Venture (ColecoVision) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 42
12Come with me on an 8-bit adventure...
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, retrogaming fan, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EVERY game in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game reviews are just for fun, this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey. Let's try out those classic retro games we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
Venture
Released 1981
Developer(s) Exidy
Platform(s) Arcade, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision
Genre(s) Dungeon Crawler
Jay's Thoughts
Venture is one of the earliest examples of a dungeon cralwer. You take on the role of a generic smiley face armed with a bow and arrow and get to traverse through dungeons, each containing a handful of rooms. In each room you'll find some obstacles, some monsters, and some treasure. The goal is to collect the most treasure that you can. And that's... pretty much it...
There isn't a lot to say about this game to be honest. The controls were OK though I found the aiming mechanic a little finicky. There's nothing worse than a slow, meandering enemy gradually making its way towards you yet you are unable to aim towards it without running at it, essentially killing yourself. The gameplay is relatively simple and the dungeons themselves repeat after only a few levels. The enemies have a little bit of variety but not much really. One interesting thing about the game is that when you shoot an enemy their body lingers. But that's really all there is to it.
Venture is not a game that I think anyone needs to play these days. It definitely has not aged well. But that doesn't mean I'm completely writing it off. First, Venture may be primitive by today's standards but I can definitely see how it influenced the more sophisticated dungeon crawlers that followed. So in that way, we probably owe Venture a nod. Also, hey, if you grew up with a ColecoVision or a similar old console or are just fascinated by these old games, there is a certain charm to its extreme simplicity. So yeah, I'm not recommending this game here, but let's all still recognize that it probably still deserves a spot in the history of gaming.
➙ Must You Play It?
Venture is a game that's just far too simple by today's standards to recommend. There's no gameplay here that you can't find elsewhere and done better. But that said, I think you still gotta respect this game as one of the early games of the dungeon crawler genre.