Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: July 1980
I have been wanting to write an Atari review for a while, so I looked at my game list and the first one alphabetically that I actually wanted to play was Adventure. It’s an interesting game for many reasons. It came out right after Space Invaders which would popularize home gaming more than any other Atari game. Adventure was a smash hit as well selling over a million copies. It’s also a game that changed the rules. It’s one of the first major one player quest games to ever come out for a home console. It’s also one of the very few Atari games that doesn’t keep score. Superman had a similar setup and came out a few months earlier, but that one had a timer so you could still challenge your friends. Adventure is a one person trek to find the grail and move it from one castle to another. Its single goal gameplay would of course be copied countless times over the years. So just for that it’s an interesting game.
I will say that I am not the biggest Adventure fan, but it’s still an impressive little game. It shows what you could do without much to work with. Give a game some cute little mazes, a few items, some dragons, and an open quest and you could really do a lot. The graphics are blocky, but in that attractive way that Atari could do so well. It’s still a fun one to look at even with its right angles and solid colors. It is fun to play too. Anybody who has played a Zelda-styled adventure game can probably pick this one right up and play it easily. It has quick, smooth movement that is always a pleasure on the system. It has a lot going for it. Unfortunately there is a downside.
It’s a game that’s over much too quickly. There are only three short quests without much to do after they are over. It doesn’t have the replayability of other great old Atari games. Sure it has that cool early Easter egg, but if you know about it you’ve probably already read how to do it and so there’s not exploration required. It’s just not good for much more than an hour of playing total. The best games on the system can be played indefinitely without losing their edge. Adventure is one of the most influential games of all time, but as a gaming experience it doesn’t quite rise to the same level.
I am still going to put it on the good side of things though. I can’t believe that so far Red Sea Crossing is my highest rated Atari game. I have hundreds of Atari games that I have been playing for twenty years or more, so I seriously need to start reviewing more of them. I am putting it much higher than the surprising Red Sea Crossing though. It’s going to be my new #26 game right under the more complex Felix the Cat. I know many people would put it much higher, but I am judging these game by how much fun they are to play and not be how important they are as games. Maybe I’ll do some more Atari games in the coming weeks and try to get the quality percentage to swing back towards good again. Honestly, however, I have no idea how many games it will take to get 50% overall quality. I think 250 might do it but we’ll see. I hope you are still reading this by then.
Atari 2600 quality percentage: 2/6 or 33.33%
1. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
2. Super Mario Odyssey
3. The Legend of Zelda
4. Galaga
5. Donkey Kong
6. Exodus: Ultima III
7. Pac-Mania
8. Wrecking Crew
9. Super Pac-Man
10. Pac-Man
11. Viva Pinata
12. Dragon View
13. Excitebike
14. Drakkhen
15. Todd’s Adventures in Slime World
16. Arc the Lad
17. Clu Clu Land
18. Tails’ Adventures
19. Scrapyard Dog (Lynx)
20. Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX
21. Mickey’s Racing Adventure
22. Metro-Cross
23. Double Dragon
24. Panic Restaurant
25. Felix the Cat
26. Adventure
27. Ice Climber
28. Gaplus
29. Dragon Spirit
30. Pinball (NES)
31. Ninja Golf
32. Super Soccer
33. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour (GBC)
34. Red Sea Crossing
35. Baraduke
36. Demon’s Crest
37. Evoland
38. Tennis
39. Renegade
40. Beethoven
41. Hogan’s Alley
42. Gamma-Attack
43. The Legend of “Valkyrie”
44. Galaxian
45. Dragon Crystal
46. Cosmic Commuter
47. Hot Pixel
48. PocketBike Racer
49. Wild Gunman
50. Defunct
51. Gyruss (2600)
52. Looney Tunes Racing
53. Squidlit
54. Gordo 106
55. Baseball
56. Home Alone
57. Birthday Mania
58. Bad Street Brawler
59. Burly Men at Sea
60. Wayne’s World
61. WeakWood Throne
62. X-Men (HyperScan)
63. My Name is Mayo
64. Marvel Heroes
65. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
66. Ben 10
(Images courtesy mobygames and vgmuseum.com)
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