Adventure (Atari 2600) review on HonestGamers

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Review by Felix Arabia
November 18, 2008

You need to play Adventure at least twice. The first time you’ll laugh at it. The second time you’ll laud it. If you take time to think about the game between plays, you’ll spark an appreciation for the game. Yes, the game is old. Looking at images of primitive castle walls, linear mazes, and simple square avatars would seem contradictory to the feelings of enthrallment so tantalizingly offered in a game promising adventure. Then again, chances are you haven’t played it for one reason or another. The game is worth downloading or dusting off the Atari 2600 because it is one of those rare titles that holds an inherent quality that bigger, more ambitious titles can never hope to achieve. This is essential, as we cannot fully appreciate today’s glorious epics without first having experienced Adventure. The game is art. And it is Art. The former makes it artistic, meaning its environs are unforgettable. The latter makes it appealing to the senses and the mind. 3D graphics and dynamic storytelling did not bring beauty to games. Adventure did through an indelible simplicity that has been lost to the technical achievements of the present day.

Our protagonist is nothing more than a dot. His blade looks more like an arrow than a sword. The dragons that defend these realms don’t look like scaly terrors, but rather like mono-colored blobs. Adventure would be used as a benchmark for adventure-themed games long after its release. Some examples are quite obvious, such as The Legend of Zelda and Ys. Others aren’t as explicit in their association, but remain true to the formula. Thousands of titles crafted by countless designers contain some element of inspiration from Adventure’s archives.

It’s not that Adventure created the adventure genre per se. How long would it take for someone to realize that there was a market for this sort of thing? I doubt it would have lasted far beyond 1980, the year Adventure found its way to store shelves. Nevertheless, it can claim recognition for being the first title to actually put the adventure concept into action. There had been pen and paper adventuring in the past, but never had there been a virtual attempt. It set the basis for the genre through its own pioneering. And unlike many other firsts in video game history, this is one initial outing still happens to be just as enjoyable today as it was then.

There are three different game modes. One is exceptionally easy to conquer. The other two require a little more skill. In all three events, we control a simple square through mazes, corridors, and castles, picking up items and battling foes. Though the game never makes it explicit, the basis for such a quest is the classic video game plot premise. Our hero must regain his lost chalice from an evil wizard. Replace chalice with Princess Toadstool and wizard with Bowser and suddenly you can see how formulaic these stories truly are.

Once our hero makes it back to his stronghold with chalice in hand, the game concludes with a flashing display of color. Then it’s back to the starting screen for the chance to play through the whole game again on the same or different difficulty. It’s straightforward. The first difficulty can be conquered in less than a minute. The second and third settings, which take place in the expanded world of the first setting, with more mazes, an extra castle and dragon, and an invincible item-stealing bat, offer more to do and see. The third setting goes one step further, placing the items and enemies in random locations.

As simple as it is, Adventure is still very fun. There aren’t any pointless fetch quests, nor is there any tedious level grinding. The game’s world allows for almost entire freedom. With the bridge item in hand, the square hero can reach many areas it would not be allowed to otherwise visit. I know today’s games tend to offer almost total freedom to do whatever the player desires, but those games are built on machines based around cutting-edge consumer technology, where as the Atari 2600 was already obsolete shortly after its release.

One last point to consider: as we revel in the incalculable amount of detail contained in modern titles like Fallout 3, game developers at the time of Adventure’s release were slapping each other encouraging high-fives over its groundbreaking innovations. Told by his boss that such a title would be impossible to create, Warren Robinett went ahead and laid the code for what was to become the first truly great game ever created, and he had only 4KB of space to work with.

Rating
10	It doesn't stack up to today's technology, but that's beside the point. It's still great.
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Game Profile & Content

All

Staff Score (Avg): 10.0 User Score (Avg): 10.0 Press Score (Avg): 8.0
Reviews: 2 Guides: 0 Cheats: 0 Ratings: 3	High Scores: 0 Screenshots: 7 Videos: 0

Title: Adventure
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1980
ESRB: N/A
Save: N/A
Platforms: PC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, TI99, Atari 2600

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