ET Atari 2600 Review

My review of "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" for the Atari 2600.

[@19822andy]

A CONSTRUCTION CREW HAS UNEARTHED THE ET GAMES.

[@TheLonelyGoomba]

That music at the end shit me up

[@skunkman9815]

Oh hey lonely goomba

[@majinwamu6267]

the greatest thing about you is you review games without having any personal bios. You review as if you never played it but with the same idea of what to expect. and that is brilliant!!

[@MrWolfTickets]

with your quick walkthrough of the icons this actually looks really cool. great video

[@jeffreydotson4842]

This is actually one of the first video games that had an unlockable. If you managed to collect a certain amount of candies you would get a black E.T. By the way, I would have never called this a "great game" but I can remember liking it and getting the hang of it pretty quick because I read the manual. After watching this video though I am left wondering what I saw in it.

[@GiordanDiodato]

it did something radically different from most other Atari games at the time: you could complete it. it wasn't going for the high score like 99% of all Atari games

[@datacipher]

It had Easter eggs too… one famous one was Indiana Jones appearing… but once, I grew the flower and it turned into Yar from Yar’s revenge!

[@antaine1916]

I have to admit, I never hated this game. I have very fond memories of playing it as a little kid, and I have a 2600 emulator on my phone through which I'll still occasionally play it for nostalgia's sake (although, I still have my actual 2600 and all my cartridges...somewhere)

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

It's not the game's fault if people don't have the instruction manual or can't memorize where pits are in a simple small handful of screens. I played the heck out of it. It was rather advanced and complex & in a genre people weren't used to yet(hidden item adventure game). People are way to hard on it because they either haven't played it or they're retarded. What did they expect ET to be? A space shooter? The limitations of the console & controller are more of a problem than the concept of the game itself. Sigh...i must be the only guy in the world who enjoyed this game & beat it over & over again...sure the pits were tough the first couple dozen playthroughs, but i learned how to avoid them & stop myself from hitting bottom. Reviving Gurdie's flower always brought a smile to my face. :)

[@southwestjohnny7767]

This guy is so funny. I love his reviews.

[@KurtKokaine1]

awww, the E.T theme at the end made me tear up a bit. i miss my childhood : (

[@ECGxNANO]

THEY JUST FOUND THE GAMES! Not a legend anymore

[@antaine1916]

Yup. The documentary about it is called "Game Over"

[@TheCodedtestament]

believe that even with several flaws, E.T. can't seriously be called the worst game ever made. It is a game, it is functional, and it can be played and completed. That's more than can be said of some others.

[@JamesinAZ]

Played this when I was a kid. Loved the review, pretty funny too! Very nostalgic watching this...

[@Torch70]

I got this game for Christmas 28 years ago today. I guess I was one of the few who READ THE MANUAL and enjoyed the game. Took only a few tries to figure out how to navigate out of the pits without falling back in and not long to know where to exit one screen without falling into a pit on the next screen. It wasn't the most played game I owned but I did play it enough to find all the easter eggs within the first week. There was just too much to learn for little kids (and not so bright adults).

[@GiordanDiodato]

kinda ironic that manuals in video games are being phased out with people complaining about it... when they never even read a damn manual

[@kmichael9787]

woah, a fair E.T Review?

[@MultiJoeWilson]

That's the thing about Aqua, he's always fair :)

[@arkdov]

ET was an amazing and innovative game for its time. Actually one of my favorite games on the Atari 2600. Congratulations to Howard Scott Warshaw for his amazing work.

[@GiordanDiodato]

I'm actually impressed that the game made it out in 5 weeks and is functional

[@Freshbrood]

This was a really fun, in depth adventure game. It was just a game you needed to understand the manual for. Some people hate rpg's, and love brainless shooters. Some people like dungeon crawlers. Those ones will like this game.

[@handbooklu8979]

From the looks of it and explanation, this game is not so bad. Imagine if they had a year to make the game. Probably would have been game of the year. Just 5 weeks to make this, kind of impressive if you ask me.

[@uomodonore245]

I used to enjoy playing this game when I was a kid.

[@antaine1916]

Me too!

[@Gamescraze]

And that legend was confirmed 26/04/2014 in Alamogordo, New Mexico... uk.ign.com/articles/2014/04/26/the-dig-uncovering-the-atari-et-games-buried-in-new-mexico-desert

[@rfriesen43]

its a revolutionary game

[@ytgc-royalewarex5190]

No unfortunately...

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

@YTGC-RoyaleWareX51 One of the earliest games to have an open world (6 areas you can move around in freely). One of the earliest games to have context-sensitive actions, and one of the earliest games that you can beat. If that isn't revolutionary, it's at least innovative.

[@mr.pinkbullets2360]

Thank you putting this together :) I'm 35 years old and I just now figured out what the hell this game was about thanks to the video!!!

[@joshhawley5567]

Awesome! Found a channel with two things that I love: Video games, and Jethro Tull.

[@David315842]

In the 90's UK video game show; Bad Influence, they mentioned that the games were buried in the desert in Arizona. Wow it must be a myth if there are multiple stories around. :D

[@mlovmo]

"that, and the fact that there's really not a high fun-factor level in walkin around, falling down holes trying to find pieces to a phone in some twisted scavenger hunt while constantly having to hit a roadblock by avoiding a pair of jack-offs that want kidnap you or steal your candy."

[@richardf2208]

I used to play this game alot as a kid its a fairly simple concept.. collect the pellets which were Reeses pieces for energy, find the three phone pieces to call home . Call the mother ship go to landing pad and go home. Avoid the FBI agent as he takes the phone pieces away. The scientist will bring you away and take you to the lab to experiment and steal your candy. You get extra point for reviving the flowers on pits. If you die, Elliot comes to revive you if you gave him candy.. no candy and you are😅 dead! You can play with the FBI agent and scientist chasing you are turn the off. The left diffculty switch was the FBI agent the Right was the scientist. ii played this over 30 years ago yet still rememeber the game play

[@MiskeEnyce]

Wow .. No wonder the Kuwahara dunks were released in New Mexico - it all makes sense now

[@halwakka504]

Something that it seems nobody understand is that if they hit a pit, they can immediately press the fire button and catch yourself in midair rather than falling all the way down, taking damage, then having to float your ass back up.

[@smartlamppost]

After playing some other Atari 2600 games I'm surprised how infamous this is. I mean, there are LOTS of 2600 games like this. Take gravitar as a prime example.

[@thenone9633]

SxDx1986 the crash wasn't for the game sucking it was because a 97% drop of sales for 2-3 years where people weren't into video games buying them from anyone.

[@kamikaze9699]

I disagree with that statement. My friends always called me the game master since I didn't need hint guides to beat most games and they did- all simply because I was the one who actually read the manuals and they didn't. Further, some games are impossible to play without it, but end up being some of the most fun once you learn- try FF2J just using the half-assed faqs out there vs knowing how to play it from the manual. Truly addicting if you're into turn-based RPGs and customization is bar none

[@strumpeteer]

Youre damn right! The original cover art for the original games made by Atari was just awsome!

[@stephensherburne1189]

I just bought a 2600 in a pawn shop today. With this game. actually played it not as horrible as they make it out to be. still not great but somewhat Playable 2/5 is what I would give it. Mazerunner was much worse 1/5 for that game

[@kirbsmeister2]

Sounds like a decent enough idea I guess... But why pits?? I don't even think that's relevant to the movie. Why not boxes or something?

[@Herbarius]

@yermomsboxx They were around $10 after they had been in stores for some time. $40 was a normal price for a freshly released game.

[@JsRetroVideoGames]

I used to have this game as a kid. Somehow I eventually figured out how to beat it. But then a few years ago I bought an Atari and this game at a pawn shop and couldn't remember what I did to beat it as a kid.

[@antaine1916]

The trick is to find the ship and phone locations as you're looking for pieces, so you can get to them efficiently later on. They don't move throughout the game (although they differ from one game to the next, if I recall correctly). You don't want to go searching the forest for the landing zone after you've already made the call and the clock is ticking.

[@danteasdfgh]

now this clear things up.

[@katiegleason5018]

this game is not a bad game. its a c+ at worst. alot going on here. a good back story. defined objectives. and three levels of game play. there are worse playstation 2 games that ET for Atari. The only complaint I ever had was the lack of colors for the Resees pieces. I played this game for hours and days! Most people who review this game were not playing video games in 1982., Therefore they just do not understand that video games required a certain suspension of belief to play. It required imagination and a lack of expectation. Look at a game like Reactor. You are a dot avoiding other dots. Sorry to spoil your 21st century perspective.

[@hoodedman6579]

Why are so many people so stupid? You ever look at his channel and see what's on it? He primarily reviews Atari 2600 games...

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

Marry me Katie! I feel the same! ET was great!

[@killerbug2201]

even for the standards back then this game was garbage lmao 🤣🤣🤣🤣 edit: sorry to spoil your 4 year old perspective

[@kelfromomori]

Sorry, it was terrible. I HAD an Atari 2600 back in the day. Demon Attack, Pitfall, Warlords, Adventure, Stellar Trek (the Sears version of the other game!)...even the 2600 versions of Frogger and Pac Man were WAAAY better then ET. The pits, the pits, the PITS...ohmigod.

[@GiordanDiodato]

@@kelfromomori nah Pacman on 2600 was unplayable.

[@strudders4444]

Well done ! You were quoted on the BBC website in an article about the Alamogordo dump. Look at technology section of bbc co uk / news.

[@SchoolBoyRams]

WOAH I WANT THIS GAME NOW!

[@TheCodedtestament]

This game did NOT nearly destroy the gaming industry, no single title can do that, but a lot of things did, and there are not millions of cartridges buried in the desert. That myth can be disprove due to how common this game is. 

[@mlwy45]

Merry Christmas Aqualung, Hey how come you did this video a diffrenet way before you posted it on youtube?

[@Jmolf]

I used to play this when I was 5 and truly I didnt understood nothing,just falling into pits and saying ¨hurray¨ when Eliot came to the rescue.

[@Saucae]

this game looks epic!

[@lpfan2818]

@BBoy2020 I became so infamous because it was rumored that 1000 copies of the game were buried and that so many were returned too and not to forget that the game took only a few months because they wanted the game out by christmas, that's why this game is infamous.

[@Scrumpilump2000]

I can't be the only one who sort of liked this game. Did any of you ever send E.T. home ?

[@richardf2208]

I actually enjoyed playing this game Sent ET home many times.

[@larryhanus3791]

The game is excellent, those who say otherwise are ignorant. Often those who say it’s bad say that, without reading the manual, it’s impossible. So then read the manual, learn the game, and then make a fair assessment. The game Adventure is one of the most beloved Atari 2600 games of all time, and one absolutely could not succeed in that game without reading the manual.

[@fortawesomm]

Yeah basically the only problem it had for me was I had no clue what anything in the game meant

[@kamikaze9699]

Also, we live in the age of the internet, there's a guide for almost every game just a search engine away

[@thatsmallcessna8300]

Et is a pretty good concept and has it's fun. If there was more time to fix bugs, it would be more enjoyable .

[@TheVideoGameJunkie99]

Nice review, and merry Christmas!

[@germanname1990]

Yeah, I heard there was no manual or instruction booklet for this thing. Indeed, the legend of burying those unsold copies was true, but Part of the reason why this game was doomed to fail was that Atari 2600 games usually took nine months to make. Atari had little more than just one month to make this in order to get it out for the holiday 1982 season. As for me, I also believe there are worse games than this. I tried it out one time and thought it wasn't as bad as others thought it was.

[@DanielsGameVault]

LOL, the end blew my ears off :))))) Nice one Ken :D

[@Bananadine]

@Herbarius pixel-perfect collision or not, it's still pretty messed up that you can move down, left, or right out of a pit... but not up I think it deserves better than D+ even; it's a decent enough game compared to the other primitive stuff on that console--but then again, if bandwagon-jumping kids didn't pretend to hate it so much, it'd probably be mostly forgotten, which isn't exactly better any publicity is good publicity what's really sad is when excellent games get ignored

[@Vampire__Squid]

Thats an unusual response to give to someone who corrected you.

[@LilianOrchard]

Well I guess those are just the pitfalls of early game design *badum tss*

[@Xehemoth]

Word has it, they are about to dig that landfill up on the 4/27/14.

[@jaffinnegan]

I was hoping for a christmas special!

[@Herbarius]

@Raven0302 You can continue playing more rounds after beating the game once, your score will accumulate. However, if you collected too many candy pieces in one round, you'll start with reduced energy in the next round, which will make it harder to survive (in some cases impossible).

[@16ktsgamma]

I wonder how this sold in stores.

[@cecilhammerton8167]

I would say for the disturbingly short amount of time the programmers had to make the game, it was pretty decent for the time. Maybe not worth the near $40 price tag, but I would say it is an average Atari game. He is absolutely right though. There is no fucking way that ET or any other game could be worse than Karate on the 2600 or Dragon's Lair on the NES or Superman 64/Aquaman 64.

[@jonathanwpressman]

Ending cracked me the fuck up

[@Theshark15z]

Raiders of the Lost ark was frustrating, do to the fact that you need two controllers and you really need the manual to understand the game.

[@Vampire__Squid]

Yes that would the more proper KZbin reply. Thanking someone for correcting you, seems kinda weird on KZbin.

[@JeffIsRadd]

good review, thanks.

[@GiordanDiodato]

I wouldn't call it the worst game ever. I could name far worse games like Crazy Bus (though that's more of a "tech demo" rather than a game), Hong Kong 97, and Big Rigs. Hell, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on NES is worse. Ironically, you're told what to do in the manual. And apparently very few, if any, people actually read the manual. And the irony today is that physical manuals are being phased out and people are complaining. It's not like you guys ever read the damn manual. lol

[@idkwhatimdoing9652]

+Giordan Diodato I see you watch the Angry Video Game Nerd as well :D

[@myplaymckollolist]

sweet intro song mang i fkn love thet song

[@Mchenrygames]

I'm surprised it hasn't gone up in price after the AVGN movie.

[@JsRetroVideoGames]

I just bought the game for $2. lol

[@UNOxDExELLOS]

JsRetroVideoGames you overpaid.

[@Raven0302]

Good video as always. on a side note I finally figured out how to beat this game after watching this

[@rambling123456]

great review

[@Herbarius]

F? Come on... The game at least deserves a D+ rating. About being brought back to life: If you found that wilted flower and revived it, this will give you the extra 4th "life". The hit detection with the pits is pixel-perfect. Maybe the confusion comes from looking where E.T.'s feet are, instead of the whole sprite. Another thing you didn't mention: You can break your fall into the pits and then hover yourself down (conserves energy compared to plummeting down) or directly up again.

[@yermongo]

@BBoy2020 Might have been the $40 price tag combined with the horrendous gameplay. I think most Atari games were around $10 at the time.

[@Zestitcha]

Not every has access to the manual. You shouldn't need to read instructions to play a game.

[@landtoast4428]

i like this game, i just wish there was a part where he drinks beer in it

[@antaine1916]

You have to supply your own beer.

[@NextNate03]

@milkmanface13 Did you see the movie? I have heard it was product placement in the movie.

[@scoobywoogie]

is that what you thaught he was going to say if not then i confuzzled

[@enoche1974]

@Tr3vor42532 you got that right games today are nothing but a 20 minute tutorial for the first "level." not saying i don't like today's games. i do. i figured this game out without instructions as a kid!! that's what we did!! lol

[@puts1421]

this game isn't so much bad as it was a disappointment. in the 80's you would see a movie and as a kid you would naturally say well I have to play the game, expecting it to be like the movie and that just wasn't possible like it is today.

[@MikeyS9607]

ET was pretty OK for the time, I mean noboddy cared when Raiders of the Lost Ark was complicated. In ET at least you don't need more than 2 controllers.

[@stunningandbravesalamence5140]

5 people kept following down pits even when in places you wont expect because of them disliking this because they liked the game and the game for them doesn't suck!

[@ReverendBenzo]

"...because a pit is connected to the border of thescreenwhatthehell".

[@MrPurpleShark]

nice review again

[@mrwinterfreeze]

AVGN's movie is about this game.

[@StuffByDoogs]

Think we should re release it :)

[@antaine1916]

It's available for the emulators. I play it on my android smartphone.

[@EternalSearcher]

Plumbers don't wear ties is quite funny when you watch somebody else play it.

[@nerobinson2806]

Ya need to do Night Rider!

[@Jburton561]

Considering this game is a rush job. I think this is one of the better games on the Atari. I think it’s a lot better than the number one best seller for Atari. Their version of Pac-Man. I think it’s better than Atari’s version of donkey Kong. And just like he said in the review, if you don’t like the two assholes kidnapping you or stealing your shit. Play difficulty 3.

[@unkles]

Wow never knew that it had some kind of gameplay lol . I use to own it lol

[@TheSnak369]

hes doing the review in his movie

[@DrDeathpwnsu]

Thanks for actually explaining it. I have seen so many videos saying how bad this game is but they never really explain why. Sounds more like the most well-known shitty game than the shittiest.

[@bobbobby1260]

Dude how do you play these games without throwing your console

[@johnlewisbrooks]

The game wasn't terrible but there was almost no fun to be had.

[@mikekomarinski]

4:38 Is that really that big box of 2600 games your cousin donated 2 U?

[@AqualungGameReviews]

It isn't, but that's about how many games I got from him. It was a glorious moment lol.

[@mikekomarinski]

@@AqualungGameReviews must've been the best hand me down of your life.

[@jmarc8098]

The Irate Gamer points out that one contributing factor to the poor quality of this game is that it was rushed into production. Proper beta testing could have fixed its worst flaws: too many pits, no on screen instructions, lack of progression from a simple scavenger hunt.

[@cooknaris]

2:49 'so whats all the fuss about, seems like a decent game on paper'... WHAT??

[@antaine1916]

It had a good concept. There were a few elements that needed some bug testing and play testing to iron out (the guy only had 5 weeks to write all the code by himself, and he finished just under the deadline). Stuff like the pit sensitivity and potential repetitive stuff could have been modified for a better game. In short, it was possibly one of the first "quest" games (collect these items from various locations in the game world while fighting/evading enemies, use the device you build to summon something, achieve a goal before the time on that something runs out -- pretty sure more than one WoW quest was like that)

[@00chelz]

i only watched this to get a good look at what avgn was gonna do

[@Southpawuppercut]

@milkmanface13 reese pieces was in the movie and E.T's favorite

[@wisteela]

Well now I know what's going on.

[@glitchedoom]

This game was pretty damn good for something cranked out in 6 weeks. Read the manual guys, there are MUCH worse Atari 2600 games. Go check out Firefly if you want crap.

[@spongebobfan190]

I think Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is worse than this, because in this, you do something, but in plumbers don't wear ties, it's just a fucking slideshow.

[@milkmanface13]

reese pieces? why such a random candy?