Adventure

"An Awesome Adventure for the Atari"

Adventure is one the finest and most critically respected games of it's time, not because of it being one the most high selling (as quite frankly, for all it's praise, it wasn't a top seller), but for it's new and unique fresh step in video gaming, which more then make up for it's basic graphics and sound.

Graphics:
On the mildly upsetting side for this game would be the graphics, which seem to be a bit lacking in this game (as it was released in 1980, they seem to be a bit more on the 1978 side of the graphics for the Atari 2600). But they are hardly killing the game. The castles look fine, and their isn't much flickering in the game (which was a bid problem for the Atari system), and the glowing of the Chalice and the different colored Dragons are interesting enough.
But for some basic re-tooling would have been nice, like having the character be a bit more then a square, also it would help if he didn't change colors as he entered different rooms for a linear basis in the game. But overall, the graphics are nothing disgusting for the system. just a bit bland in comparison to other games from 1980.
6.5/10

Sound:
Another minor complaint would be the sound in this game. There isn't very much of it, except when you slay a dragon with the sword, or pick up an item or finish a level of the game. On a bright side, a lot of the sound for early Atari 2600 games were fairly bad on the ears due to the games poor sound system. And what we hear here is far from ear-drum shattering so this is could almost be a plus. So it gets a basic rating of a 7, as what you hear is nice, with some mildly interesting stuff, but nothing to phone home about.
7/10

Story/Enjoyment: In the manual that comes with the game, they good deep in to the story about an evil wizard casting a spell over the land, and placing the Enchanted Chalice in the Black Castle and you must place it in the Gold Castle where it belongs. This is your basic fairly basic story with it's cliche's by current standards, but back then, this was a major break through as their simply weren't games like this 1980 at all. From the sword and dragon action, and the maze like features to collecting items and other things. This was awesome in the days of games where everything seemed to circle around being in a space ship and fighting aliens. This is also where the game shines making it a true classic, as it's not just one of the great games for Atari, but one of the great steps in creating a new style of gaming for the whole industry.
a big 10/10.

Challenge/Replay Value:
As if the fun of this game wasn't enough, the replay value is one of the best for any Atari game. The Level 1 setting is a good start just to learn the basic set up of picking items, slaying dragons, and how the game is played. Level 2 now, is where some challenge comes in. We get to enter a cave area with only some selected area around you to be seen, the mazes are larger and more complicated (and watch out for those 3 dragons..and that bat!). And if that level wasn't hard or fun enough, level 3 is the same as Level 2, but all the items are placed around randomly, making room for tons of replay. (and don't forget the secret room! oh the secret room!). You'll get plenty of play out of this cartridge.
10/10

Overall, this game gets a solid 10, and it's a good proof to any of your friends that help say that only so-so graphics make games fun. This game shines in it's pure fun and re-playability, and it's influence can be felt in the now classic Zelda Series.

If you can find this, pick this cartridge up. It's a bona fide classic, and belongs in any video game enthusiasts collection. Beautiful.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/04