Top 10 Activision Video Games
advertisement
Put whatever bias you have aside because Activision has provided us with some pretty incredible games in the past! Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we'll be counting down our Top 10 Activision Video Games.
To have your ideas turned into a WatchMojo or MojoPlays video, head over to http://WatchMojo.comsuggest and get to it!
Top 10 Activision Video Games
Not every company manages to stay relevant for three decades. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our Top 10 Activision Video Games.
Activision has a long, storied history in the industry dating back to the earliest days of gaming. Through all the ups and downs in their thirty year run, the company has managed to pump out iconic, genre defining titles and franchises. For this list, we’re setting our usual limit of one game per franchise, and at the very least, the games needed to have been published by the company.
One of the original titles from the industry titan, this Atari classic threw gamers right into the middle of a dangerous jungle and expected them to just figure everything out for themselves. Timed to just twenty minutes of in game time, players had to control Harry and guide him through a series of puzzles and dangers to find the 32 treasures hidden throughout the jungle. It may not be the flashiest title on the list, but this game set the standard for epic adventures, spawned sequels well into the 2000s, and is still commonly emulated by speed runners and fans of classic gaming.
Once upon a time horror games used to give players guns, explosives, and ungodly amounts of ammo and still managed to be scary. Blending the best features of multiple genres, this horror/shooter still does it better than almost anything else on the market. Although the series is still very relevant and continues to get semi regular updates and installments, there’s something about this early iteration that captures the imagination like nothing else. Frequently imitated but never matched, this is one of those titles that you’ll need to experience in the middle of the night with a good pair of headphones to appreciate.
Peter Parker and his hidden identity have been spoiled over the years when it comes to video game adaptations, but few stand as tall as this video game version of the hit film. Gamers are quick to remember and criticize the terrible voice acting and mediocre graphics, but Treyarch’s attempt at capturing Spidey’s essence doesn’t get enough credit for its fun combat, open world environment, and seriously smooth web-slinging navigation. Superhero games sound like formulas that should write themselves, but without this early bar setting effort, Spiderman perhaps would have still been suffering the same fate as Superman.
Bungie’s ambitious departure from the Halo franchise has received an unfair amount of the flack over the short few years it’s been around. While it may not have lived up to the massive hype it generated up to its launch, Destiny is still a widely played, successful MMO shooter that millions of gamers still enjoy daily. The gunplay is great, rewards usually feel like they’re well earned, and getting together with some friends to take down some of the tougher raid bosses has the power to spark some serious adrenaline rushes. It’s not perfect, but it’s one of the few titles that continues to try and take shooters in a new direction, so maybe we shouldn’t expect it to be.
PC strategy games underwent a huge boom in the early to mid 2000s, and none were better than this classically themed empire simulator. Still one of the most widely praised and acclaimed “Total War” games, Rome had gamers taking control of one of a variety of factions and countries warring in the Mediterranean at the height of the Roman Empire. Implementing everything from levying armies, expanding and controlling territory, ensuring citizen happiness and even going hands on in the battlefield, this title reached a legendary status that all subsequent iterations of the franchise are still trying to match.
An underrated classic of mech warfare, this follow up to the 1989 smash hit improved on this original in every conceivable way. The cutscenes, graphics, and gameplay were not only revolutionary for their time, but still manage to hold up better today than most of its competition. The game features two campaigns that takes place over 32 missions in a rich world containing two warring factions and still managed to cram in mech customization, and even online multiplayer. Mech simulators tend to be a mixed bag, but Activision’s effort contained such attention to detail that they managed to knock it out of the park on every front.
Also a contender for one of the best soundtracks in gaming, this multiplayer smash hit defined the PC gaming experience for years following its release. Whether it was at LAN parties, computer cafes, or gaming conventions, if there were computers set up,chances are everyone would be playing a quick deathmatch round in The Frag Pipe. The gameplay was fast paced with a decent variety of weapons and level design that constantly kept the experience fresh and exciting. It’s hard to ignore the massive influence it had over almost every shooter that followed, and it’s unfortunate that they just don’t make games like this anymore.
Sure, they made about 4 bajilion of these games in the mid 2000s, but for our Money, Guitar Hero 2 is the greatest hit. Sure it was more niche and had more covers, but gamers around the world still believe that it had a better set list and difficulty more catered to the hardcore crowd. The core gameplay of hectically fretting five colored keysto desperately avoid failure perhaps didn’t progress much, but really that’s all gamers expect from their rock star simulators. The series continues to live on over a decade later, and much of it is thanks to the effort this humble little title put forward for their core music loving fan base.
Heralded to this day as one of the best sports games ever made, this title contained everything that makes skating games great and then some. The premise of this game is easy: take to the many stages and pull off some gnarly tricks to rack up as many points as possible under the time limit. These types of games always look deceptively simple at a glance, but a few minutes with the controller in your hands will prove that this is one title that takes serious skill to master. As undoubtedly the best iteration of the series, we’re sure Tony Hawk himself still picks up a controller and smiles at this one.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
“Battlezone” (1998)
“River Raid” (1992)
This legendary series has been through so many yearly iterations that it’s hard enough to keep track of them all, let alone rank. That being said, we don’t think they come any better than this 2007 masterpiece from Infinity Ward. Multiplayer has always been the main appeal of the game for the millions of gamers that queue into servers daily, but this iteration of the franchise managed to toss in a surprisingly emotional story for a genre that most people simply write off. First person shooters are without a doubt the current dominant genre, and while the franchise as a whole has been instrumental to their rise, none come any better than this masterpiece that stands as Activision’s crowning jewel.
Not every company manages to stay relevant for three decades. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our Top 10 Activision Video Games.
Activision has a long, storied history in the industry dating back to the earliest days of gaming. Through all the ups and downs in their thirty year run, the company has managed to pump out iconic, genre defining titles and franchises. For this list, we’re setting our usual limit of one game per franchise, and at the very least, the games needed to have been published by the company.
#10: “Pitfall!” (1982)
One of the original titles from the industry titan, this Atari classic threw gamers right into the middle of a dangerous jungle and expected them to just figure everything out for themselves. Timed to just twenty minutes of in game time, players had to control Harry and guide him through a series of puzzles and dangers to find the 32 treasures hidden throughout the jungle. It may not be the flashiest title on the list, but this game set the standard for epic adventures, spawned sequels well into the 2000s, and is still commonly emulated by speed runners and fans of classic gaming.
#9: “Doom 3” (2004)
Once upon a time horror games used to give players guns, explosives, and ungodly amounts of ammo and still managed to be scary. Blending the best features of multiple genres, this horror/shooter still does it better than almost anything else on the market. Although the series is still very relevant and continues to get semi regular updates and installments, there’s something about this early iteration that captures the imagination like nothing else. Frequently imitated but never matched, this is one of those titles that you’ll need to experience in the middle of the night with a good pair of headphones to appreciate.
#8: “Spiderman 2” (2004)
Peter Parker and his hidden identity have been spoiled over the years when it comes to video game adaptations, but few stand as tall as this video game version of the hit film. Gamers are quick to remember and criticize the terrible voice acting and mediocre graphics, but Treyarch’s attempt at capturing Spidey’s essence doesn’t get enough credit for its fun combat, open world environment, and seriously smooth web-slinging navigation. Superhero games sound like formulas that should write themselves, but without this early bar setting effort, Spiderman perhaps would have still been suffering the same fate as Superman.
#7: “Destiny” (2014)
Bungie’s ambitious departure from the Halo franchise has received an unfair amount of the flack over the short few years it’s been around. While it may not have lived up to the massive hype it generated up to its launch, Destiny is still a widely played, successful MMO shooter that millions of gamers still enjoy daily. The gunplay is great, rewards usually feel like they’re well earned, and getting together with some friends to take down some of the tougher raid bosses has the power to spark some serious adrenaline rushes. It’s not perfect, but it’s one of the few titles that continues to try and take shooters in a new direction, so maybe we shouldn’t expect it to be.
#6: “Rome: Total War” (2004)
PC strategy games underwent a huge boom in the early to mid 2000s, and none were better than this classically themed empire simulator. Still one of the most widely praised and acclaimed “Total War” games, Rome had gamers taking control of one of a variety of factions and countries warring in the Mediterranean at the height of the Roman Empire. Implementing everything from levying armies, expanding and controlling territory, ensuring citizen happiness and even going hands on in the battlefield, this title reached a legendary status that all subsequent iterations of the franchise are still trying to match.
#5: “Mechwarrior 2: 31st Century Combat” (1995)
An underrated classic of mech warfare, this follow up to the 1989 smash hit improved on this original in every conceivable way. The cutscenes, graphics, and gameplay were not only revolutionary for their time, but still manage to hold up better today than most of its competition. The game features two campaigns that takes place over 32 missions in a rich world containing two warring factions and still managed to cram in mech customization, and even online multiplayer. Mech simulators tend to be a mixed bag, but Activision’s effort contained such attention to detail that they managed to knock it out of the park on every front.
#4: “Quake 2” (1997)
Also a contender for one of the best soundtracks in gaming, this multiplayer smash hit defined the PC gaming experience for years following its release. Whether it was at LAN parties, computer cafes, or gaming conventions, if there were computers set up,chances are everyone would be playing a quick deathmatch round in The Frag Pipe. The gameplay was fast paced with a decent variety of weapons and level design that constantly kept the experience fresh and exciting. It’s hard to ignore the massive influence it had over almost every shooter that followed, and it’s unfortunate that they just don’t make games like this anymore.
#3: “Guitar Hero 2” (2006)
Sure, they made about 4 bajilion of these games in the mid 2000s, but for our Money, Guitar Hero 2 is the greatest hit. Sure it was more niche and had more covers, but gamers around the world still believe that it had a better set list and difficulty more catered to the hardcore crowd. The core gameplay of hectically fretting five colored keysto desperately avoid failure perhaps didn’t progress much, but really that’s all gamers expect from their rock star simulators. The series continues to live on over a decade later, and much of it is thanks to the effort this humble little title put forward for their core music loving fan base.
#2: “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” (2000)
Heralded to this day as one of the best sports games ever made, this title contained everything that makes skating games great and then some. The premise of this game is easy: take to the many stages and pull off some gnarly tricks to rack up as many points as possible under the time limit. These types of games always look deceptively simple at a glance, but a few minutes with the controller in your hands will prove that this is one title that takes serious skill to master. As undoubtedly the best iteration of the series, we’re sure Tony Hawk himself still picks up a controller and smiles at this one.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
“Battlezone” (1998)
“River Raid” (1992)
#1: “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (2007)
This legendary series has been through so many yearly iterations that it’s hard enough to keep track of them all, let alone rank. That being said, we don’t think they come any better than this 2007 masterpiece from Infinity Ward. Multiplayer has always been the main appeal of the game for the millions of gamers that queue into servers daily, but this iteration of the franchise managed to toss in a surprisingly emotional story for a genre that most people simply write off. First person shooters are without a doubt the current dominant genre, and while the franchise as a whole has been instrumental to their rise, none come any better than this masterpiece that stands as Activision’s crowning jewel.
