Allia Quest is Igor Barzilai's second solo Atari VCS game (the other being Merlin's Walls), and Ebivision's 6th and last.  Once again, Ebivision showed how they really maximized using the console's original 4K ROM size limitation.  The game features a nice title screen with a scrolling starfield background.  The gameplay is similar to Threshold and Rescue Terra I.  There's only 1 game variation.  You're faced with 8 different types of enemies, each coming in a wave of 20.  The enemies consist of different shapes, each featuring multiple colors that change with each level of gameplay.  When you shoot an enemy, it disappears in a little animated flourish.  Coupled with the now dual-layered parallax-scrolling starfield, these graphical touches give the game a very polished and professional look.

During the game, moving left or right actually moves the entire playfield as your ship remains stationary (much like Night Driver).  If you keep moving in one direction, the enemies will wrap-around to the other side of the screen (this will become an essential feature further into the game you go).  Each enemy shot is worth 100 points, meaning each complete level is worth 16,000 point.  Their behavior is such that they all approach you in a vertical line, with some wavering back-and-forth more aggressively than others.  If you clear all 8 waves, you earn an extra life and the game starts over again at a higher difficulty level.

There doesn't seem to be a point where the difficulty levels off, and before long you'll run into a point where the last enemy in a wave can't be hit.  The trick is to scroll the enemy off the right side of the screen and hit it as it re-enters the screen from the left side.  Overall, this is a nice addition to your game library.  It's a shame Ebivision stopped creating new games after this, as Allia Quest really showed Barzilai's increased experience in game design at that point.

The game was originally released at CGE2K1 where Igor sold all 40 boxed copies he brought with him, making those more rare than later re-releases from Hozer Video (soon after) and Atariage (in 2003).  As to the meaning of the game's name, Allia, Al Backiel asked Igor at CGE2K if there was any significance to it, and Igor stated there wasn't; he simply needed a name that started and ended with the letter 'A' to fit the logo he designed for the title screen.

The following photos were taken at CGE2K1 showing Igor selling and signing the original copies of Allia Quest, and of the game being played at one of the game stations: