Atari Classics Evolved

I haven't been playing too many games lately, but the other day I picked up my old copy of Atari Classics Evolved & popped that into my PSP for some quick pick up & play sessions.

It is a compilation of some of the Atari arcade games: Missile Command, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Centipede, Millipede, Pong, Super Breakout, Lunar Lander, Tempest, Warlords. There are unlockable Atari 2600 games too.








Pros:

+The classic games are well reproduced, some games like Centipede/Millipede & Tempest play with the PSP tilted sideways to take advantage of the wide screen.

+The Evolved versions are really nice modernizations of the Classics.

+Unlockable Atari 2600 games (50?!)


Cons:

-All the games are STUPID STUPID HARD. (Evolved versions are a little easier.)

-Pong, Super Breakout are just plain broken.

-You have to unlock *ALL* the awards to be able to unlock the Atari 2600 games. It's nearly impossible to unlock them all. It should've been a series of unlockables.

-Load times are 15 seconds, which is longer than it should be for what this is.

As said, this is a great pick up & play collection. Each game is so freakin' hard, though, that it's usually a series of play, die in 3 mins, restart, repeat.... but if you can live with that, and don't want to play a campaign that takes hours to accomplish to a point where you can take a break, then this game is for you. The loading times are a bit long though, if you're switching from game to game. If you replay the same game, it starts up quickly enough.

The Classic games are still in the squarish 4:3 tv screen format, so there is "empty space" filled up by some design junk at the sides of the PSP screen. This is unfortunate because it's a small playing field as it is-- remember, these games were originally played on huge arcade cabinets-- so it would've been nice if they could've used the screen real estate more efficiently... but I guess it's better than stretching it....

The Evolved versions of the games are generally really good. They mostly use the widescreen format of the PSP screen, which is great.

Overall, this is a minigame collection that appeals to people (like me) who are nostalgic for these old Atari "quarter-eaters". It's not an essential addition to the average gamer's library, but if you're into it, and see it at a good price (MSRP was $20.00, so even that's a pretty good price.) it's worth picking up.

Atari Classics Evolved Gamespot trailer:





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