EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN
A Review of Activision's Commodore 64 15 Pack
by Richard Roy
As with any industry that begins to experience rapid growth, the computer
game industry is beginning to undergo a growing sense of nostalgia. Gamers
are increasingly looking back at the old days of computer gaming with misty
eyes reminiscing about the uniqueness, depth, and creativity shown in the
early titles. Myself included, a jaded gaming veteran, have on occasion
succumbed to this while reviewing many of the disturbingly sub-par titles
being released these days. I'd begin to look back at old games I used to
immensely enjoy on my Commodore 64, and wonder why it was so difficult for
game designers to replicate this success nowadays. Thanks to Activision's
newest release, the Commodore 64 15 Pack, I have been able to fondly step
back into my youth and relive the games of old that, unfortunately, do not
seem quite as enjoyable as I recall.
Activision has brought together a diverse collection of their early titles in this package ranging from arcade to adventure to puzzle genres. I spent a lot of time with this package (more than it deserved, actually) and came away with only one title that provided me with any lasting enjoyment, that title being the classic Decathlon.
Decathlon is a reenactment of the hallowed 10 event Olympic competition that
challenges you physically as well as mentally. You see, the interface for
this game was designed so that the faster you moved the joystick back and
forth, the faster your on screen persona would run. Needless to say, this
interface was bearable for the 100 meter event but for the 400 meter and 1500
meter events you would feel totally drained physically with absolutely no
strength left in your arms (remember, there were no Nintendo-style gamepads
for the C-64). Not only were you physically drained, after completing the
entire 10 events comprising Decathlon, you would be drenched in sweat and
need a shower. Now that's an immersive simulation! My endurance not being
what it was in my youth, I decided to forego the extremely taxing full 10
event competition in favor of the single events that I could space out. All
in all, an enjoyable game that can still hold its own.
Other notable games in this collection include Hacker, which unfolds with a
blank computer screen with the prompt "Logon Please" and challenges you with
no instructions to figure out a complex tale of espionage; Little Computer
People, where your computer screen becomes a window into a three story house
and its occupant who plays the piano, reads, or listens to music based on the
care and support the player gives; and, Beamrider, one of the first 3-D
action games, where players are thrust through hyperspace to battle against
enemy saucers. These were not very enjoyable but nevertheless very, very,
innovative.
The rest of the Activision's C-64 collection is made up of other titles that
while once state-of-the-art are now looking extremely dated and quite frankly
boring. These titles include Portal, Zenji, Top Fuel Eliminator, Alcazar, Toy
Bizarre, Zone Ranger, Rock N'Bolt, Park Patrol, Web Dimension, Great American
Cross-Country Road Race, and Master of the Lamps.
A secondary but very interesting part of this package were the online help files. These contain not only the instructions for each game, but there are also game histories and interviews with the original designers. I spent a lot of time reading the profiles of these computer game pioneers and how they came up with the ideas for their games. If only designers these days had such creative freedom we wouldn't see clone after clone of every reasonably successful game.
While Activision was certainly an industry leader in developing computer and
platform software, most of the games I enjoyed on the C-64 were created by
other companies. Titles such as Beachhead, Raid Over Moscow, Legend of
Blacksilver, and my all time favorite Space Taxi (which I still play!) would
surely liven up a collection like this and would be deserving of the word
classic. As it stands now, the Commodore 64 15 Pack is more geared towards
computer game history buffs (yes, all three of us!). While some people may
be intrigued with the idea of getting fifteen games in one package, this is
definitely one case where quantity does NOT have a quality of its own.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Activision's Commodore 64 15 Pack |
| Company: |
Activision
|
| Cost: |
$29.95 |
System Requirements:
486 DX2/66+, 8 MB RAM, CD-ROM, WIN 95, SVGA, Mouse
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 2
Graphics 2
Sound 2
Interface 2
Replayability 2
Overall Score:
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