Secret Quest

"Atari's Answer to The Legend of Zelda"

The Atari 2600 had a lot of fun games between 1977 to 1989. In 1989, Atari release this game, the last game for the system in North America, called "Secret Quest". How does this game stack up with the other Atari 2600 games? Read my review to find out the answer.

GRAPHICS--10/10

The graphics in this game are amazing for an Atari 2600 game. Your character and the enemies move around the screen without any flicker at all, a problem with most Atari 2600 games of this kind. The wall layouts are very simple color-coded walls, something similar to "Adventure". The enemies look excellent and your character is amazing. Overall, the graphics are excellent.

SOUNDS--10/10

The sounds are excellent as well. The sound you hear when you jab your Laser Sword is very realistic. When you use the Sonic Key, it plays a short tune to notify you that you've unlocked the stairway holding a new and better weapon. The Atari 2600 wasn't best known for the music it churns out, but the song in this game is awesome. Overall, the sounds are excellent.

CONTROLS--10/10

The controls are simply amazing. The fire button is used to use your weapon or use a Sonic Key. Where most Atari 2600 games don't allow to take a much-needed bathroom break in the middle of game play, Secret Quest does. All you have to do is flip the B&W-Color switch to go to a sub menu. Overall, the controls are excellent.

STORY LINE--10/10

In this game, you must infiltrate eight alien space station to pick up pieces of a self-destruct code to detonate each space station in order to save the human race from total defeat. The story line in itself is amazing.

GAME PLAY--10/10

The game play is excellent. The game play is similar to that of Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda". The later space stations get very deep that you have to draw a map to keep track of your progress, which is a good thing. also, the fact that you have limited Oxygen (your life power) and Energy (for your weapons) makes the game very challenging. Thankfully, you can save your game via password, which is in a weird character format, but is easy to draw the characters onto a sheet of paper. Overall, the game play is excellent.

OVERALL--10/10

Secret Quest is an excellent game which is a must-have for your Atari 2600 video game system. The programmer did a lot of work to cram that much game play into 16k cartridge. This is the game to have.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/04