E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

"Why this game is bashed I'll never know.."

My first assumption is that people who are playing E.T. were not playing it for the first time in 1983. An objective look at E.T. proves it is not the awful game people claim it to be. Along with Adventure, it was one of the few games with a quest to fulfill and an actual ending. It had a relatively large gaming world with secret areas (wells) and human interaction. It may seem lousy to some in 2000, but in '83 this game was revolutionary.
You assumed the role of E.T., who was trying to get home. To do so, you had to assemble pieces of telephone then get into a field marked with an alien symbol and call home. The telephone pieces were found throughout the world and hidden in wells. While you are questing for the phone pieces, you are being chased by FBI agents trying to put ET away. Your friend Eliot helps you by leaving Reese's Pieces which will speed up ET so he can run away from the bad guys. You can also find a flower that you can bring back to life by using your awesome power of raising your neck.
This really is not a bad game. I noticed other reviews simply bash this game saying ''It sucks'' and the graphics are bad. Actually, for Atari these graphics are pretty good. There are a lot of boards to explore and the human characters are as good as the 2600 gets. Once you play this game and understand what you are doing, it is really fun. It is a quest game along the line of Adventure, only more in depth. My only assumption is that these people did not have an instrection manual, which would make the game very hard to understand.
One of the last advanced Atari 2600 carts, this one was released in 1983 to rave reviews--Atari massed produced this cart hoping to revive the 2600 but then the NES came out and the rest is history. There are literally thousands of ET carts in a land fill in Mexico because the Atari could not compete with the NES. The gamble had failed. But it was not because ET was in itself a bad game. It had more depth than almost any other Atari game. Those who lived through the 2600 era know that ET was pushing the limits of an adventure game on the 2600.

Graphics=8 Good for Atari. ET looks like ET and there are a lot of boards to explore. A nice visual game for the 2600. There are a few different landscapes to see; fields, houses, and diverse scenarios not seen on the 2600.

Sound=6.5 Not a whole lot to hear, but the effects that are there match the game. Plus when you beat the game you get to hear the ET theme! How cool is that!?

Gameplay=7.8 Et moves smoothly and really books when you give him a Reese's boost! It is a fluid game with a few different modes to play in.

Story=9.0 Hey ET was a cool story!

Challenge=8.5 A nice adventure/quest challenge; it takes some brain power and some exploration to find the phone pieces and eventually get home. There are a few difficulty levels to pick from.

Overall=8.7 One of the more advanced quest games for the 2600. A nice addition to anyone's library!

*Bru's Must Get Ometer*=8 a classic Atari adventure game worth checking out!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/04/00, Updated 03/04/00