In 1979, as the home videogame market exploded, four key programmers left Atari to form Activision. In the early '80s, while Atari released landfill-destined crappers like Pac-Man and E.T., Activision released classics like Kaboom!, Freeway, and Keystone Kapers.
Gameplay: You're a cop, and you need to catch the bad guy before you run out of lives… but that sounds so boring. Let's describe this the Activision way: "Leapin' Leprechauns! That blunderous hoodlum Harry Hooligan is up to his old shenanigans, robbing Southwick's department store! Grab yer billy club and nab that dastardly thief before he makes it up to the roof and escapes!"
You'll have to run as fast as your stubby little 8-bit legs can carry you. And Harry isn't going quietly, either: he's had a chance to throw some beach balls, shopping carts, and model airplanes at you, and you'll have to leap over them or duck them. He's also dropped money bags and suitcases filled with cash, which really don't need to be sent to the evidence locker, wink wink nudge nudge, Officer Kelly buys a new boat.