
- | Laser Squad
M@ilbox
| Activision's "Forgotten" Years When most of us think of Activision's 2600 games, we think of the classics. Immortal games such as Pitfall!, Pitfall II, and River Raid, as well as numerous others. These are definitely some of the best games for the system, both graphically and gameplay-wise. However, there were two halves to Activision's 2600 cartridge run. The games previously mentioned were during its "golden" years. Starting in around 1985, when the market was really suffering from the crash, Activision's games began to change. Let's look at these carts. 1985 brought two carts (to my knowledge), both worth owning. Ghostbusters and Cosmic Commuter. Ghostbusters, obviously based on the movie of the same name, was a simplified port of the 1984 Commodore 64 game. The 2600 version is considered the best version by some (though I'm devoted to the Nintendo and Sega Master System versions) due to its simplicity and overall easier gameplay. No digital speech, but the Ghostbusters theme sounds okay. Cosmic Commuter was a fun, but not especially memorable, space game, which to save time I won't dive deep into. The object was to conserve fuel and blast various objects. Jump ahead a few years, to 1987. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one game really worth mentioning. Kung-Fu Master, an interesting port of Irem's coin-op. The graphics were certainly good, but the gameplay was less so, these types of games prove difficult with just one button (as 1989's Double Dragon learned the hard way, but more on that later). The best reason I can think of for Activision putting this port out was to combat the NES version that had came out (earlier, I believe). In 1988, there were two games worth talking about. The first one was a sequel to one of Activision's most beloved games, titled River Raid II. The game was much more advanced this time around. This time you had to watch how high or low you were, as well as keeping an eye on your fuel. The graphics were better, but the game doesn't top the classic original. Also released in 1988 was Commando. Interestingly, Atari did the 7800 port of this game, but Activision got the 2600 one. It's passable, but not much better than the earlier Front Line, or the later Ikari Warriors (which I doubt very many people played due to its rarity). 1989 was Activision's last real year on the 2600, and the focus was on ports. 1989 saw the release of Rampage and Double Dragon, both successful arcade games, but not especially suited to the 2600 (though I do love Double Dragon). Rampage played well enough, but with the limited graphics capabilities of the system, it wasn't nearly as much fun. The graphics were decent, though. Double Dragon sported great graphics and backgrounds, as well as some fine music, but was kept from being much fun due to the insane difficulty and controls. Once you get the controls, the game becomes much easier, but few people had the patience to give it much more thought after getting pummelled by the first enemy over and over. That ended Activision's cartridge run in the US, but interestingly, it did program a version of Ghostbusters II in 1990, but once it saw the failing US market for the 2600 games, it gave the releasing rights to Salu, who released it in 1992. The graphics were bright and colorful, especially in the second level, though the game was insanely difficult. So, that was Activision's run on the 2600. While the games are neat, they can't hold a candle to its earlier efforts, which, with a few exceptions, were brilliant. larry@myatari.net Thanks to AtariAge for the game box scans.
Useful links
Activision http://www.activision.com AtariAge http://www.atariage.com Atarinvader http://www.atarinvader.com
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