ACTIVISION vs. IMAGIC!!

[joeybastard]

Overall Imagic has more good games but Activision has a select few that are so incredibly good it puts them on top of everybody.

 

There are no Imagic titles as good as HERO, Pressure Cooker and Kaboom. Activision does not have a shooter as good as Demon Attack.

 

Really for me it's a tie.

[+kisrael]

It's tough to campare because Activsion was around longer and was far more prolific. Going through the libraries I tried to come up with a good/bad ratio for both companies.

ACTIVISION:  23 good, 21 bad

IMAGIC:  15 good, 2 bad  (Fire Fighter and Shootin Gallery)

 

*SNIP*

 

You know, if it was a discussion of Activison-vs-Imagic on the Intellivison, there wouldn't even be a debate.

I actually don't know much about the Intellivision, but Dreadnought Factor is a-frickin-mazing.

 

Both have great games for the Atari, though I think I ultimately give the credit to Activision for being first to break into the 3rd party market, and also the way they brought the programmers to the forefront.

[Bivotar]

I know this is a comparison of the two companies specifically on the 2600, but if you factor in the Intellivision you have to be impressed by Imagic. Imagic took advantage of the hardware differences between consoles and actually took the opportunity to improve the graphics. Activsion pretty much kept things the same between console versions. An example is Demon Attack on the Intellivision (fighting a boss ship). Plus Imagic came up with unique titles for the Intellivision that capitalized on the systems capabilities (Microsurgeon, Truckin', etc.).

 

Having said that, I'd still favor Activision on the 2600, but Imagic is a winner for me if you factor in other consoles.

[128bytes]

Activision had me with the drop shadow in Tennis. (apologies to Cameron Crowe...)

 

Seriously, as a kid I heard a radio interview with Alan Miller (I believe) who talked about how they put in a shadow to help track the ball in Tennis. The game (which my neighbor bought) was as awesome as we thought it would be. In 2K, all the same gameplay existed as there is today on Tennis Addict for Palm/Pocket PC (www.hexacto.com)

 

Games cost so much $ back then -- especially after Pac-Man, I had so much more confidence spending my savings on an Activision game than any other kind.

 

Ones bought or played at neighbor's houses and loved (in order of seeing them)

Boxing (neighbor)

Tennis (neighbor)

Skiing (bought)

Freeway (neighbor)

Kaboom (bought)

Ice Hockey (neighbor)

Chopper Command (bought)

Pitfall! (neighbor)

River Raid (neighbor)

Keystone Kapers (bought)

 

Nowadays I'm lucky enough to have Frostbite, Pitfall II (that was one expensive cartridge back in the day!), Enduro, Cosmic Commuter, Seaquest, Fishing Derby, Starmaster, Robot Tank, Ice Hockey, Megamania, Boxing, Sky Jinks, Oink, and Ghostbusters. (also GBA Anthology, but that doesn't count)

 

Imagic games are awesome, too -- they just didn't capture my attention as much back in the early 80's.

[candiru]

I find it fascinating that given the limited hardware the companies still managed to give their games a distinctive look and feel. Activision managed a crispness that you just don't see in other games. I have to admit though that the day I came home with my first Imagic games, Atlantis, Cosmic Ark and Demon Attack, I was pretty blown away because I'd never seen anything quite like that coming out of my Atari.

 

I like the soccer analogy too, but if I have to pick one it's Activision because I replay those games more often. I like a lot of the timed games too since I enjoy trying to beat my best times.

 

Plus, those little grooves and logo in the Imagic handles are a nuisance to get dust out of. This is why you'll so often hear "May you clean nothing but Imagic carts" used as a curse by classic gamers.

[128bytes]

The hard-to-clean Imagic grooves are a pain, but ActiPlaque is equally painful...

[KaineMaxwell]

Activision for me. To this day I still play their games more often, not to mention the amount of variety in every one of their games.

[davepesc]

Cosmic Ark and Riddle of the Sphynx are my 2 favorite 2600 games. I have always thought of Imacic as my favorite developer.

 

Aside from the games themselves, the labels are just so cooooool!

[Stingray]

Imagic did fantastic graphics, but I was never really nuts about any of their titles. Activision on the other hand, produced all of my favorite third party games. I vote Activision without even needing to consider the question for very long.

 

-S

[Saikyo]

Sorry im late but my vote is Activision!

River Raid always keeps me coming back for more and as for Megamania

well thats a true classic too!

 

There are many other Imagic games I like too but Activision beats Imagic

hands down

[Cootster]

Activision unquestionably made some of the best games on the system, and they all hold up as well in 2004 as they did then . . . They (and Absolute/Epyx also) made things look more modern than the others, and the games usually played well, too.

 

Imagic games are cool, and they pushed the envelope, but I can't even call them my second-favorite third party (That's either PB or CBS). . .

 

And for the most part, Acti's concepts were completely original*. A lot of Imagic games are at least a little bit arcade-clone.

 

*Obviously, that ignores the paper/board game conversions, and Freeway, but I don't really see the Frostbite/Q*Bert comparison.

[NovaXpress]

And for the most part, Acti's concepts were completely original.

We'll call Freeway and Frogger a draw.

 

Decathlon = Track & Field

Chopper Command = Defender

Dragster = Drag Race

Enduro = Turbo

Kaboom = Avalanche

Robot Tank = Battlezone

Spider Fighter = Bandits

Starmaster = Star Raiders

These examples above are serious rip-offs. If Atari got KC Muchkin pulled off the shelves, they could have done the same with much of these titles. But then Atari wasn't getting any royaty from Mgnavox.

[Cootster]

And for the most part, Acti's concepts were completely original.

We'll call Freeway and Frogger a draw.

 

Chopper Command = Defender

 

Never understood that one either. . . They;re both side-scrolling shooters, but that's the extent of the comparison . . . In CC, you don't pick up objects from the ground, you don't have bombs, there is much less freedom of motion, et al . . .

 

No, if they had wanted to do a Defender clone, it would have had the characteristic elements of Defender. Like the one Imagic made (forget the name).

 

 

 

Dragster = Drag Race

Enduro = Turbo

Kaboom = Avalanche

 

Eh, but the games on the right were never on the 2600.

 

 

Robot Tank = Battlezone

Spider Fighter = Bandits

Starmaster = Star Raiders

 

Can't defend these three, except to say that they're better.

 

 

These examples above are serious rip-offs. If Atari got KC Muchkin pulled off the shelves, they could have done the same with much of these titles. But then Atari wasn't getting any royaty from Mgnavox.

 

 

And they're not the majority of Activision titles.

 

Pitfall

River Raid

HERO

Keystone Kapers

Pressure Cooker

Private Eye

Plaque Attack

Stampede

 

All highly original, and some of the best stuff on the system.

 

Heck, even the sports games had original mechanics at the time.

 

And when they did make clones, there was usually some improvement over the original.

[geosteve]

I give my vote to Activision for River Raid II and Starmaster, those are 2 of my all time favorites for the 2600