E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

"Ohhh lookit me! I'm so cool cuz I bash E.T.!!"

It's weird being lost in a sea of 1's...

Unlike many who have reviewed this game, I was there, back in the elder days of the 80's. I actually owned this for the Atari 2600 (actually, I owned an Intellivision with an adapter that allows you to play 2600 games, but it's the same deal). I was there back when you were grateful for any kind of sound and any kind of graphics. I owned this game, and dammit, I enjoyed it.

I think one of the main reasons that people love to focus on this game for their negative feedback is the report of Atari dumping the unsold copies in a landfill. True as it may be, it's not a situation of bad games, it's a situation of bad business, and just the wrong demographic. Folks, there was no one back then to tell us whether games were good or not (except maybe the odd hobby store guy, very rare). People just bought games that they thought might look good, and went from there. 80% of the gaming population couldn't tell you what a bad game was if it bit 'em in the face, because they used their imagination to find what good there was in a game. The only reason Atari gave up on this one, is just because it wasn't selling in the astronomical figures they were hoping for. Few wanted to play as E.T., and that was it...

In truth, they should have wanted to. They deprived themselves of an interesting experience...

Anyway, enough overview...

Synopsis

You are E.T. You are placed in a situation much like the movie. You're stuck here on Earth, and you gotta phone home. You have to explore this wacko planet and figure out the lay of the land.

Story

Some people have this crazy notion that all games, regardless of age, have to have an engaging plot to be considered worthwhile. May whatever video gaming gods there are have mercy on their souls. E.T. was from a simpler time, back when a man walking around on burgers was considered an engaging plot. Back then, the only plot you ever really got out of any game was in the instruction booklet, which, surprise surprise, few people have access to these days...

Gameplay

E.T. is moved in four directions by the joystick. Pressing the button causes him to stretch his neck out, which can do one of several things.

One of the confusing aspects of the gameplay, and one which you probably needed instructions for, was the ''zone'' system. In many places you walk around in E.T.'s world, you'll see these icons on the top of the screen. Pressing the button can activate these zones, which do varied things, from deterring your pursuers, teleporting you to various places, use your collected Reese's Pieces to restore energy, etc.

E.T.'s world is divided into six screens. One of these is a forest, one a ''city'', and the other four are fields with ''pits''. More on those later.

The objective of the game is to find the three pieces of E.T.'s phone, call his ship (by finding the proper icon), and catching the ride back into Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. After you do this, you can continue to improve your score, which is based on energy remaining.

The pieces of E.T.'s phone are found in the aforementioned pits. This can be one of the more frustrating parts of the game. Falling in pits hurts you, and getting out can be tricky. You have to hold down the button to extend your neck and float out. After you're out of the pit and back on the field screen, you still have to manuever yourself off the pit so you don't fall back in. It may seem really hard, but with practice, you can do it with a minimum of energy lost.

Energy is used by E.T. to do most anything, from walking around, to stretching his neck, to floating. When he runs out of energy, E.T. collapses and needs Elliot to come revive him. This can be done twice before game over.

Now, you're not alone in your crusade. Elliot's on hand to help you. If you can collect enough Reese's Pieces (little dots on the field), he'll find you a phone piece if you find his icon (a person talking). There are also adversaries. There's the FBI Agent, who'll confiscate your Reese's Pieces and phone pieces and threaten you with his walkie talkie, and there's also the Scientist, who, when he grabs you, takes you back to his building in the city screen, but otherwise does nothing else adverse.

Pretty complex and involved for the ''worst game ever'', eh?

Graphics

Well, you can definitely tell what's what, and on an Atari 2600, you can hope for no better, really. There have been Atari games with better and worse, so there's no complaints.

Sound and Music

The sound effects are simple. E.T. has a little pitter-patter as he walks around, and there are other little sounds for finding stuff, falling, floating, neck-stretching. It's all quite distinct.

The music consists of the popular E.T. theme, which plays on the title screen, but no music other than that.

Difficulty and Longevity

Here's a shocker. This game has adjustable difficulty levels. Oh, it's true... On the lowest difficulty settings, you won't see any bad guys. On the medium difficulty, the FBI Agent will be on the prowl, and on the hardest, both the Agent and the Scientist will be roaming around. Naturally, without any bad guys to deter you, the game can be quite easy to pass even for kids (like I was at the time). Toss in the big mean men, and you'll have a decent challenge to surmount.

So, the reason you beat the game is to get a high score, natch, much like any other Atari game. There are also a couple of cute Easter Eggs to be found for the observant.

Overall

While this definitely shouldn't go down in history as the greatest Atari game, it is by no means the ''worst game ever'', as some ''respectable'' (and I use the term loosely) publications tend to refer to it as. Take a look at the FAQ here on GameFAQs if you need to know how to get around the game, because once you know what you're doing, you'll find it's a decent ride, if you already haven't made up your mind and jumped on the bandwagon...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/03, Updated 02/20/03