5 Activision Games You Forgot Were Awesome

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Founded in 1979, Activision has been a part of the video game world since the early days of consoles. Over its long history, the company has created a huge library of games. While many players recognize Activision for blockbuster franchises like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, they’ve actually released dozens of lesser-known, but still great, games over the past 50 years.

Here are five games from the legendary publisher that you likely forgot existed.

5) Civilization: Call to Power

Call to Power is a bit of an odd case. Activision attempted to leverage the popularity of the Civilization series, but without the original creators involved. Interestingly, the sequel, Call to Power 2, couldn’t even use the ‘Civ’ name because Activision had lost the rights to it by the time the franchise returned to Firaxis.

Call to Power is a decent imitation of the Civilization series, but with a unique twist: it lets you guide your civilization all the way to the year 3000. This allows for some really creative and imaginative ideas about the future, making the game a fun look back at past predictions. While Alpha Centauri was a stronger game in terms of traditional Civilization-style gameplay, Call to Power is still enjoyable. Plus, who wouldn’t want to win by discovering a wormhole and completing research into alien life?

4) Rampage

The original arcade game Rampage was created by Bally Midway. When it came to bringing the game to Atari consoles and computers, Activision took over. In Rampage, players become giant monsters, created by a scientific experiment. The goal is to destroy buildings by climbing on them and knocking them down for points, all while avoiding getting shot at.

The game is straightforward, but its funny story, simple controls, and fun cooperative play made it incredibly popular. It spawned five sequels and even a movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. However, Activision was primarily involved with just the first game, which most fans still consider the best Rampage of all time.

3) Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins

Like Rampage, Tenchu 2 was first published in Japan by its creator, Acquire. But Activision took care of releasing the game everywhere else. Activision approved the development of Tenchu 2 because the first game had been so popular in Western countries. They even initially planned to release it only in the West due to the success of the original.

Fortunately, players were able to experience the game’s excellent stealth mechanics. While it wasn’t a huge leap forward from the original, it was well-received and became a commercial success. A particularly popular feature was the mission editor, which allowed players to design and share custom levels. However, after Activision acquired the game, its quality began to decline.

2) True Crime: Streets of LA

Many people thought of Streets of LA as a copy of Grand Theft Auto, and it’s easy to see why. It came out shortly after GTA 3 and borrowed a lot from that hugely popular game. However, Streets of LA does offer a unique spin by putting you in the role of a police officer instead of a criminal.

While not quite as impressive as the Grand Theft Auto games, Streets of LA was a strong entry in the open-world genre. Both critics and players enjoyed it, leading to good sales. However, Streets of LA is best remembered as the foundation for Sleeping Dogs, initially conceived as True Crime: Hong Kong. It took getting past the lackluster True Crime: New York City to reach that point, but the journey was worthwhile.

1) X-Men: Legends 2 – Rise of Apocalypse

Like True Crime: Streets of LA, X-Men Legends 2 paved the way for the successful Marvel Ultimate Alliance series. But it’s always fun to see Professor X and Magneto working together, and that’s exactly what happens when the villain Apocalypse threatens to destroy the world.

Playing as characters like Toad, Wolverine, Gambit, and Sabretooth together is incredibly fun. It’s best with three friends, and thankfully, the online play makes it easier to team up. Whether you play solo or with others, it’s a great experience. Ultimate Alliance builds upon what X-Men Legends started, but X-Men Legends‘ story is still worth playing if you haven’t tried it yet.

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2026-01-18 23:15