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36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Great games -- frustrating unlockablesFeb 05, 2008
By Howard D. Fisher
"kahohito"
The idea for this game is fantastic. Take a bunch of classic arcade games we've all played a million times before and update them with newly improved, "evolved," graphics. And they rock! The graphics are great, the sound effects are sufficiently retro without sounding silly, and the games retained their same heart. Overall, a really fun PSP game.
Having said that, however, there are two distinct problems. First, if you have XBox Live Arcade, you'll recognize all these games as the same ports that have been trickling onto XBLA for the past year or so. This UMD is a much better deal, though, getting them all in one package instead of $5-$10 each through XBLA. However, the PSP controls are just a little too wonky for the games that require more precision, such as Missile Command or Battlezone, especially when you compare them to the X360 controls (which, granted, weren't that precise to begin with, but they are better).
Second, the game makes a big deal about containing over 50 Atari 2600 games available to be unlocked. However, instead of unlocking them a few at a time as you make incremental progress through the new-and-improved games, the developers decided to make them ALL unlockable once you achieve EVERY goal in EACH evolved game. So basically, the unlockable Atari 2600 games are an all-or-nothing deal. Stuck on the last achievement? Tough! You'll NEVER play ANY of the 2600 games until you get that last achievement. And that makes getting any of the achievements that much less of an accomplishment than it should be.
If the unlockable games had NOT been included in this package, it would be a sweet deal all on its own. If you want to play these classic games, get this UMD. Just be prepared to be playing ONLY these 12 games until you unlock all 48 achievements.
23 of 24 found the following review helpful:
The classics should have been unlocked from the startApr 15, 2009
By Mark Twain
"Sr"
I bought this game to play the 2600 classics. That's really the only reason I bought it. I think their reskins of the classics are bad. To make matters worse, they make you play them in ridiculous amounts to unlock the 2600 classic games, which is probably why everyone is buying this to begin with. I had to go through the dicey process of downloading the one and only save game where someone had gone through the nightmare of unlocking the 2600 games. So if you buy this, go to GameFaqs and download the save game where someone did all the tedious work for you.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Really good retro game packDec 20, 2007
By Mark I have the Atari collection for the Nintendo DS and boy, was that a disappointment. I wish I could have gotten my money back. This on the other hand is so much better (and cheaper) that I was not expecting it to be this good. The 11 games come in two versions, classic and Modern (evolved). The controls take getting used to since games like Millipede and Centipede had a control ball, this you have to use joystick or direction buttons. There is also unlockable versions of Atari 2600 games too, over 50 according to the box but I haven't gotten there yet. Highly recommended games. Remember back in the 80s when these were top? An arcade game cost a few thousand and you get all these for $20 with better graphics (but not better controls).
18 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Classics RevivedDec 20, 2007
By Bobby J. Truong Its great seeing the classic games having cooler graphics. Would be nice to see more games done that way especially Gauntlet I and II. But for now, its a nice start to see it happening and done much better than "Retro Atari Classics" for the DS. This package for the PSP includes evolved graphics:
1. Centipede
2. Millipede
3. Pong
4. Missile Command
5. Super Breakout
6. Pong
7. Asteroids
8. Asteroids Deluxe
9. Warlords
10 Lunar Lander
11 Battle Zone
12 Atari 2600 Games [need to unlock]
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Nice idea, bad executionAug 27, 2008
By Scott Woods Who wouldn't want these games in their back pocket to play at any given moment, right? And at that price, it's got to be a steal!
Hold on to those nine bucks, friends: this game has two distinct problems, one in every version and one specific to the PSP.
The general problem is that while the game touts Atari 2600 games at your beck and call, you have to unlock them by playing the marquee games. And not incrementally, but en toto. You have to clear ALL of the roadblocks for ALL of the games or you don't get any 2600 games at all. So even if you NEVER liked, say, "Warlords", you have to jump its hurdles to get any 2600 games to unlock.
The PSP specific problem is that some of these games are cocktail table style, which means you have to turn the PSP on its end to play some of the games. Ever tried playing something on its end that's not designed to play on its end? It's excrutiating!
A better buy on a console platform all the way. On PSP? Skip it. As much I want more PSP games, this one is too little of a good thing.
based on 37 reviews
( 37 customer reviews )
