Long before the days of Tony Hawk and True Crime: Streets of LA, Activision was developing a different kind of game to make a name for themselves. The company was one of the first third-party companies to hop on board for development for the Atari 2600 way back in the 80's, and soon established themselves as a top-notch publisher...even to the point that they defined what a third-party developer should be, marketing their own software and gaining respect for their releases. It was even just a pleasure collecting their little sew-on badges for completing particular scores with their games. Ahh, memories...

But the Atari 2600 is long gone, and new games have since become all the rage. Fortunately, Activision has taken full advantage of the retro revolution with the release of Activision Anthology for the PlayStation 2 last year, which became a big surprise for those expecting just a gathering of old Atari 2600 games. Now Aspyr has followed suit with a port of the game for the Game Boy Advance, and while the presentation doesn't exactly keep everything in check this time around, it still manages to be a rock solid compilation that will keep you busy well into the next game era...or until your hair grows back.

Activision Anthology includes over 50 classic Atari 2600 games, including a few homebrewed favorites that didn't make it into the PS2 release. Among my favorites...

Pitfall- Basically the predecessor to the current (and disappointing) Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. You control a little character as he avoids traps and creatures to collect treasure aplenty. This is a great-playing game. Pitfall II is also in the mix.

River Raid- Non-stop shooting with a jet as you fly across river terrain, shooting boats, planes, and choppers while collecting fuel. Exciting and fun. The second River Raid is also included.

Freeway- Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, this Frogger wannabe may not be original, but it was entertaining enough to warrant a play. Surprisingly, Activision also included a Bloody Human Freeway, just for kicks. Perhaps it's another homebrew...

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Each game features a game save option, so you can save your high scores and whatever else you manage to unlock (the badges are back!) to the game's battery. This is a smart addition and really makes all the difference in keeping yourself going to get the high score on everything.

The gameplay is pretty basic for each game, yet most of them manage to be enthralling for hours at a time, keeping you hooked for the next level that comes along. I especially enjoyed Pitfall, as there's no real limit to the traps and treasures that come your way...until, of course, you lose all your lives. And unless you're really, really good, you probably will. The speed may be slightly off, but you'll still get into the timing pretty easily. The only time the gameplay doesn't seem to be all together is with some individual game releases, like Space Shuttle. I didn't care for that at all.

The game has an interface similar to the PS2 cousin, taking place in an 80's bedroom and allowing you to choose from a calvacade of available cartridges to plug into the system. You can also tweak options ala the Atari 2600 interface, and then go and get into a game pretty easily. There are a few challenges here and there, all of which seem to be fun to complete. Again, this depends on the game. Some people will have different favorites from others.

The graphics seem to be well-emulated for each release, right down to the last pixel. What that means is, you won't be wowed by the presentation if you're into new-school stuff, but if you remember these games, you'll definitely be enjoying the memories they evoke. The sound is equally good, with bleeps and bloops aplenty, and there's even some 80's-ish tunes in check. It's sad that the licensed tunes from the PS2 game couldn't make the cut, but I guess something had to give with cartridge space.

Now a word about the homebrew games. There's a few of them thrown in here, and, while they aren't as classic as Pitfall and River Raid, they do offer a bit of enjoyment and quirkiness. It's good to see Aspyr and Activision working together to give a little extra for this release.

Great challenges abound in this game, and some multiplayer is pretty good. Again, it depends on the game that comes into use to see what works best where. Some games are really meant to be played alone to get the best out of them. Kudos to the high score resets, which will challenge us old folks.

If you don't care for the golden days of gaming at all, or you're just sick of anything attached to the Atari 2600, you'll probably want to take a pass on this. Otherwise, if you're into collecting badges, reliving the 80's, and just soaking in a great deal of old-school gaming at its emulated best, or if you're curious as to what gaming even looked like before the NES, Activision Anthology is a must-purchase for the Game Boy Advance. It's like an interactive history lesson, but no boring teacher.