Angry Video Game Nerd Season 4 Episode 24 Swordquest

The Angry Video Game Nerd is back with another episode of his popular web series where he plays and reviews classic video games. In this episode, titled "Swordquest," the Nerd takes a look at a trilogy of video games from the 1980s that were meant to be part of a larger treasure hunt.

The Swordquest games were released by Atari in the early 1980s and were designed as part of a promotional campaign for a real-world treasure hunt that was sponsored by the company. Each of the three games, Earthworld, Fireworld, and Waterworld, contained clues that were meant to help players solve a puzzle and find a golden sword that was worth $25,000. The grand prize for the Swordquest contest was a jewel-encrusted gold trophy that was valued at over $50,000.

The Nerd dives into each of the Swordquest games to see how they hold up today. He starts with Earthworld, which is a maze-like adventure game where players control a hero who must find and collect items to progress. The game's graphics and sound effects are praised by the Nerd, but he finds the controls to be clunky and frustrating.

Next, the Nerd moves on to Fireworld, which takes place in the desert and has a similar gameplay style to Earthworld. The Nerd has some issues with the level design and the lack of direction, but he still finds the game to be enjoyable overall.

Finally, the Nerd tackles Waterworld, which is perhaps the most unique of the three games. In this game, players control a seafoam green dragon who must navigate underwater caverns and defeat enemies. The Nerd finds this game to be the weakest of the trilogy, citing its difficult controls and confusing level design.

Overall, the Nerd concludes that the Swordquest games were decent for their time but don't hold up particularly well today. He also takes a look at the Swordquest comic book that was released at the time, which provides a lot of backstory and context for the games.

The Nerd also talks about the infamous Swordquest contest and how it ultimately fell apart due to legal issues involving Atari and the contest sponsors. The three golden swords were eventually given away, but the grand prize was never awarded.

In the end, the Nerd gives his overall thoughts about the Swordquest trilogy and the legacy of the contest. He acknowledges that Atari's promotional campaign was ahead of its time and could have been a major success if things had gone differently.

As always, the Angry Video Game Nerd's commentary is sharp, witty, and informative. He provides a great overview of the Swordquest games and the contest without giving away any spoilers or ruining the experience for viewers who may want to check out these classic games for themselves.