A unique adventure, with or without light gun.
Wow, Crossbow must be an epic adventure! We travel through many lands and fight all kinds of monsters! There's even a hobbit on the cover!
Truthfully, Crossbow is not really an adventure game, but a gun game with an adventure theme. You're an archer (with a crossbow!), and you've got to protect your friends as they stroll across the screen, often to their unwitting deaths. Watch out for that ant, it will literally kill you.
Crossbow for Atari 2600
Everything about Crossbow for 2600 is great . . . except you can't use the light gun. If there's one kind of game I really don't enjoy, it's light gun games that don't use a light gun. Instead, we get a reticle that's hard to control with precision.
Regardless, Crossbow holds my attention whenever I play it. I've played it multiple times, over the years. Every time, I'm impressed with the graphics. Crossbow has many different screens, and all are colorful and well-rendered. The locations are typical "desert, ice, volcano" tropes, but the scenes look good on the Atari. We even get a map screen where you choose your route.
Though I find the reticle thingy difficult to maneuver at times, I still have fun with Crossbow. It's the kind of game you'll play more than once, to see all the stages. I still haven't made it to the last stage, so I'll be playing Crossbow again someday.
Finally, I think Crossbow is a unique title for Atari 2600. The outstanding graphics, bizarre premise, and tricky challenge all equate to a game that feels original.
Final Crossbow for 2600 Review:
I recommend Crossbow for Atari curious, nerds, and collectors.
Crossbow for Atari 7800
Now we're talking! If you're fortunate to own the Atari XG-1 light gun, as I am, then you probably already own Crossbow as well.
To be honest, while the graphics are upgraded for the 7800 version, the friends are still indistinct and lacking faces. I expect more detail for a 7800 title.
Still, Crossbow is fun for a few rounds with the light gun. It's accurate enough, and I can get into the game. If you don't own the light gun, I can't recommend Crossbow for 7800, unless you don't mind using the reticle; it's still a unique experience, and hey, maybe you've got some practice from the 2600 version. If you own a 7800 and a light gun, you should also own Crossbow. It's the second-best light gun game for 7800!
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