There have been so many classic compilations appearing on the PSP in the past year that it’s hard for Activision to not release their own set. Join me in this review to see what publisher Activision and developer Digital Eclipse have to offer.
Graphics:
What can I say about the in-game graphics for this compilation? It’s a collection of classic emulated Activision games; meaning that they appear on screen as they did when the games were introduced on the Atari 2600. Emulations work like this, engineers take the original code from the Atari 2600 transfer it to the PSP “game code”, in turn tricking the PSP to run the game as if it was an Atari 2600. So my suggestion to people out there expecting to see new sprites and updated artwork in-game is to forget about it. What players will see are simple sprites gracefully flying around screen fulfilling its original purpose of providing fun! The sprites will be jagged, and the colors will be limited. As long as you expect to see this and not Gears of War, you’ll set yourself up for a good time. Continuing on to the presentation that was put forward by Digital Eclipse, the UI artist seems to know what he/she is doing. The retro theme living room is great idea for this compilation. It has the Atari 2600 with a couple of its one button joystick sitting in front of an old school rabbit antenna TV. The TV provides a preview of the game selected, along with the box art on the left hand side. I have to admit it’s a great presentation, retro and nostalgic. The 3d models for the assets on screen are simple and low res, but they are consistent and provide a great theme to what this collection has to offer. Games can generally be played at the full length of the PSP screen if the HUD is hidden. This stretches the on-screen sprites a bit but it’s not a big concern.
Game Play:
Some of the games in the Activision Collection were made before I was even able to play video games, but that doesn’t detract from the fun factor that these games bring to the table. My family did own an Atari 2600 and these are some of the first games I ever laid my eyes upon. The nostalgia factor has indeed certainly played a factor when it comes to evaluating the game play. Like with most mini games now, and comparing the Atari 2600 games to the current generation they can technically be considered mini games, there will be a lot of hit and misses. Titles like Pitfall, Chopper Command, and River Raid are all very addictive while other games such as Kabobber and Kaboom! could have been left in the old school. Since we all know the PSP is suppose to be a “portable” system -- gaming on the go have always been hard with its current selection of games. With this in mind the developers have cleverly added a save anytime feature. I’m pretty sure some old school gamers would have killed for this back in the day, since most of the games’ goal is to achieve the highest score possible. There is also a difficulty selection for each individual game incase players have manage to master the games and want more of a challenge. Since there are so many games to play, I’m pretty sure players can find at least one that they can claim addiction to. And lastly to offer other play incentives and replay value 80’s music, box cover, and old school commercial unlocks are put in to keep you interested.
Sound:
Like I mentioned in the graphics department there will be pretty much plan and simple sprites, the same goes for the in-game sound and music. It includes all the original beeps, boops and other crazy simple sound effects that the original games had. There’s nothing much to add or evaluate in this section. It stays true to the original and as Dave Chappelle would say, “Keepin’ it real.” Moving on to the additional sound features, the original is cool and great but there is room for advancements. The developers added a bunch of 80’s music ranging from one hit wonder A-ha to Blondie. Doing this adds a great deal to the sound department. Players are able to have these 80’s music blast in the background while playing any of the retro titles. The volume of the music is adjustable if they prefer only the original sounds from the games. You can turn it up or all the way down, your choice! The only pitfall –pun intended, is that players are not able to skip the music currently being played while they are in-game.
Lasting Appeal:
The collection is a great set of games that could accumulate hours of fun. There are over forty titles that players can choose from. The games are all simple and quick enough to play that players will want to do it over and over again just to best their own scores. The save feature adds a whole element and appeal that the originals did not have. So players will actually have a chance to beat the game and not just start over when they die. Progression save is key factor now and days, and I commend the developers for putting this in. The added unlocks for music, art boxes, and old school commercials will give players another incentive to keep going. In Multiplayer, unlike most PSP games players will be able to play against each other locally via ad-hoc with only one game disc! Now all we have to do is find another person that owns a PSP!
Fun Factor:
Not all the games in the collection are hits there are some misses as well. Games like Pitfall, Chopper Command, and River Raid offer great fun factor however games such as Kabobber and Kaboom! doesn’t. There is nothing too compelling about the games themselves if you sit down and think about it. They offer a goal that us humans are addicted too, beating our own best score! Players will most likely play in short spurts and continue to play to best themselves or even others in multiplayer. For some weird reason this is a fun addiction, but the biggest factor of all…these games offer is nostalgia that will bring people back to their youth.
The 411:
For all you old school game lovers out there, go get this classic compilation that Activision has put together. The presentation is nice and gives a great sense of theme and nostalgia. The extra unlocks and the inclusion of 80’s music will offer you some replay value. The 40 or so games itself will give you a great distraction for your commutes. This is a solid compilation that people should not pass up, and it’s only 20 bucks. Go get it!
Graphics
7.0
The game is basically simple and plain sprites. It stayed true to the original games, what else can you ask for in a retro collection?
Gameplay
7.5
There are 40 different titles in this game. There is a bit of everything to suite almost any gameplay you feel like.
Sound
8.0
The 80’s music is a welcome addition; however, there are some tracks I wish I could skip.
Lasting Appeal
7.5
The games are all pretty simple and don’t last very long, but there are a bunch of cool unlocks.
Fun Factor
7.5
There is a massive amount of games in this collection. Players will be able to find one that will suit their nostalgia needs and addiction!
