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Classics Revived

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: December 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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]

Really good retro game pack

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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).

Absolute Garbage

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: March 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I picked this title up for one reason only Atari 2600 games! It says they are in there on the box and in the instruction manual yet I have yet to see them. Why? because they are locked and nigh impossible to unlock due to the need to complete specific tasks in the "evolved" versions of the arcade games to earn 44 awards then and only then will you get to the good stuff.
This is completely unacceptable it is not enjoyable, challenging or fun, the need to unlock vast portions of your game needs to end now. I paid for the game therefore I should have access to all features of said game.
For example how would you like to purchase a new car and not be able to use the power windows,power seats,and air conditioning because those features are "locked" until you drive the car a certain way to unlock them that sounds rather stupid and unreasonable doesn't it? so why do it with games? Bottom line lose the locked garbage and you'll have great game in your hands.

Great games -- frustrating unlockables

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

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.

Superb Classics Collection!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

ok admittedly, not all of the titles that you can unlock are worth the effort but Some really are, I will come back to this.
the game is well made with both clasic and evolved versions of each game of the 11 starting titles you must go through them all unlocking EVERY award to get to the 50 classics. but that is what makes this game worth playing and a reward worth going after.
list of the starting titles.
Asteroids
Asteroids deluxe
Battlezone
Centipede
Lunar Lander
Millipede
Missile Command
Pong
Super breakout
Tempest
Warlords
a good list to be sure and with 44 rewards to unlock you have your work cut out for you.
Once you manage to collect 44 awards, you'll unlock the virtual Atari 2600 console where you'll get your hands on tons of classic, old-school games such as Crystal Castle, Night Driver, Yar's Revenge, and Canyon Bomber, to name a few. Many are entirely forgettable, but its still fun to try them all out even if you only spend a few minutes with each one.

Graphics: Loved the redone look and still Love retro asteroids and deluxe. 5 Stars

Sound: 4 stars on the remakes but 5 stars on the retros.

Overall: although it's annoying having to turn the psp sideways to play a few of the games it's still a great collection and worthy of ownership just for having the handheld portability of these greats and I have to say the redone lunar lander is excellent to relax to in the evenings or perhaps I am too much a retro fan who knows but I can say this, Buy this collection if you are an atari fan like me (and own the ps2 atari Anthology) then you will really want this!
5 Stars!!!

Buy it here!
Atari Classics Evolved

Poor conversions of good old games.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: January 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a mediocre collection of many good games, hampered by numerous interface and design problems:

The "evolved" games use the same ugly graphics as the XBOX 360 arcade ports. That's well and good, but I really expected better treatment of the "classic" games, since we've seen good collections from Namco and Capcom. For both the "classic" and "evolved" versions, of the arcade games, the graphics are letterboxed so the once-beautiful vector lines are rasterized and almost as ugly as the GameBoy Advance collection of Atari games. The PSP is capable of so much more.

Compared to the Atari Anthology collection on PS2 and XBOX a few years ago, there are multiple games missing, such as Space Duel and Red Baron. However, there are multiple ways to play Pong on this disc.

The vertical games (Tempest, Centipede, Millipede) are vertical ONLY, requiring you to rotate the PSP in an awkward position like the *optional* modes in some other PSP games. Even in this orientation, they still don't scale up to fill the whole screen like the Namco Museum Battle Collection did so many years ago.

One of the major points of interest for me is that there are over 50 Atari 2600 VCS games on the disc. There are some good Atari properties missing (Star Raiders, Secret Quest, and Solaris are sadly absent, for example). That's not a big surprise, but the disappointing part about this feature is that the player must "unlock" these old games -- all at once -- by laboriously getting EVERY award from EVERY arcade game, 44 in all. I suspect that any arcade fan with that level of skill or interest would already have these games in another format by now.

Considering Atari's financial state, I worry that this could be the last major retro release from the company. It's a shame, because the company has released vastly superior products in the past, namely:

- The Atari Flashback 2 plug-and-play console, with 40+ new and old games with authentic controls;

- The Atari Anthology collection for Playstation 2 and XBOX, with more arcade games, better graphics, a more reasonable unlocking scheme, and 1080i resolution on the XBOX (and XBOX 360 compatible) version.

I suggest passing on this retro collection in favor of the better packages out there: Capcom, Namco, Taito, and Activision have all done a better job on the PSP, in my humble opinion. This one is for completists only.

Fun for classic video game fans

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is most enjoyed by people who appreciate classic Atari games. You get 11 games to start and have to unlock 50 more. The evolved versions play exactly the same way but with beefed up graphics. There are 2 drawbacks to this game: 1. The play control for roller ball/paddle games is sub-par with the psp controls.(pong, centipede, etc) 2. Its entirely too difficult to unlock all 50 games. They should have made it where you gradually unlock the games. Other than that, its a fun game and I recommend it for the price.

Great Collection of Video Game Classics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was very excited to hear this was being released for the PSP and I have not been disappointed. As someone who played many of these games in the arcades in the 80s this collection brings back fond memories of wasting too many quarters just to get my initials on the "High Scores" list. Younger gamers who do not have the nostalgia factor might find the games to be boring, but I am glad to have the collection. Certainly the controls will take getting used to as these games had joysticks and trackballs in their original version, but Atari did a good job of adapting them to the PSP. I like having games on the PSP that I can pick up and play a few minutes at a time, and this is perfect for that (though there are also times I play it for hours on end as well). It is a challenge to unlock the bonus Atari 2600 games, but that is the fun. If they were easy to unlock, why bother locking them to begin with?

Overall this is one of the better "Retro" collections I have found.

Fun Classics Are Improved

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was really undecided on this product but am very happy with this purchase now. While it's true most people won't be able to unlock the 2600 games in this UMD, the 11 arcade classics are fun, well done and worth the price. Some of the evolved classics actually provide improved game play and are more than just a graphics update. All that being said, as with most classic video game collections the PSP controls are not a perfect match to the original games, but many other PSP games the also suffer from controls that are less than ideal so...... that's just part of having a PSP. Four stars until Atari "wakes up" and provides a cheat for all owners to unlock the extra 2600 games (if that ever happens then 5 stars for this product).

Unlock This...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In my opinion this is the one of the best conversions of Arcade games for the psp, maybe even better than Namco's arcade port. The collection of games and the fun they provide are just so top drawer. I really like when the various companies reproducing arcade classics for ports onto various computer and gaming interfaces get creative and make up new versions of the of the old game and add them into packages with the classics. There was a killer new take on Centipide for the PC once, the Atari jaguar nailed Tempest to the wall, and Namco's new recipes for their psp port is still the king. This is not quite the case this time, the evolved portion is more like a facelift rather than a new girlfriend. Kind of like skins, don't get me wrong the evolved versions are definately graphics upgrades, but they just don't radically change the way the game is played. In my opinion if you go down the list of games offered up here, you will find steller versions and hours of fun.

There is a catch and that is for those of us who have their eyes on the Atari 2600 unlockable prize. These arcade games are really tough quarter eaters and I doubt many people can make it past pong and superbreakout with those tiny paddles even if they can get the 36 challenges. The best thing that Atari could do with this is post a cheat code or a downloadable patch to correct this oversight quickly. Remember consumers relisting item in online auctions compete with fresh from the factory resale units. They didn't set very realistic goals with these unlockables and 44 challenges is a lot.

By the way warlords is such a blast here as is tempest, I love them to death. Battlezone even makes a rare appearence here. Everyone I let play this game loves it. I'd upgrade my 80% score to a 90% or better once we get a 2600 patch or cheat code out of these people, sorry guys evolved with better graphics is not as run as the 4 revisions on the Namco title.

Last thing I feel is essential to the PSP medium is portability, how well does the game fit into traveling or commuting. I think it excels, the games are tough and you can fit in a quick game in here and there when on the run. I love a quick game for the psp and this fits the bill.
I wish they would have given us a space duel instead of doubling up on asteriods.

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