I realise that this Evercade cartridge is likely to be pretty divisive. After all, these are Activision games from the Atari 2600, back from the earliest days of console gaming. As such their audio and visuals are just about as basic as you can get.

Yet, having grown up with an Atari 2600 being the first proper console I had at home, I still have a soft spot for the high score chasing, arcade style experiences the machine often supported.

Added to that, Activision’s games  really tried to push the capabilities of the console, not just aesthetics-wise but also in terms of what their games offered. Far out concepts and unusual gameplay in many cases, as well as sometimes overly ambitious, but rarely less than excellent experiences.

Let’s get the lone, far-too-ambitious title out of the way first. Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space is an admirable attempt at a serious simulation, which would be almost laughable given the Atari 2600’s obvious hardware limitations. Yet it’s to Activision’s credit that kind of works, but it does come with a lot of learning and reading the manual to get anywhere. The original game was bundled with an overlay which turned your 2600 console into a space shuttle cockpit, and part of the experience was flicking switches and hitting different buttons in a way that felt super tactile and aided the experience; that can’t be replicated here, of course.

A couple of the other games are a little obtuse in their design, but don’t have a particularly steep learning curve. Private Eye, for example, can be a little confusing at first but just knowing you need to find specific items and take them to marked places on the map is especially helpful. It’s original, a surprisingly open for a game of its era, and really fun. It’s also a rarely spotted Activision title, so definitely a welcome addition to this collection.

On the subject of surprisingly open experiences, Starmaster gives you a solar system to explore, with a first person space combat title that would have absolutely made it my favourite game back in the day, had I ever managed to get my hands on it. Though it’s not aged as well as other games here, it’s still an enjoyable game overall.

An eclectic mix of shoot em ups feature in Activision Collection 1, and each of them feels really distinct; Beamrider, Demon Attack and Megamania are all sci fi shooters with their own unique mechanics and overall feel; all are well worth chasing high scores on. River Raid, an earthbound vertical shooter, is perhaps my favourite, and another technical marvel considering the Atari 2600 hardware.

Enduro is a blisteringly fast and impressively smooth racing game; though Grand Prix is also a racing game of sorts, it’s more of the ‘avoid other objects’ style of game that’s fairly common on the 2600, and feels a bit like a sideways, more technically impressive Street Racer with chunkier sprites. Sky Jinks is a racing game too, kind of; however, this one’s in the air, and you’ll be racing against your own best time. It’s also really fun!

Freeway is a multiplayer take on Frogger, though instead of an amphibian, you’re in control of a chicken crossing a busy road. It’s great, though it can be maddeningly difficult at times.

Fishing Derby is a really satisfying game of pushing your luck while trying to catch bigger and better fish than your opponent, and Tennis shows why less is sometimes more; it’s one of the best pick up and play tennis games I’ve ever played, with no need for the bells, whistles or elaborate animation routines that slow down and overcomplicate modern sports games.

Crackpots is superb; a rooftop defence game against an insect and arachnid invasion, where you’ll be dropping plant pots to squish the bugs that are speedily making their way towards you.

Finally, the absolute piece de resistance in my opinion, and one of my favourite games of all time: Pitfall. This classic platform adventure packs a serious challenge; it’s also a technical and gameplay miracle which I’ve enjoyed replaying in recent years on my Atari 2600+ immensely; its appearance on the Evercade is definitely very welcome indeed.

All in all, this is a great selection of games which showcase pure gameplay for the most part; generally accessible experiences perfect for quick blasts on the Evercade.

Though it might be the case that many players find these titles too basic, I’ve still enjoyed revisiting them an awful lot (and pairing this cartridge with the Atari Super Pocket gives you the ultimate, portable 2600!). few games are conspicuous by their absence (the peerless H.E.R.O., Robot Tank and Chopper Command, to name just three of many), Blaze have done a great job of showcasing a variety of different genres and experiences with this collection.

It really shows just how great, and inventive, early Activision titles were, but also leaves the door open for an equally eclectic second collection!

You can buy Activision Collection 1 from Amazon.

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