Activision Anthology for PS2

[MegaDrive20XX]

Ok, I've seen alot of game collection disc lately. Yet I really want to point this one out.

Just because of the friggin SOUNDTRACK. Some of those songs of the 80's are my favorite.

Plus it's got Twisted Sister "We're Not Gonna Take it"

and hearing "We Can Dance" while playing Pitfall is so sweet.

I just wish this game was on Xbox now...


http://games.activision.com/games/anthology/ just check out the offical website to see what I mean.

I gotta give it up to them, that's a nice touch what they did.

[swlovinist]

I absolutely love this comp, and it is games like this that you have to love. The game is like an 80's time capusule. I loved it. The real question is, why in the hell are there not more comps done in this way? I get so pissed off when a company just rereleases a game or a series of games and does absolutely nothing extra. It is just plain lazy, and cheap.
I remember that stupid Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast.......oh my gosh that was horrid!

[zmweasel]

I absolutely love this comp, and it is games like this that you have to love. The game is like an 80's time capusule. I loved it. The real question is, why in the hell are there not more comps done in this way? I get so pissed off when a company just rereleases a game or a series of games and does absolutely nothing extra. It is just plain lazy, and cheap.
I remember that stupid Sega Smash Pack for the Dreamcast.......oh my gosh that was horrid!

The forthcoming Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is another lazy comp. The only extra is "The Animated Movie," digitized at sub-VHS resolution and with all the naughty parts edited out to preserve the T rating. No historical documents, no designer interviews. WEAK SAUCE.

Also, the "Collection" is really just two games: Hyper SFII (a mishmash of all five SFII variants) and SFIII: Third Strike. No original SF, no SF Alpha. WEAK SAUCE.

I'm crossing fingers and toes that the announced PSP Anthology includes the homebrews and demos of the GBA version AND the commercial clips, Imagic games, and '80s tunes of the PS2 version.

-- Z.

[DigitalSpace]

If only all of 'em were done like Activision Anthology... great compilation. Namco especially could learn a lesson or two.

The only flaw with Anthology is that you can't save high scores.

[zmweasel]

If only all of 'em were done like Activision Anthology... great compilation. Namco especially could learn a lesson or two.

The only flaw with Anthology is that you can't save high scores.

Which I forgot to mention was rectified in the GBA version. The programmer(s) also restored the old-school scoring requirements for patches, which was great for everything except Kaboom!, which is virtually unplayable with a D-pad. (The PSP's analog control should make it slightly more tolerable.)

-- Z.

[digitalpress]

If only all of 'em were done like Activision Anthology... great compilation. Namco especially could learn a lesson or two.

The only flaw with Anthology is that you can't save high scores.

It's good to see an Activision Anthology thread again.

I love it, I still play it quite a bit, but there are a few things about it that nag at me. The first is the missing games. I KNOW there were licensing issues. I wish there weren't... or that there was some way to rename titles so they no longer refer to their original license. I mean, who cares if Ghostbusters is CALLED Ghostbusters. Call it Ghostbreakers or something. That always worked for Taiwan :)

The other thing is the soundtrack - while really good, after a few hours of play I had to shut it off. There's only so many times I want to hear the same dozen or so tracks repeated. I think they could have squeezed in ten times more songs, like Vice City or Amped 2. THEN you've got a soundtrack worthy of mention.

Other things would have been wish list items, like being able to play a friend online or managing high scores. I can live without this stuff but it would have been nice to have.

Its still the best compilation I've played outside of Midway Arcade Treasures.

FYI we added lots of "Activision Patches" content to the site around the time this game came out, it's good stuff, I promise:
http://www.digitpress.com/archives/cc_patches_2600.htm

[SoulBlazer]

I 'upgraded' to the PC version of this a few months ago. It has more games, including some homevrews, more control options, and more music! :D

[Neil Koch]

The other thing is the soundtrack - while really good, after a few hours of play I had to shut it off. There's only so many times I want to hear the same dozen or so tracks repeated. I think they could have squeezed in ten times more songs, like Vice City or Amped 2. THEN you've got a soundtrack worthy of mention.


Yeah but VC is a $50 game and the Anthology is $15-20. They probably coulodn't afford to spend tons of money licensing songs for a budget release.

[digitalpress]

Yeah but VC is a $50 game and the Anthology is $15-20. They probably coulodn't afford to spend tons of money licensing songs for a budget release.

"They probably couldn't afford it... " is something I don't want to hear from a game publisher. The budget titles are great but that's their decision, not mine!

[Kamino]

i've been tempted to buy this compilation simply so i can play games such as kaboom without using a fricking paddle....<no paddle love here>.....
considering i've GOT a 2600 though, and over half the activision carts already, its easier to just play them.
now for a question that will bring debate, discussion, fisticuffs, riots and questioning of selfsanity;
Activision had every port of each of their games at their fingertips. Why did they use 2600 pitfall, instead of coleco, 2600, or c64 pitfall? same question for all games in this compilation that had superior versions elsewhere....why the 2600 version when there was a better way?

[Kid Ice]

i've been tempted to buy this compilation simply so i can play games such as kaboom without using a fricking paddle....<no paddle love here>.....
considering i've GOT a 2600 though, and over half the activision carts already, its easier to just play them.
now for a question that will bring debate, discussion, fisticuffs, riots and questioning of selfsanity;
Activision had every port of each of their games at their fingertips. Why did they use 2600 pitfall, instead of coleco, 2600, or c64 pitfall? same question for all games in this compilation that had superior versions elsewhere....why the 2600 version when there was a better way?

Which ones do you mean specifically? The example you give is Pitfall which IMO is a poor one since it's in just about everyone's top 5 list for the 2600. Demon Attack, River Raid, and Stampede may have been dressed up nice for other systems, but the 2600 versions will always be essential in my eyes.

I would MUCH rather see dedicated Colecovision and C64 comps :)

[Kamino]

well, i was just referring to the fact that they used raw, old, "Crappy" 2600 versions. i mean, they had a crapton of disc space, they couldve either included more than one version(2600, and c64, and 5200 etc) or had an "unlockable"(once you earn the patch) to an enhanced version. i think nintendo did a great job with super mario allstars, updating the graphics., i think sega did a bad job, using the genesis versions of all the sonic games on the mega collection*coughs* why the genesis 3d blast when the saturn version is better???
I'm not bashing 2600. 2600 is a great system. If it sucked, I wouldn't have bought one. But...it's an ACTIVISION anthology, not a 2600 anthology.

[Kid Ice]

The forthcoming Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is another lazy comp. The only extra is "The Animated Movie," digitized at sub-VHS resolution and with all the naughty parts edited out to preserve the T rating. No historical documents, no designer interviews. WEAK SAUCE.

-- Z.

Very weak sauce. SF3 3rd Strike is a cool game, but talk about a missed opportunity for a killer comp. Throw the original, the Alphas, and the Vs. games in there and then you've got something. Heck, even throw SF: The Movie in there.

I deleted the rest of my post because it began to get a little threadjacky, but let's just say you would need 5 consoles (and one of them you would have to mod to play imports) to play all my favorite Street Fighters in one sitting. Sad.

[Kid Ice]

well, i was just referring to the fact that they used raw, old, "Crappy" 2600 versions. i mean, they had a crapton of disc space, they couldve either included more than one version(2600, and c64, and 5200 etc) or had an "unlockable"(once you earn the patch) to an enhanced version.

Thematically, this compilation is about Activision games on the 2600. There is a picture of a 2600 on the interface, as well as pix of 2600 carts, 2600 instruction books, etc. In fact, I would argue the comp is just as much about the 2600 as it is about Activision. So it would have been a bit odd to throw in different console versions as unlockables.

Also, compilations tend to feed exactly what there is a demand for, and nothing else...that's why we repeatedly get Ms. Pac Man, Robotron, and Spy Hunter, and never get Berzerk, Zaxxon, or Space Dungeon. There are lots of old geezers like me out there clamoring for 2600 comps...it's a smaller market for other classic systems. You will NEVER see a Vectrex comp...know how they say never say never?...I'm saying NEVER.

[Quickclaw]

This collection was most responsible for my renewed interest in video games. Prolly the best $9.99 I've ever spent.

[Lady Jaye]

Ok, time to bump up this thread.

Yesterday, I was really in a Activision Anthology mood and I played it on my GBA SP while commuting AND the PS2 version after I got home.

So here's some of my observations/comments about the two versions:

As Zach pointed out, the GBA version corrects the lack of high score saves and the lack of patch requirement instructions on the PS2 version.

And of course, the 80s music is non-existent on the GBA version.

Game-wise, I noticed that the PS2 version was a lot brighter than the GBA port, which oughta make Kaboom! easier to play on the PS2 than the GBA (the contrast isn't high enough on the GBA, most of the time I can't see the bombs). On the other hand, I found that Beamrider is a lot more difficult to play on the PS2 version (why does it start at wave 8?), while there's a bug in Oink! that makes it very difficult to get the patch (in the original Oink! you can drop bricks whenever you're above a hole, you don't have to walk down to the lower brick wall every single time!!!).

And another problem I have with the PS2 version: Activision should have made it more difficult to hit the Difficulty switch button (the L1 shoulder button). Ever since the SNES days, I've been holding my fingers other than the thumbs to the back of the controller... you have no idea how many times I had to restart my game of Barnstorming just because I accidently hit L1!!!). I also wish that it'd be possible to zoom in on the game instruction manuals. I plugged my PS2 on a small 13-inch TV, so a zoom-in would have been appreciated for those games that I'm not so familiar with.

Finally, I don't like how the game caddy has them separate in two batches. Makes it more tedious when looking for a game.

On the plus side: I unlocked the Megamania commercial and I found the video quality pretty good, at least much better than the copy I've had on my computer.

Anyway, even though I do like the PS2 version, I personally prefer the GBA port. It seems to me that Aspyr took a long, hard look at what worked and what didn't and corrected what needed to be improved. Now, I'm curious to see how their Mac/PC port is like... probably like the best of both worlds, or so I hope!!!!

[SoulBlazer]

I think the PC version is the best one. You can use save states, there's more games, including homebrews, and new music, as well as a couple of new options. And you can use any controller you want as long as its plugged into your PC. :)

[Lady Jaye]

Can you use your own music playlist in the PC/Mac version? Or are you stuck with what's included?

Yeah, upon checking out Macplay's website, I saw that the Mac/PC version includes the entire Imagic catalog...

BTW, does that version includes the unlockable commercials? And if so, is it only the Activision commercials or also the Imagic ones?

[SoulBlazer]

I honestly have'nt spent much time with the PC one, so I'm not sure about the commercials. I'll let someone else answer. :) But yes, you can change the playlist.

[digtempest]

It would have nice if this collection allowed you to save your game in progress like the collection for the PS1.

[zmweasel]

I honestly have'nt spent much time with the PC one, so I'm not sure about the commercials. I'll let someone else answer. :) But yes, you can change the playlist.

The Activision commercials are indeed in the PC version. Not sure about any Imagic commercials, though.

-- Z.