The Final Word game review

A Collection of Activison Classic Games for the Atari 2600 -- Livesay Technologies, Inc./Activision, Inc.

R.I.P.
Pretty much every Activision game I can think of for the 2600, all in one bundle. I'll have to say that this piece of software in general is so-so. Not because of the line-up of titles. No, there are some really good games in here. What I'm talking about is the clunky menu system for navigating from game to game. The game graphics and sound on the other hand are just like you remember them, 2600 quality.

I really looked forward to this collection, and I was disappointed with one other thing. It is completely unplayable with the directional pad on a PlayStation controller. If I dig out a joystick controller the game was ok, but that really isn't an alternative for most players, and the play-control still wasn't to hot. Oh, and no, it offers no support for the Dual-Shock control stick. This one problem took this collection of games from playable to collecting dust on the shelf.

This was a real bummer for me because I used to love to play Hero, and River Raid. For instance, the controls made later levels in Hero that require almost pixel perfect character movement completely impossible.

I would probably put this down as a pass-up, and hope that someone does another one of these again in a few years... spending a little more time play testing it before they ship it, of course.

I also can't help but wonder what the heck they needed to do so many CD reads for. The sum and total size of every single one of these games combined should easily fit into the PS memory along with the menu screen, etc... Why I have to wait forever to go from game to game is a mystery to me.

>>>>> 8.5/25 <<<<<		R.I.P.
Graphics		3.0
Sound		3.0
Gameplay/Control		1.0
Longevity/Playability		0.5
Overall		1.0
Total		8.5

(11/99)