Bomber Raid (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sanritsu
Publisher: Activision
Released: 1989

Bomber Raid is a vertically-scrolling shooter and the last Sega Master System game released in Japan.

+ Ample power-up opportunities, and like TwinBee (1985, Arcade) you can continually blast icons to cycle through upgrades.

+ Makes you feel like a destruction machine when fully powered-up, and it's satisfying mowing down foes with ease.

+ Excellent range of enemy types with unique patterns, and there's only minimal slowdown despite tons of on-screen sprites.

+ Has a manageable level of difficulty and even shoot-em-up novices have a good chance of progressing deep into the game.

- Levels are drawn-out and the stage design doesn't create enough memorable moments to keep your interest peaked.

- Holding a button down to rapid fire is pointless due to its pathetic shooting rate, meaning constant tapping is required.

- When upgraded to full speed, your ship moves too fast and trying to make precise movements is a nerve-racking task.

Rampage (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega R&D 2
Publisher: Activision
Released: 1989

Rampage is an action game that was first released in the Arcade in 1986.

+ Stage structure is divided into different cities to aid progression, and the two-player mode is a fun high score battle.

+ Includes all three monsters from the Arcade, and recognising what items harm or heal you requires quick thinking.

+ Graphics are a huge step up from the NES (1988) and Atari 7800 (1989) ports, with large sprites and great use of colour.

- Gameplay is mind-numbingly repetitive and there's barely anything new that gets introduced to keep you engrossed.

- Despite taking place in various cities, everything looks the same and the game offers little in the way of scenic variety.

- Grabbing onto buildings isn't always reliable and you need to be positioned perfectly in order to bash them.

- Only a single music track which is ill-fitting, and it's a shame more songs weren't written to compliment the locales.

Rampage (Atari 7800 review)

Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Released: 1989

Rampage is an action game that was first released in the Arcade in 1986.

+ Has a whopping 132 stages and your constantly depleting life bar gives the game an edgy survival element.

+ Includes all three monsters from the Arcade, and recognising what items harm or heal you requires quick thinking.

+ Unlike the NES version (1988), continues are limited which is more of an incentive to try and beat your high score.

- Gameplay is mind-numbingly repetitive and there's barely anything new that gets introduced to keep you engrossed.

- Offers very little in the way of scenic variety and without different things to see you never feel like you're progressing.

- Controls can sometimes be unresponsive when bashing buildings, and the hit detection is spotty when punching choppers.

- Graphics and textures aren't as detailed as the NES version, and it's harder to distinguish items from one another.

Spider-Man 2 (Nokia N-Gage review)

Developer: Activision, Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Activision
Released: 2004

Spider-Man 2 is an action game that's based on the 2004 film of the same name.

+ Many secrets can be found by scouring the environments, and the optional photography objectives unlock bonus artwork.

+ Despite the low frame-rate, the 3D levels that see you web-slinging around buildings against the clock act as a fun diversion.

- However, the 3D stages are brief to the point where they come across as a gimmick rather than a core element of the gameplay.

- The 2D side-scrolling levels feature dull fetch quests, and you feel more like a busy-man than a superhero.

- Side-scrolling stages are uninspired and there's barely any areas where you can effectively use Spidey's aerial web-slinging ability.

- Combat is awkward and lacks combo flow when attacking, while the bosses usually require button mashing over skilled play.

- Controls are loose and Spidey often seems to have an animation delay when inputting a strike or movement.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Sony PlayStation review)

Developer: Neversoft, Shaba Games
Publisher: Activision
Released: 2001

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is an extreme sports game and the follow-up to the 2000 sequel on the Sony PlayStation.

+ The locations are both typical (e.g. L.A.) and inventive (e.g. Airport) which creates a nice mix of disparate environments.

+ Level objectives are enjoyable and include simple fetch quests, alongside more cryptic and trick-based goals.

+ Provides a complimentary experience to those who've played the PS2 version (2001), as it includes exclusive objectives.

+ Collecting stat points by scouring the levels encourages you to explore and upgrade your skater to your preferred style.

+ The addition of the revert allows for much longer combos and opens up the gameplay possibilities in fresh ways.

+ Excellent fusion of music tracks to suit all tastes and seamlessly blends rock, punk and hip hop into a killer soundtrack.

- Winning all three competitions is arguably too easy, as the CPU skater scores aren't difficult to beat.

The Great American Cross-Country Road Race (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: Alex DeMeo
Publisher: Activision
Released: 1985

The Great American Cross-Country Road Race is a driving game that takes place from Los Angeles to New York.

+ Three different routes are available towards your final destination, so there's plenty of reasons to return.

+ Changing scenery, weather conditions and traffic levels depending on the time of day are great touches to immerse players.

+ Sense of speed is terrific, particularly when you're in top gear and desperately trying to reach the checkpoint.

+ Manually switching gears is surprisingly fun, as the timing mechanism is reminiscent of Dragster (1980, Atari 2600).

+ Gameplay forces you to multi-task and strategise on when to refuel while slowing for the occasional radar siren.

+ Top ten leaderboard provides motivation to drive faster on your next attempt by listing your completion time.

- The shift in perspective when the road bends is a little jarring and can temporarily affect your spatial distancing.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Tapwave Zodiac review)

Developer: Semi Logic Entertainments
Publisher: Activision
Released: 2004

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 is an extreme sports title that also saw release on the Game Boy Advance (2002).

It features seven locations, 14 pro skaters and 190 goals, and unlike previous games players are free to explore the levels with no time limit. Some of the opening goals task you with executing certain tricks, the problem being that there's no explanation (including in the menu trick list) of how to actually perform them! On the whole, the goals are uninspired, as unlike the console versions that feature playful missions you're instead tasked with a mountain of mundane fetch quests; the fact that there's multiple C-O-M-B-O goals per location is also very lazy. The locales are barely distinguishable from each other too and there's little in the way of scenic or landmark attractions to make them stand out. While the graphics sport a better resolution than the Game Boy Advance version, not enough care went into polishing the experience for the Tapwave Zodiac. For example, the options menu allows you to amend the button layout to mirror the home console original (in terms of tricks), but unfortunately Spine Transfers are automatically adapted (and can't be customised) meaning you need to hit both the left and right face buttons simultaneously! And then there's the controls which are simply awful if you're used to the accuracy of a d-pad (something the Zodiac lacks) and half the time you'll accidentally hit the middle thumbstick button when attempting a manual. Linked to this (and perhaps the biggest annoyance) is that your character moves too fast and will often pinball into objects, or overshoot a half-pipe after you've desperately tried to line up straight-on for a grab trick; everything is too sensitive and unreliable for a game that requires absolute precision.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 might look much better than the Game Boy Advance version, but the control set-up here is awkward to say the least (due to hardware and software quirks). Couple this with the lazy world design and utterly uninspired goal objectives and it's hard to recommend this port to anyone but hardcore THPS fans.

Random trivia: Activision also planned to release MTX Mototrax on the Tapwave Zodiac, but unfortunately it was cancelled.