E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (also referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 video game console. It is based on the film of the same name, and was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw. The objective of the game is to guide the eponymous character through various screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet. It is widely regarded as the worst game ever made and one of the major contributing factors to the near death of the video game industry in 1983.
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Say what you will about the game but... that little alien got me acting unwise... 😈
Not even in my top 10 worst games, shockingly enough. The fact the game was honestly THIS good when made by one person in a handful of weeks, is kind of crazy.
There was way worse games made by entire teams that took months on the Atari. This is... well it's still not fun, but by comparison, it's whatever.
There was way worse games made by entire teams that took months on the Atari. This is... well it's still not fun, but by comparison, it's whatever.
I passed out and woke up $300 richer
Time for the main event!
Behold: One of the worst games of all time. A game so bad it crashed the whole market. Copies of it were hunted and destroyed.
...uhhhh am I missing something?
When I look at this game, then look at the small selection of atari garbage I recently played I can see that they are not created equally.
E.T. actually has a title screen, an opening and ending cutscene, a map made of multiple screens, 3 npcs that wander the map, multiple collectibles...
Sure at first I was constantly falling into the holes over and over, and it took me a while until I understood how the hell I could get out without falling again.
Then I was walking aimlessly around the map trying to understand wtf I was supposed to do, or what anything did.
But through trial and error I kinda understood my main objective: gathering... shiny pieces of something (it's hard to tell what anything is on the atari) found randomly on the holes.
I don't think everyone would be as patient as I was, figuring out what to do when nothing seemed to work immediately. I especially don't think that the people that were hyped for this game (thanks to the movie and whatever deceptive advertising was used to promote this), would be happy after booting this up and playing for a few minutes (although having the manual is an advantage they would have over me lmao). This released around christmas...
History tends to repeat itself and I believe that this game is the first hyped AAA game that was rushed in development and then underdelivered. You hate to see it.
It's funny how expectations warp your reception of media (or anything in general really). Since I was expecting the worst of the worst, I'm... disappointed but not in the same way.
E.T. is not that bad. It's not good either, it's full of flaws, but for the console it's in... I mean what were people expecting a movie adaptation?
Most of the game's flaws can be blamed on the rushed development. Imagine if escaping the holes wasn't that painful, the game's reputation would be better for sure.
I ended up beating the game on my 3rd try. So, you have to find 3 of the shiny things, and once you have them all you activate the alien ship power and a count down activates. Oh, I forgot, the powers (or actions idk): On the top of the screen icons will appear as you move. I believe it's random but certain coordinates will result in specific powers. Some move you to the next screen, others heal you. One highlights a hole if it has a shiny object.
The one you need to use when you have the 3 shiny objects looks like a space invader, after activating it you then have to stand on the landing zone on the first screen where the game started. If you are standing on the correct square when the timer ends, you win, and E.T. will go back home.
It's... kind of dull but it's way more elaborate that the atari2600 games I recently played. It definitely isn't "worst game of all time" material.
Behold: One of the worst games of all time. A game so bad it crashed the whole market. Copies of it were hunted and destroyed.
...uhhhh am I missing something?
When I look at this game, then look at the small selection of atari garbage I recently played I can see that they are not created equally.
E.T. actually has a title screen, an opening and ending cutscene, a map made of multiple screens, 3 npcs that wander the map, multiple collectibles...
Sure at first I was constantly falling into the holes over and over, and it took me a while until I understood how the hell I could get out without falling again.
Then I was walking aimlessly around the map trying to understand wtf I was supposed to do, or what anything did.
But through trial and error I kinda understood my main objective: gathering... shiny pieces of something (it's hard to tell what anything is on the atari) found randomly on the holes.
I don't think everyone would be as patient as I was, figuring out what to do when nothing seemed to work immediately. I especially don't think that the people that were hyped for this game (thanks to the movie and whatever deceptive advertising was used to promote this), would be happy after booting this up and playing for a few minutes (although having the manual is an advantage they would have over me lmao). This released around christmas...
History tends to repeat itself and I believe that this game is the first hyped AAA game that was rushed in development and then underdelivered. You hate to see it.
It's funny how expectations warp your reception of media (or anything in general really). Since I was expecting the worst of the worst, I'm... disappointed but not in the same way.
E.T. is not that bad. It's not good either, it's full of flaws, but for the console it's in... I mean what were people expecting a movie adaptation?
Most of the game's flaws can be blamed on the rushed development. Imagine if escaping the holes wasn't that painful, the game's reputation would be better for sure.
I ended up beating the game on my 3rd try. So, you have to find 3 of the shiny things, and once you have them all you activate the alien ship power and a count down activates. Oh, I forgot, the powers (or actions idk): On the top of the screen icons will appear as you move. I believe it's random but certain coordinates will result in specific powers. Some move you to the next screen, others heal you. One highlights a hole if it has a shiny object.
The one you need to use when you have the 3 shiny objects looks like a space invader, after activating it you then have to stand on the landing zone on the first screen where the game started. If you are standing on the correct square when the timer ends, you win, and E.T. will go back home.
It's... kind of dull but it's way more elaborate that the atari2600 games I recently played. It definitely isn't "worst game of all time" material.
I played this at a friends house as a kid thinking "The internet was wrong, this game is O-KAY!". I was a stupid kid
The only game that forced me to read a manual...