DESCRIPTION

To clear up a common misconception, Gauntlet for the Atari VCS is in no way related to Atari's hit arcade game of the same name. In this game, players guide adventurer Sir Robert Wittenbottom on his attempt to impress a lost tribe of warriors on a faraway island. Before they'll accept him, Sir Robert has only three glasses of water with which to douse the tribe's ceremonial torches — but the trick is dodging a huge amount of obstacles, like airborne darts and clubs, to reach those torches.

Coming into contact with any obstacle causes Sir Robert to spill a little bit of his water, and once he's out of water, he's out of luck too. Ground-level obstacles like logs can be jumped over, and the airborne attacks can be avoided by ducking under them. Bonus points can be earned by offering a drink of water to one of the "old men" sitting down between the torches. What the game doesn't answer is how primitive this tribe can possibly be if they have glasses for their water.

Collectors in the market for a boxed copy of Atari VCS Gauntlet are out of luck since the game was sold by mail order only direct from its publisher, and as such was shipped in a foam container rather than an actual box. Due to its unusual limited distribution, Gauntlet is very hard to find. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide