User Reviews

If you were to ask any gamer, what would be the worst video game of all time was. A lot of them, would probably said Atari 2600's videogame adaptation of director Steven Spielberg's 1982 hit movie, 'E.T: the Extra-Terrestrial' of the same name. Most of them, wouldn't be wrong. After all, the adventure game has become a cautionary tale of artless corporate cash grabs. Designed by Howard Scott Warshaw, the video game object is to guided, the eponymous character to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet, scatter throughout six locations, while avoiding government agents & scientists wanting to capture him or pitfalls trapping him, before E.T's life force runs out. Without spoiling the game, too much, both Atari and the programmer, intended the game to be a high seller, during the holiday season, based on its connection with the popular film & innovative gameplay. However, things didn't panned out, that way. While 'E.T.' met minor initial commercial success at first, becoming the one of the most best-selling Atari 2600 game ever sold. It didn't hit, the levels, Atari has hope for. After a few weeks after its debut, nobody was buying the game, due to poor critical reception to gameplay, poor relationship with distributors, an increasing number of order cancellations, new competitors entering the market, and lack of a profitable marketing strategy to keep gamers, still interested in the product. Because of this, between 2.5 and 3.5 million cartridges went unsold. Soon enough, reports came out, that Atari warehouses were so fill with the game, that they started to give some of them away. That rumor, let to further urban legends, stating that Atari was burying the leftovers in the New Mexico desert, in shame. Surprisingly, that myth is somewhat true. In 2013, plans were made to find this burial, and in April of the following year, excavators indeed found that site at an Alamogordo landfill. However, the accuracy of reports about the burial, weren't as correct, as they seem, as 728,000 cartridges of various titles were found, instead of just millions upon millions of unsold 'E.T' games. Regardless, 'E.T' is still considered a major contributing factor to the video game industry crash of 1983 & the downfall of the original Atari in 1984. However, it's not the only factor as some of the general public may think. There were other problems, such as market saturation, competition from home computers, and global inflation that led to the crash. It wasn't until the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, that the industry started to recovered. As for 'E.T' video game programmer, Howard Scott Warshaw; sadly, he never did make, another game again. It sucks, because I kinda like, his other games, like 'Yar's Revenge'. I was really looking forward to his next game 'Saboteur'. The unreleased game really did sound cool, before Atari dismantled it. In truth, he did alright job with designing' E.T', given that, he only had 5 to 6 weeks make it. It's not unplayable. It's just time consuming, frustrating, and monotonous. Honestly, if you have the time to figure out, how to avoid the pitfalls, you might find this game, worth playing, if you want the challenge. Not only that; but the game does contain an interesting Easter egg. When the alien falls down into the hole with the dead flower he can bring it back to life. Repeatedly doing this will eventually turn the flower into the fly from 'Yars' Revenge'. So, that's kinda interesting. Plus, the visuals are passable for that era, even if some of the items and enemies are hard to figure out, at first. It's not that confusing, after a few minutes in. Not only that, the game doesn't have any broken controls like the rumors talk about. It's decent, but nothing really pops out. In the end, things like what I mention, kinda shows that this game did somewhat, get a bad rap. In truth, it's not the most awful game, out there. It's not even, the worst Atari game. It's just not that fun to play. Honestly, if they only, went with Steven Spielberg's notion of having a 'Pac-Man' rip-off. Maybe, I would play this game, more. However, seeing how the negations took so long, regardless of the production. Even that version of the game would had been crappy, due to its rushed nature and bluntly studio inferences. In conclusion, the license to make the game is still 20 million down the drain. Like any diehard fans, most of us, would rather watch the movie, than play any video game adaptation of 'E.T', any day. While, I might not pick up the controller. This game is not worth tossing in the trash. It's deserve being buried in a video game collection.

When I first saw ET on VHS after seeing it in theatres as a two and a half year old with my cousin in the late 80s, i loved it!!! It made me cry too. What I didn't know was that merchandise for the movie helped the film go beyond the cinema, such as cereal, shoes, a board game, as well as a storybook soundtrack featuring sounds and clips from the original cut of the movie along with spoken word by the late Michael Jackson and a good opening song . But the best selling merchandise from the movie, besides the tie-in Reeses Pieces that saw its sales spike two weeks after the movie debuted in cinemas, is the video game that contributed to the great video game crash of 1983. Of course, I'm talking about E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Rushed in development in time for the christmas season around the same time I was born, this video game became a best seller, only for it to return to stores and be put in landfills in Arizona. Long before cyberpunk and other bad games, this is the most famous bad game of all time. I tried it on computer and the graphics are not that good for an atari game. Yes, the opening has the ET music and a picture of ET and the character looks like ET, but the plot of the game is nothing compared to Spielberg's masterpiece. Spielberg wanted a game and the rights were sold for $25 million to Atari, at the time owned by Warner. Years after ET failed, Warner sold Atari and focused more on music, cable and movies and the rest is history. Avoid this game and try the later ET games or just enjoy and watch the movie.

After watching a couple of video reviews and hearing some mentions of this game over a few years, I went to try the game online.

The object of the game is to collect 3 telephone pieces which are in 3 of the many pits in the game. Once all three have been collected, E.T. has to get to a spot in the field where he'll make a call, then he must move to another spot where a spaceship will pick him up and take him home. However, obstacles E.T. encounters in his mission include a scientist who would constantly take him to a laboratory, and a detective who would confiscate his phone pieces one at a time.

If you're interested in playing the game, I recommend that you read the instructions, if you have any, because a lot of things come into play if you want to complete the game. Because I played the game online, it's pretty understandable that I have no instructions to read. Thankfully, the video review of that person who rates video games as either "innocent" or "guilty" gives a few shots of the instructions which I was able to get some detail. Anyway, some of those crucial things are how to keep the scientist and detective at bay, how to make use of the candy, or how to arrange your trip home.

As to why this game is so maligned, it probably has to do with the poor hit detection when it comes to the pits. I mean a lot of times, E.T. would fall in when it appears he's not at an edge of a pit. Also, if E.T. tries to fly out of a pit, he would sometimes fall back in. I guess this frustrated a lot of players. Well, as an advice I would give to some gamers, try staying far from the pits, and move in a straight line as much as possible, and maybe you'll fall less often. And once you come out of a pit, I recommend doing light taps when moving away instead of a regular press, thus you'll have less chance falling back in.

Because I was having trouble with the scientist and detective, I was already thinking about using the tip from that "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" video where the host tells about using the option that removes the two antagonists from the game. Nevertheless, I continued to play the game with the default setting until I completed it.

Yes, the game has poor hit detection. But since that is pretty much the only flaw of the game, I wouldn't be so scathing to it. Also, the number of things E.T. can do when in certain locations of the game really adds some depth. If you were to ask me if you should try this game, well, if you have the patience and positive attitude, you might be able to understand it.

Really, this is the worst videogame ever made? I dont think so, in fact, i dont think is one of the worst Atari 2600 games ever made, i have some fun with them. The problem with this game is the collision box and for its time, it was quite confusing, because you have to follow very specific steps to win the game. That's right, ET for Atari 2600 is one of the few games in the console that you can finish, unlike the vast majority that are simply based on getting the highest score. You could say that it was highly criticized simply because people did not know how to play it, adding the glitches. And although the instructions appeared in the manual, probably no one read them at that time. Obviously, it is a game that, by current standards, has not aged well, but by the standards of the Atari 2600 it performs very well and I would even say that it is innovative. A underrated classic that every retro gamer that likes Atari 2600 games and wants a challenge has to play.