|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Articles\Advertisements for the Entex Adventure Vision Pictures proved courtesy of AdventureVision.com.
1982 Entex Industries Inc. Dealer Catalog Page archived by Jaro Gielens.
1982 Sears WishBook Article archived by Steve Bender.
1983 Electronic Fun-Computer Games Article archived by Steve Bender. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Not quite a console and not quite a hand held, the Entex Adventure Vision is one of the holy grails of video game collectors. Released in 1982 to a lukewarm reception, the Adventure Vision had only about a year lifespan on the market before it was pulled. The consoles that were sold were fragile and troublesome, so few have survived to today. This makes it difficult to find a working example and nearly impossible to find one for a low price. It's estimated that only 10,000 of the consoles were made with 1,000 each of the three extra games. The original price of the console was $79.99 with the extra games selling for $14.99. Powered by a 733 KHZ processor (yes, KHZ, not MHZ) Intel 8048 processor with 1K of RAM and an additional 64 bytes in the processor, the Adventure Vision was not a powerhouse, even by 1982 standards. Sound is handled by a COP411L microprocessor which allows the generation of 16 pure tones and 13 sound effects. The cartridges are just a 1k eprom wrapped around a plastic connector that plugs into the base of the console, right in front of the screen. The controls on the Adventure Vision consist of a short 4 way joystick flanked by 4 buttons in a diamond pattern on each side of the joystick. This allows for ambidextrous play. The controls feel good and work well, given the nature of the games. The Adventure Vision's most unique feature is its display. Created by a line of 40 LEDs and a spinning mirror, the Adventure Vision can generate a 2 color, 150x40 display at 15 fps. Despite the relatively high resolution for an LED based game, the display is shaky and very fatiguing in even short game play sessions. A total of 4 games were released for the Adventure Vision, which is very handy as there are exactly four spots on top of the console to store cartridges! All four of the games are based on arcade games of the time. The pack in game, Defender, is a bit difficult to play as it is sometimes hard to tell which lander has captured a person, but it is still fun and controls well with the joystick handling up, down, thrust, and reverse as opposed to using buttons like the arcade original. My favorite out of the four games is Super Cobra, which is surprisingly fun to play. It captures the essence of the arcade original almost perfectly. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The final game is Turtles, another arcade port which I am not fortunate enough to own or have access to for this review. I'm always looking for it though! As mentioned above, playing the Adventure Vision is a bit fatiguing due to it's display, but it is a fun console and the games are actually pretty good for LED games. It is not a console you would spend a whole lot of time with, but unlike many of the other rare consoles, the games are not all bad. If you want to add an Adventure Vision to your collection, you had better be ready to break out the checkbook. Boxed examples routinely break the $1500 mark and can go above if extra games are included. I've seen a small number of brand new systems floating around, but the price on those have been at the $5000 mark with the games. The boxes are flimsy, so finding one in good shape is a bit of a trick as well. I have never seen games sell by themselves, but the Digital Press price guide lists them at $60 a piece.
Few other consoles will have the star
power of the Adventure Vision. It's a well known grail item that
any true collector will have at least heard of. The only downside to
hunting for an Adventure Vision is that you will often find
yourself bidding against hand held collectors as well as console
collectors, making the interested audience that much bigger. But if you
can get your hands on one, you will have a high end piece that few
others will get to experience. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pictures & Video | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Various
picture\video media for this console. These pictures were saved
from an eBay auction (one in which
Marriott_Guy lost). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Games & Emulation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Games screen shots and\videos released for this system. Click pictures to enlarge. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Space Force Game Video Video courtesy of adventurevision. |
Turtles Game Video Video courtesy of adventurevision. |
Super Cobra Game Video Video courtesy of adventurevision. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Models | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Additional authorized releases for this console. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No other additional models have been released to date. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Non-licensed releases (clones). |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No clones were released for this system. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Links | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright 2008 The Video Game Console Library. This website
and the information contained within it is protected by copyright.
Reproduction of part or all of the |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HANDS ON REVIEW by
HANDS ON REVIEW