Activision Anthology is a collection of classic Atari 2600 titles as well as extra items including new gameplay modes for each game, trivia, originally released patches/updates, 3D views of the cartridges, the original manuals and much more. The game comes with licensed eighties music tracks. It contains 45 games. The content is quite similar to Activision Hits Remixed (PSP), but unlike the GBA version and Activision Anthology: Remix Edition (PC/Mac), it doesn't include the homebrew titles. The following games are included: Atlantis, Barnstorming, Beamrider, Boxing, Bridge, Checkers, Chopper Command, Commando, Cosmic Commuter, Crackpots, Decathlon (The Activision Decathlon), Demon Attack, Dolphin, Dragster, Enduro, Fishing Derby, Freeway, Frostbite, Grand Prix, H.E.R.O., Ice Hockey, Kabobber (previously unreleased), Kaboom!, Keystone Kapers, Laser Blast, Moonsweeper, Megamania, Oink!, Pitfall!, Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Plaque Attack, Pressure Cooker, Private Eye, River Raid, River Raid II, Robot Tank, Seaquest, Skiing, Sky Jinks, Space Shuttle, Spider Fighter, Stampede, Starmaster, Tennis, Thwocker (previously unreleased)
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Why does it beat Atari though? First is the games themselves. As an average, Activision's stuff that they released for the Atari 2600 FAR outclassed a lot of the churned out Atari stuff. Here you have some games that even still manage to be pretty darn fun even today with arcadey shooters and platformers being the high points of the collection.
Now Activision could have just slung these onto a disc and called it a day like most. Oh no. Instead we get a TON of presentation. We get era-appropriate licensed pop songs, we get all manner of unlockable graphical options, artwork, commercials and more, all wrapped up in a great UI where you flick through game carts and it all just feels so inviting and cool, you just cant help but get pulled into the nostalgia.
Sure, these are Atari 2600 games and while there are some great things here, the games as a whole are still several notches below your usual NES/SNES/Megadrive and Arcade collections... But for those who really love their retro stuff, this is just grand.