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Answer: Atari

Atari was a major contender in the early days of video games releasing hits such as "Asteroids", "Pong", and "Paperboy". When the video game industry crashed in 1984, Atari went with it-- at least its consoles division. The remainder of the company was purchased by Hasbro at the turn of the century. Atari released a handful of home consoles, most of which went head to head against the Coleco consoles in the early 1980s. Perhaps one of the most lucrative deals in the industry, the rights to "Donkey Kong", were originally cut between Atari and Nintendo.

When Atari dissolved away, Nintendo reaped the benefits for decades.

Answer: Altair

In 2012, Desmond Miles enters the Animus, a machine designed to set him into the mind of an ancestor, Altair ibn-La'Ahad, who assassinates figures in the Holy Lands. Why is he doing this? Well, people want to put a halt to the end of the world by collecting the 'Pieces of Eden'; to do that, Desmond must relive the lives of his ancestors.

In the second "Assassin's Creed" game, he takes on the role of Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the Italian Renaissance. Both games were critically lauded and became popular with stealth/adventure players. Both games were on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Answer: Alien Hominid

"Alien Hominid" appeared on several earlier consoles (PS2, GBA, etc.) before releasing on XBLA in 2007 and making waves for online downloads. The Behemoth's first developed game it was a sidescroller adventure in which you could be an alien and travel through stages taking on Earth's forces. Playable in single-player and two-player modes, it was followed up by "Castle Crashers", an unrelated game with a very similar visual style. Unsurprisingly, the aliens made a cameo at one point in this latter game, both as an enemy and a playable character if you had an "Alien Hominid" save file on your Xbox 360.

Answer: Ada Wong

Ada Wong first appeared in Leon Kennedy's campaign in "Resident Evil 2" as a supporting character (while Sherry Birkin appeared in Claire Redfield's story). A mysterious figure with a hidden agenda, Ada headed to Raccoon City to obtain samples of the virus.

She reappears in Leon Kennedy's next game, "Resident Evil 4", in an out-of-place red dress that must make it a bother to fight off the speedier zombies of Spain. In preparation for the fifth movie in the "Resident Evil" film series, "Retribution", Li Bingbing was cast as Ada; she wears the dress.

Answer: Aperture

Aperture Science was evidently a division of Black Mesa or at least had deep connections to the "Half-Life" company known for its odd experiments in the action-adventure FPS. "Portal" was originally released as part of "The Orange Box" and soon became popular enough to constitute its own solo release. Due to critical acclaim and a surprising cult fanbase for the first-person puzzler, "Portal 2" was released in 2011. Once again, the Aperture Science Labs and their evil computer antagonist, GLaDOS, play a big role.

Answer: Abra

Abra, the lowest evolved form of a series of psychic Pokemon, was #63 in the Kanto Pokedex in "Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow". Evolving into Kadabra at level 16 and then into Alakazam when traded to another player, Abra was often ineffective during battle as one of its only techniques was Teleport, which removed it from the fight. Abra could be found in the Celadon City Game Corner (you could use coins to pay for one) and in specific routes near Saffron City.

Answer: AVALANCHE

AVALANCHE is a group joined by the main character, Cloud Strife, who was once a SOLDIER himself. A group of eco-terrorists who set out to stop Sephiroth, the gang also includes Barret, Tifa, Aerith, and others who work to bring down the Shinra Electric Power Company. Of course, the game spreads much further than just the city of Midgar. "Final Fantasy VII" became one of the most well-received PlayStation games ever sold and one of the most popular in terms of sales. First released in 1997, it has had film companion pieces ("Advent Children") and sequels ("Dirge of Cerberus").

Answer: Arkham Asylum

"Batman: Arkham Asylum" was a major game in 2009; it was dark and brooding, it featured tons of cameos, and it was a cleverly-made third-person experience. You play as Bruce Wayne himself (as Batman) in an attempt to round up the local insane criminals and bring them back to Arkham Asylum, the facility that the Joker sabotages and frees everyone from.

The game was universally renowned by critics and a follow-up, "Batman: Arkham City", was released in 2011 by Rocksteady Studios.

Answer: Activision

Activision was the first independent video game development company ever formed in the United States and while it has acquired (and dissolved) many companies over the years, many of its games have gone on to be landmark titles. The "Call of Duty" series, for example, became its most profitable venture over the years.

They also created "Guitar Hero" along with RedOctane and the crew at Harmonix (before they split off to make "Rock Band"). "X-Men" series games are handled by Activision as well as games in the James Bond series (including the "Goldeneye" reboot). Over the years Activision has also merged with Blizzard (owners of "World of Warcraft") and acquired Vivendi (the developers of "Crash Bandicoot" and "Spyro the Dragon").

Answer: Alan Wake

"Alan Wake", a 2010 video game from Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment, was long-awaited and, surprisingly, lived up to the hype (at least in sales and reviews). The player takes on the role of Alan, a horror author, who heads to the northwest with his wife and finds himself in a plot which could only be a plot from one of his own novels.

He soon comes to discover that there's something much more brooding going on-- maybe in his mind-- that demands he continue writing. An interesting mechanic of the game is the necessity to use a flashlight to be able to fight enemies. Without using the light, enemies will be overpowered by darkness.