The Video Game Console Library - Entex Adventure Vision

	Entex Adventure Vision
	HANDS ON REVIEW by 98Pacecar DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
	Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy

Developer	Manufacturer	Release Date	Country(s)	Initial Price	Model Number	Game Releases	Overall Rating
Entex Industries	Entex Industries	1982	USA	$79.95 USD	6075	4	06
Ratings	Reviews	Pictures\Media	Specs\Manuals	Games\Emulation	Models	Clones	Links

Entex Adventure Vision (Pictures courtesy of Steve Or Steven Read)

Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release. Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality)	06
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile)	02
Controllers (design, response, feel, use)	06
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation)	02
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects)	03
Media (game media format, design, durability)	04
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging)	03
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library)	04
Innovations (technological industrial strides)	05
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?)	01
Collector Value (good collector investment?)	10
Games Rarity (general availability of games)	10
Console Rarity (general availability of a system)	10

Reviews

Pictures courtesy of Steve Or Steven Read.

DW FACTS
- by Dark Watcher

In 1982, a company called Entex Industries introduced a portable system that demonstrated how well LED technology could be used in a game system.

Their system, called Adventure Vision, is not exactly what you would call a handheld. It is called a tabletop. It has a mock arcade cabinet design that measures 13.25" X 10" X 9". However, the Adventure Vision still falls under our guidelines of being a console, just a portable version.

Rather then using a simple LED layout with plastic overlay graphics, the Adventure Vision used 40 vertical red LEDs and a constant rotating mirror to create "dot-matrix like" graphics at 150 x 40 resolution drawn at 15 frames/sec. This was quite impressive for its time. The controls accommodated both left handed and right handed gamers and (unlike LCD games) played best in dimly lit areas. It was a power hog though, and needed 4 "D" cell batteries.

Even though it was an impressive machine, the Adventure Vision did not last long. Entex manufactured the units for only a year and up to 50,000 to 100,000 systems were reported sold. Other then the pack-in game Defender, only 3 other cartridges were produced (Turtles, Super Cobra and an Asteroids clone called Space Force).

Today, the Adventure Vision is a hot collectors item. Good luck trying to find one (hehe)

FACT: The Adventure Vision's red graphics display and rotating mirror would be used years later by famous handheld inventor named Gumpei Yokoi. The device was called the Virtual Boy.

HANDS ON REVIEW
- by 98Pacecar (10-Jul-08)

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.

Space Force is simply an Asteroids clone, but plays well. There are a few moments of slowdown, in particular when the UFO crashes into an asteroid and the sound plays, but overall it runs smoothly. The programmer was even able to capture the repetitive bass line of the arcade, though with slightly less aural impact.

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.

Game Informer issue #99 - page 1
Article archived by Al Backiel. Click picture to enlarge.

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 & Media

Various picture\video media for this console. Pictures courtesy of Steve Or Steven Read via an his eBay auction (one in which Marriott_Guy lost). Click pictures to enlarge.

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.

Specs & Manuals

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

Processor Type	Processor Speed	Other Processor Information	RAM \ Video RAM
Intel 8048	733 kHz	COP411L (sound microprocessor)	1 KB \ None
Screen Resolution	Color Palette	Polygons \ Sprites	Audio
150 x 40	2	Not applicable	16 pure tones \ 13 sound effects
Media Format	Media Capacity	Games Released	Other Supported Formats
Cartridge	1 KB eprom	4	None
Internal Storage	External\Removable Storage	Game Controllers	Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
None	None	Joystick \ Button Pad (4)	None
Controller Ports	Network Ports	Other Ports	Audio \ Video
One (1) Built-In	None	Headphone Stereo Jack	None
Power Supply	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
4 "D" Sized Batteries	None	None
Manuals
Entex Adventure Vision Owners Manual (PDF) - 0.24 MB

Games & Emulation

Games, media format, emulators and screen shots for titles released on this system.

Atari 2600 Box Variations Software for the Entex Adventure Vision was distributed on ROM cartridges. These carts are rather small compared to media utilized by its contemporaries. See the examples to the left and right these tiny gems.

The boxes themselves are constructed of sturdy cardboard which contain the game, instruction manual and any flier to correct errors in the manual.

Entex Adventure Vision Cartridges

Entex Adventure Vision - Defender Entex Adventure Vision - Space Force Entex Adventure Vision - Turtles Entex Adventure Vision - Super Cobra

Entex Adventure Vision Game Screenshots

Defender

Super Cobra

Turtles

Entex Adventure Vision Game Boxes

Third Party Emulators
Program	Website	Description
M.E.S.S.	http://www.mess.org/	Multi-Emulator Super System is a DOS based emulator capable of running many systems including this one. It has a Windows based GUI, and should be usable by most PC systems.

Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.

No other additional models have been released to date.

Entex Adventure Vision logo

Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).

No clones were released for this system.

Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name	Website	Description
AdventureVision.com	http://www.adventurevision.com/	The best Entex Adventure Vision site out there!!

visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

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