What is your favorite Activision game...

[Army Of 2600]

...that is NOT H.E.R.O. or either Pitfall game?

 

[+Atari_Warlord]

There are so many its hard to choose. Probably Tennis, this is still my favorite version of the game including all modern versions. The physics are tight and it is good as a one or two player game. Modern tennis games suffer from too many buttons to learn and wonky collision detection.

[kennybrooks]

Frostbite was always a favorite of mine.

[+save2600]

Of the Activision games I still actually play, Starmaster, Beamrider and Keystone Kapers are way up there for me. Not sure I could pick just one game though. And then there's Ghostbusters... see?! Too many great games.

[NIKON]

Chopper Command & Megmania

[VectorGamer]

Enduro is a really good game.

 

Worst for me would be Oink!

[Hydro Thunder]

At one time I'd have said River Raid, but I am going to have to go with Pressure Cooker. Just love it.

[KeizerGhidorah]

I don't think I could pick just one.

[jongolo]

Other than H.E.R.O. it would definitely be Megamania. For me, once I plug it in, it's always turns into a "just one more time" game that I'll play for at least a half hour trying to get a new high score.

[jongolo]

Oh, I forgot about Dreadnaught Factor on the 5200! I love that one too!

[moodorf]

2600 - Kaboom, River Raid, Frostbite

 

N64 - Vigilante 8 or its sequel

 

PS1 -Quake II & all the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games

Edited March 26, 2015 by moodorf

[Cynicaster]

Frostbite is #1 for me.

From that era, Activision is one of those rare publishers where it's easier and quicker for me to list the games that I don't like than it is for me to list the ones that I do, because there are so few of the former. While I've never cared much for their little glut of "timed obstacle course" games or their 2600Jr.-era attempts at cash-cow arcade ports that had no business being on the system, that stream of early-80s VCS titles from the original Activision crew is, to me, absolutely legendary. No other publisher of the day came close, in terms of sheer quality and consistency of the output.

 

Since they were largely designing original games from the ground up, they were able to align their ideas with the constraints of the meager hardware, thereby making the most of what it had to offer. In the traditional sense, when one speaks of "porting" games, the vast majority of the time they're talking about translating a game from its native platform to something lesser, or at best equal. It's interesting that many Activision games designed in and around the 2600 were later "upward ported" to more powerful systems and computers. I know Sega picked up Pitfall II and brought it to the arcade--which is almost unheard of, aside from maybe Warlords--but I wish somebody would have picked up Frostbite. I think that would have been awesome in an arcade cabinet.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Cynicaster

[maibock]

Skiing

 

close second being Hockey and Tennis

[Cankerwurm]

Too hard to pick just one, but when I read the question, the first one to pop in my head was Robot Tank.

[+Cafeman]

Although I love HERO and Pitfall and Pitfall 2, my #1 pick would be Enduro. Most of the Activision games are still favorites of mine, so this is probably followed by River Raid, Stampede, Keystone Kapers, Megamania, and Frost Bite. Oh yeah, I really enjoy Dolphin too, for short burts. And Robot Tank. The other games like the sports titles or the later ones all fall into a category of 'interesting to play them every now & then, but aren't favorites'.

 

Enduro is a great 2600-era racer, the best of all I've played. I like it more than any of Atari's Pole Position versions (2600/5200/7800). That original review that appeared in a gaming mag, which was rushed to get into print before the holidays - it was correct about Enduro being heads-n-tails the best your money could buy back then. The changing day and weather grabs our attention from the start, but after you get used to that, then comes the changes in lanes and patterns, and knowing exactly how many cars you need to pass before the fog goes away and the beeping starts! I just played it the other day and got pretty far (for me). About day 7 it really starts to get challenging.

[mikey.shake]

I don't think I could pick just one.

Agreed. Kaboom!, Keystone Kapers, and Megamania are all up there, with Seaquest, River Raid and Enduro VERY close behind on my list.

 

Most hours played and enjoyed? Probably Megamania. Like someone said upthread, it's an easy way to lose half an hour.

 

If I could only ever play one of those six titles again? Well, after 25 years apart, I never want my life to be without Kaboom! again.

[high voltage]

Fishing Derby

[Keatah]

In this order

 

Enduro

Fishing Derby

Robot Tank

Tennis

Dragster

Grand Prix

Skiing

River Raid

[Army Of 2600]

My wife likes Fishing Derby and Freeway. Me? Maybe Robot Tank, though I spent a lot of time playing Private Eye as a kid using the map. Beam Rider and Enduro also come to mind and Decathlon was an epic joystick and wrist breaker back in the day.

[steeltree]

It has to be STARMASTER for me.

[mitchd61]

River Raid followed closely by Enduro.

[troff]

River Raid. I spent more time playing this than any other 2600 game. Still my all time favorite. Although as everyone else has pointed out, Activision had a nearly flawless record - they were ALL good.

[atari181]

Well, since Pitfall is out, I would ahve to say Enduro. I spent many long hours playing it as a kid and still enjoy it very much today.

[WolfAmongWolves]

After reading the title of this thread I wanted to reply "Megamania", but then after reading each of the previous posts I thought: "Oh yeah, forgot about Beamrider, that's the one" ... "No actually it's Pressure Cooker, totally awesome" ... "Wait, I really love Starmaster!" ... and so on. The bottom line is I can't decide.

[Bucket Brigadier]

If I had to pick one, it'd be Kaboom! though Kaboom! is also my favorite game for the Atari VCS in general. Like it has been echoed, Activision made a ton of great games. Beamrider is probably my #2.