Poll: Is ET as bad as people claim?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Is ET as bad as people claim. No third option this time, yes or no. Discuss...

[bennybingo]

 

[AtariLeaf]

I voted no even though I don't think it's a great game. Great history yes, but great game no. I've played it and think it's ok but not nearly the turd at the bottom of the barrel of gaming

[Andromeda Stardust]

2 yes, 8 no; it's settled then. ET doesn't suck???

Edited April 28, 2014 by stardust4ever

[SpaceDice2010]

I couldn't vote. Not enough choices. It has flaws, so can't use the word "awesome". I never hated the game as a kid. Never "loved" it either.

[doctorclu]

Hopefully people realize that we are not taking a poll to see if this is the worst Atari 2600 game ever. I believed it is fairly well known that E.T. is far from the worst 2600/VCS game.

 

But was it the abomination that people make it out to be? I believe the reason the uneducated internet believes the game is so horrorible is due to the Alamogordo, NM urban legend.

 

I am interested to hear from people who are not sheeple but have actually at least tried the game. Should be interesting to hear what actual Atari gamers think of E.T.

[doctorclu]

I couldn't vote. Not enough choices. It has flaws, so can't use the word "awesome". I never hated the game as a kid. Never "loved" it either.

 

Agreed. A simple "Is E.T. the abomination the internet makes it out to be" and then "Yes" or "No" might have worked better in this case.

Edited April 28, 2014 by doctorclu

[bennybingo]

[bradhig]

ET has it's issues ,but I don't consider it to be as bad as the internet makes to be. Yes the pits are a pain but once you get used to them you can get out pretty easily.

[BassGuitari]

2 yes, 8 no; it's settled then. ET doesn't suck???

If you insist on absolutely binary responses, you shouldn't be surprised if the results seem a little off. There's a lot of middle ground between the extremes of "Yes, it's the most horrible game of all time and should never be played by anyone ever" and "No, it's an unappreciated masterpiece."

 

Is it as bad as everyone says? Nah. Is it as good as Random Terrain says? Also nah.

[high voltage]

It's not as bad as SMB

[lapetino]

When I was a kid we had a lot of fun with this game. Yes, the pits were hard, but we figured it out. If you read the manual the game was fun, and pretty unique for the time. Not as complicated as Indy, but more challenging and bigger layout of time than an arcade port. Should probably go down as one of the more innovative adventure games for the 2600.

[Andromeda Stardust]

If you insist on absolutely binary responses, you shouldn't be surprised if the results seem a little off.

I've posted polls before and added a third option. 9 times out of ten the indecisive vote gets the majority vote, or at least is much greater than the difference between the two. So, no third option with this poll.

 

See also this poll I did in 2012:

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/200515-is-it-blasphemy-to-use-a-stock-genesismegadrive-controller-with-the-vcs/

 

The "indecisive" option got the overwhelming majority so the question was never really answered.

[BassGuitari]

The "indecisive" option got the overwhelming majority so the question was never really answered.

That should probably tell you something about the questions you're asking, then.

[+Random Terrain]

Is it as bad as everyone says? Nah. Is it as good as Random Terrain says? Also nah.

It's as good as I say if you are the kind of person who likes to hunt for randomly placed items and useful power zones. If you play the game with faster humans, it can be an exciting challenge to avoid the bad guys so you won't get robbed or grabbed. For people who care about points, it's cool that you can build up points from round to round. If you are the kind of person who hates mazes in adventure games, no problem; E.T. doesn't have any mazes. If you hate flicker with a passion, you'll love the fact that there is no flicker in E.T.

[Andromeda Stardust]

It's as good as I say if you are the kind of person who likes to hunt for randomly placed items and useful power zones. If you play the game with faster humans, it can be an exciting challenge to avoid the bad guys so you won't get robbed or grabbed. For people who care about points, it's cool that you can build up points from round to round. If you are the kind of person who hates mazes in adventure games, no problem; E.T. doesn't have any mazes. If you hate flicker with a passion, you'll love the fact that there is no flicker in E.T.

What if you're the type of gamer who hates falling into pits?

[+Random Terrain]

What if you're the type of gamer who hates falling into pits?

 

You spend 5 minutes learning how to use a joystick properly.

 

I always wondered if people who constantly fall into the wells are just as uncoordinated when they play other games. If they can jump on the heads of crocodiles and jump over holes without falling in when playing Pitfall, they should be able to zip around the wells at high speed without falling in when playing E.T.

[Dr Manhattan]

No, not even close. All the talk about it being the worst game ever made is just hyperbole.

[Osgeld]

I agree with neither of the poll options

 

yes its really bad cause its confusing and touchy, no cause 99% of that is removed if you RTFM

[Andromeda Stardust]

RTFM? I assume that's "Read The Flipping Manual." In all honesty the manual is typically not an option when browsing loose Atari carts for $2.00 a pop at a used game store.

Edited April 28, 2014 by stardust4ever

[+Random Terrain]

RTFM? I assume that's "Read The Flipping Manual." In all honesty the manual is typically not an option when browsing loose Atari carts for $2.00 a pop at a used game store.

 

There's a good chance that people in civilized countries who are looking for Atari 2600 games have an Internet connection or can get to a library that has an Internet connection. The Internet is a magical place where manuals, maps, and tips can be found.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I should open another poll, about the questions in this call being stupid.

[Unbeliever]

E.T. the worst game ever? Nope...I actually enjoy the game, but it's not as cut and dried and "yes" or "no", either. But I chose no for my poll answer. Today it's just a topic for debate. I'm hunting for a complete copy to add to my collection, actually.

[Rhomaios]

It's not the worst, but I wouldn't call it "good", either. Below average, barely mediocre, etc. But as others have pointed out, not the worst. There is that fixed version floating around, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/207249-fixing-et-the-extra-terrestrial/

[Andromeda Stardust]

It's not the worst, but I wouldn't call it "good", either. Below average, barely mediocre, etc. But as others have pointed out, not the worst. There is that fixed version floating around, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/207249-fixing-et-the-extra-terrestrial/

Somehow I completely missed that topic. Somebody please give it a ceremonial necro-bump...

Edited April 28, 2014 by stardust4ever