E.T Atari 2600

I bought this item complete (box, manual, cart) because of the intense history behind it. Although it has been regarded as the worst video game of all time, I don't believe so. To reinforce my belief, take the programming skill. Atari wanted the game ready in time for the 1982 holiday. This meant the programmer would have about 5 months to complete the game for the Christmas deadline. When the game came out, however, the critical response wasn't good. People didn't like the dull graphics, boring gameplay, and short game span. Millions sent the game back for a refund. Atari had believed it would have been the biggest game hit since pong, although this proved to not be so. In the end, Atari corporation ended up with over 5 million unsold E.T. cartridges. What were they going to do with these? They crushed them all and buried them deep in a New Mexico landfill. That was the end of E.T. Because of this historical interpretation of what was believed as such a horrible game, I hailed at the moment I saw this auction. And what a great price too! That is why I bought this game.

It's not that bad!  I really like it!

ET is often cited as being one of the worst video games of all time, I on the other hand do not agree with this assessment.  This is actually one of my favorite 2600 games.  It's actually very challenging and a lot of fun.  It has a certain charm to it.  It's a very interesting concept.  This game is like a puzzle and I love puzzles.  It's very fun to try and find the various telephone pieces as well as the different power zones.  I recommend getting the manual as well, it will vastly help your understanding of the game.

This game is very unique and pretty complex for a 2600 game.  It is challenging and a lot of fun.  Sure falling in the holes can be very annoying, but if you're willing to look past that one flaw, you might end up really enjoying this game.

I recommend getting this game even if you aren't going to play it, simple because it is a piece of video game history!

The WORST video game ever made, that every gamer should play at least once!

I'm not sure who wrote the first review on the list, but the author seems to be unable to tell the difference between an alien who wants to phone home, and a plumber that is trying to save a princess. The character, and game, named in that review just doesn't fit the game being described. Nor does the game being described appear on the Atari 2600. Instead of a review of the game "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", for the Atari 2600, the author wrote a really good review of "Super Mario Brothers", for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where E.T. was used as the main character. It's rather confusing to me why E.T. appears in a S.M.B. review, and why S.M.B. is even reviewed here to begin with. Don't try to figure it out or you might have an anurism if you think about it for too long.

Now, because I am one of the suckers who actually purchased this so called game when it was released in 1982. Here is my review of the game "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" for the Atari 2600 video game system. If you spend any amount of time playing this game, you will easily understand why there are 10 to 20 semi-truck loads of this game buried in a New Mexico landfill. I was 6 years old in 1982. Much like everyone else at that time, I was new to the whole home video game thing. But even then I knew that this was a horrible game. In it you earn points by collecting blue square bits that are supposed to be Reeces Pieces candies. Levels are completed by collecting 3 pieces of E.T.'s home made intersteller telephone.  During your search you must avoid F.B.I. agents and scientists who are trying to catch E.T., and that happen to run at nearly twice his speed. If caught you are thrown into what seems to be a jail or something. Where you lose a considerable amount of points during your escape. This so called "escape" really isn't much of an escape considering you basically just walk away. While searching for the required objects, and trying to avoid capture, you also have to beware not to fall into one of the many pits that are all over the place. E.T. will float out of the pit, and you can continue your search, but only if you have enough points for the flight. Anytime you make E.T. fly your points drain as he rises. Objects you are searching for are located at the bottom of some of the pits also. You must be careful though. Because if you don't have enough points for E.T. to fly high enough to escape the pit, you are basically stuck forever.  There is no music during game play either. The only music played in the game is at the title screen.

From what I have read about the game's creation. It took an awe inspiring grand total of FIVE WHOLE WEEKS, from start to finish, to create this monstrosity. Atari paid Steven Spielberg quite a few million dollars for the use of his copyrighted characters. Only to release a finished product that some programmer threw together in 5 weeks. This wasn't a smart business decision. Because the game didn't sell nearly enough copies to recooperate the funds paid to Spielberg, and wound up being one of the causes of Atari's downfall. All of this happened at about the same time a little company called Nintendo released their new entertainment system. Which had games that took a little more effort than just 5 weeks to be created, and it showed in sales. Because the N.E.S. became the hottest thing on the planet. While the 2600 failed, and Atari was forever relegated to just making games instead of making and selling their own consoles.

Not the worst Atari 2600 game by a long shot

Okay, if you are collecting games for your Atari 2600 you may have heard a lot of talk about this game being the worst ever. Not even close as there are many other games (Golf for one) for Atari 2600 that are just pitiful. When I first played this game I was a pre-teen and kept falling in the pits which took me days to figure out how to finally get out and move around. That was very frustrating and obviously why so many parents returned this game to Wally World for a refund. Remember, this was before YouTube and the internet which offers lots of information about how to play this game the way it was intended. Do look that information up as it will be more helpful than the original instructions. If you are in market for a simple no-brainer shooter Atari 8-bit game this is not the one for you. If you don't like rough 8-bit graphics than this game isn't for you and what Atari 2600 game is really? If you like '80's nostalgia (and really, how can you not) which I assume you are since you are buying this for an Atari 2600 than I would consider this a must-have for your game library for the granddaddy of home video games. It's a part of Atari history.