"The darkness is ready, are you?"

A twenty-six level dungeon, crawling with monsters and traps, filled with treasures, all waiting for you to come and try to claim them. Sound familiar? Nope, it's not Gauntlet! It's Dark Chambers, a little known Atari made game back in the late 80s. While it's not as common as Gauntlet is, it's still a pretty good adventure game that should hold your interest for awhile.

Graphics: 10/10
The sprites are small, but they are well drawn and they get the job done. Just one look at the title screen, though, will have you forgetting that this is a simple 8-bit title! Each of the different monsters are drawn with enough clarity for you to tell them apart clearly. Each of the items are drawn perfectly so you won't get food confused with poison. Even the dungeons look realistic!

Sounds: 6/10
Unfortunately, most of the sounds pale in comparison to the rest of the game. Simple bleeps and 'booms' which sound like they came out of an Atari 2600 game are pretty much what you'll hear throughout this adventure. Still, they are well varied and don't repeat that much, so you probably won't need to turn the volume down.

Controls: 10/10
Your left button fires your shots, and your right button detonates bombs (sound familiar? Hmm!) You can move in eight directions, firing shots at various monsters which spawn out of generators, as you collect treasures, eat food to sustain your life, and climb down ladders to reach the deeper, darker dungeons which hold more treasures and more dangerous monsters! Simple, but effective.

Story: 10/10
For back then, you didn't need much of a story to get by with, all you needed was the gameplay. You (and a friend if you wanted) uncovered the entrance to deep catacombs beneath an ancient castle, in which lies precious treasure and dangerous monsters. The objective is to see how far you can get. Can you reach the very bottom, or will you perish?

Replay: 10/10
This isn't one of those games you can just pick up and expect to finish in one sitting! It takes multiple tries, and playing with a friend adds to the fun! Then again, what do you expect as a predecessor of Gauntlet?

Overall: 10/10
The darkness that would eventually spawn the Gauntlet dates back to the original Atari systems. If you're looking for something that's simple, but effective in terms of single or dual player gaming as well as replay value, then these chambers are definitely worth venturing into!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/03, Updated 02/09/03