I've heard numerous stories about how unplayable the Swordquest games are, and that they're some of the worst games for the VCS. I've also heard the contrary, that they're rewarding games that challenge the player to solve a complex adventure. Considering how much I like E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, which are both maligned for their...er...unplayability, I figured I'd give the Swordquest series a shot.

I bought Earthworld and Fireworld on eBay yesterday, both with manuals which I know for Atari adventure games is key to even understanding what is happening (E.T. puzzled me for a while until I checked the manual on AA). So I'm essentially a fan of the adventure games for the Atari, I've played Adventure, Haunted House and the aforementioned E.T. and Raiders. I've liked all of them. However one thing I notice with Haunted House and Adventure: they're too simplified! Granted, they're meant to appeal to a broad audience, but weren't E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark supposed to do the same?

Which brings me back to the criticisms of Swordquest. I've seen YouTube videos (mostly of prepubesent boys swearing) where people will attempt to "play" games like Swordquest and claim that it sucks because they have no idea what the hell they're doing. I think the adventure games are meant to make you think...you need to read the manual before you start. It's not like these are arcade games that you can just plug in and shoot aliens up with. Maybe that's the trouble with trying to get honest opinions on Swordquest...a lot of the people out there probably never played it or understood what they were doing if they had.

I think this is what makes the old games better than the new ones...there's no tutorials! You were always expected to read the manual and understand what the goal is well before you plugged in the cart and flipped the power switch. Maybe these folks should try playing these games without the expectation that the graphics are supposed to be lifelike, and that the game can be solved without a manual.

Then again...maybe these people shouldn't be playing Atari in the first place...