The second in a three-part series about how to turn your PS2 (and X-Box in a couple instances) into a retro-gaming force of nature.

Read Part One here.

ACTIVISION ANTHOLOGY

The scoop
The legendary Atari 2600 — the first widely popular home console system — is a pop culture landmark (not necessarily a touchstone like the Nintendo, but a landmark nonetheless), and Activision was one of the reasons why. The company’s large library of games, high standard of quality, willingness to experiment across genres, and ambitious idea to reward high scores made them one of the first commonly known brands associated with video games.

The Activision Anthology collects just about every title the company made for the 2600 including two that were never released. Obviously, not too many of them hold up, but the majority of them are clever, fitfully addictive for about 10-15 minutes, and still contain an endearing charm. Oddly enough, the graphics have traveled more than full circle — from dated to retro to artistic to now this kind of weird metaphorical abstraction deal.

The games
45 in all: Atlantis, Barnstorming, Baseball, Beamrider, Boxing, Bridge, Checkers, Chopper Command, Commando, Cosmic Commuter, Crackpots, Demon Attack, Decathlon, Dolphin, Dragster, Enduro, Fishing Derby, Freeway, Frostbite, Grand Prix, H.E.R.O., Ice Hockey, Kabobber, Kaboom!, Keystone Kapers, Laser Blast, Megamania, Moonsweeper, Oink!, Pitfall!, Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Plaque Attack, Pressure Cooker, Private Eye, River Raid, River Raid 2, Robot Tank, Seaquest, Skiing, Sky Jinks, Space Shuttle, Spider Fighter, Stampede, Starmaster, Tennis, Thwocker, Title Match, Tomcat F14.

Worth a shot?
Although unfortunately out of print at the moment, this is a retro and OCD gamer’s wet dream. It should be the standard for classic anthologies now and forever thanks to immaculate game presentation, a clever and superb menu (which includes original box art and instructions), and a bounty of extras that are a blast to unlock. These extras include original commercials, the original Activision high-score patches, and different screen shapes…which are useless, but the effort is appreciated.

And that’s really the thing: this collection doesn’t feel like an easy cash-in. It was produced with thought, reverential care, and most importantly, a good sense of humor. Anyone born between 1960 and, I don’t know, 1977-78 who remembers moldy basements with faux wood paneling, shag carpeting, and worn brown leather furniture will have hours of fun. If you were born after that, you’ll think to yourself “People paid $30-$50 for SKY JINKS?!?” and you would be 100% in the right to ask that question.

KFR Rating: A

SEGA GENESIS COLLECTION

The scoop
Oh man, here we go. As I stated in Part One of this saga, much to their credit the parental units Duncan wouldn’t dish out for a Nintendo back in the day. However, circa Xmas 89 they finally caved. On 12/25/89 in the vicinity of 41.468N and 73.392W my brother and I were the recipients of the holy relic of saintly Jesus glory that was the Sega Genesis. A good three to four years of ferocious gaming followed. Known for its superlative action and sports titles, the Genesis was like this 16-bit distillation of the male id. I’m not sure if there was or ever will be a console with its amount of legitimate cool.

Lots and lots of people are excited about this anthology, and as well they should be since there are a ton of great games here, most of which are still highly playable. Verily, it’s a cornucopia/bounty/gumbo of gaming. As you’ve probably noticed with all the anthologies, there’s a lot of entertainment value and fun to be had here — there are four full-service RPGs included, so we’re talking around 200+ hours. And also as with most anthologies, there are a couple head scratchers involved (uh…Flicky? Really?).

The games
32 total: Alex Kidd and The Enchanted Castle, Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Columns, Comix Zone, Decap Attack, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Ecco Jr., Flicky, Gain Ground, the Golden Axe trilogy, Phantasy Star II, III, and IV, Ristar, Kid Chameleon, Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi, Shinobi III, Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Super Thunderblade, Sword of Vermillion, Vectorman, Vectorman 2, Virtua Fighter 2, plus four unlockable Sega arcade games: Tac/Scan, Future Spy, Zaxxon, and Zektor.

Worth a shot?
Chances are, if you’re between the ages of 20 and 40 and you play video games with any regularity, you either want the Sega Genesis Collection or own it already. If you’re undecided, it’s about as close to great as you can get without actually going over the line. It’s one of the best collections of vintage games available, and a slightly better game selection would’ve made it one of the last PS2 must-haves.

What we get is what we want: exact versions of around two dozen enjoyable 16-bit games that you can save wherever and whenever. Load times are real quick, and there are some neat-o extras. Oh, and Flicky. Also, someone needs to sit Sega down and say “look, guys, Columns…I know what you were going for and that was cool, but…but I…I’m just mentioning something people have wanted to say for a really long time — Columns needs to leave. Not to make things awkward, but we…we just never liked Columns, ok? Nothing personal.”

P.P.S.: Points lost for no Streets of Rage.

KFR Rating: B+

MIDWAY ARCADE TREASURES

The scoop
A nice little survey of fondly remembered games from the early to late 80s. Not too much true greatness to be had here, but the quality is still quite high. From early vector-iffic triumphs like Defender (the first side-scrolling shooter) and Robotron 2084 (the first super spaz robot attack freak out), to inventive goodies like Paperboy (the original suburban nightmare) and Joust (second only to Dig Dug in the list of Classic Wtf Games), to later quarter eaters Smash TV, Gauntlet, and others.

The games
24 total: 720 Degrees, Blaster, Bubbles, Defender, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Joust 2, Klax, Marble Madness, Paperboy, Rampage, Rampart, RoadBlasters, Robotron: 2084, Root Beer Tapper, Satan’s Hollow, Sinistar, Smash TV, SPLAT!, Spy Hunter, Super Sprint, Toobin’, Vindicators.

Worth a shot?
Probably only worthwhile to those who want to revel in the bittersweet pang of nostalgia. But, it’s an extremely enjoyable pang, kind of like gas except without the statisfyingly stinky release. Anyway, those looking for a good survey of what a pre-Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter II-hysteria arcade circa 1988 might have to offer shouldn’t look any further. Although unfortunately, titles that relied on The Knob controller (you know what I’m talking about) — 720 Degrees, Toobin — do not translate to the PS2 whatsoever, rendering them unplayable. Not too many extras to be had, either.

Bonus points for Klax and Marble Madness, though.

KFR Rating: B

PS2’s CLASSIC VIDEO GAME ANTHOLOGIES PART ONE

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