E.T. *NOT* the worst game ever!

[+Cafeman]

The game and IP didn't appeal to me at the time. I've got more appreciation for it now after playing it though. I understand the complaints. Similar to the complicated gameplay of Raiders, it wasn't dumbed down or as initially fun as it needed to be for mass market, but E.T. isn't even on the list of truly worst 2600 games.

 

Sadly, if HSW had just made it a Pac-man or Donkey Kong clone with some inspiration, it would have likely done better in sales and word of mouth. 

[bluejay]

ET is definately not the worst game ever! I could sit in a room playing ET for a whole week! I think of it as a way more complicated version of Adventure, collecting three phone pieces(chalices), and avoiding people(dragons). In my opinion, the Swordquest games are wayyy more frustrating and deserve the blame.

[Nukey Shay]

Swordquest are not games...it's a contest gone awry where nobody won the title prize.

[orange808]

2 hours ago, Nukey Shay said:

Swordquest are not games...it's a contest gone awry where nobody won the title prize.

 

They're definitely "games", they just aren't fun (at all).

 

Honestly, I'd rather actually play Atari Pac Man or Coleco Donkey Kong--and I never want to play those.

 

 

 

[bluejay]

On 8/20/2019 at 7:01 AM, orange808 said:

 

They're definitely "games", they just aren't fun (at all).

 

Honestly, I'd rather actually play Atari Pac Man or Coleco Donkey Kong--and I never want to play those.

 

 

 

I used to think they were going to be fun(well, c'mon! It was supposed to be Atari's answer to Zelda!) and When I finally got to play it(I was all excited and everything), I couldn't figure out how. I am absolutely positive that people only bought them to take part of the competition, or it would have failed just as miserably as E.T.

P.S. Donkey Kong is not to shabby! But as for Pac Man, I don't think can defend that...

[Syzygy1]

On 8/11/2019 at 1:26 PM, orange808 said:

Spoiler alert:  a bunch of snooty old guys sitting in chairs talking for hours.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[zzip]

On 8/21/2019 at 11:50 PM, bluejay said:

I used to think they were going to be fun(well, c'mon! It was supposed to be Atari's answer to Zelda!) and When I finally got to play it(I was all excited and everything), I couldn't figure out how. I am absolutely positive that people only bought them to take part of the competition, or it would have failed just as miserably as E.T.

These games predate Zelda.   For me, playing Raiders of the Lost made me excited for the possibility of adventure games, and all my friends were getting into D&D around that time.  So we see Atari is releasing an an adventure game named Swordquest Earth World..   Awesome!  What could possibly go wrong!?!

 

Put it in, see the sword on the title screen..   "Amazing, can you believe a 2600 can display these graphics?".   Start playing..   based on the zodiac..   cool concept.   But then after some days of making no progress and having little fun we just kinda stopped playing.

 

But somehow we didn't learn our lesson and still bought Fireworld when it came out! 

 

On 8/21/2019 at 11:50 PM, bluejay said:

P.S. Donkey Kong is not to shabby! But as for Pac Man, I don't think can defend that...

I know DK was a good effort and pushed the 2600 at the time, but it still falls flat for me

[high voltage]

Had my friend around the other day, she's all Nintendo, eg GB, NES. I introduced her to VCS, and we played DK, DKj, Sky Skipper, Popeye. I explained all about the shortcomings of the console at the time, and that programmers learned by doing and games got better and better throughout its lifetime, eg later we played Halo, Boulder Dash, Princess Rescue.

She said that DK wasn't really bad for what the console could do early on.

[RGC]

3 hours ago, zzip said:

These games predate Zelda.   For me, playing Raiders of the Lost made me excited for the possibility of adventure games, and all my friends were getting into D&D around that time.  So we see Atari is releasing an an adventure game named Swordquest Earth World..   Awesome!  What could possibly go wrong!?!

 

Put it in, see the sword on the title screen..   "Amazing, can you believe a 2600 can display these graphics?".   Start playing..   based on the zodiac..   cool concept.   But then after some days of making no progress and having little fun we just kinda stopped playing.

 

But somehow we didn't learn our lesson and still bought Fireworld when it came out! 

 

I know DK was a good effort and pushed the 2600 at the time, but it still falls flat for me

Wasn't there a comic book included and reading the comic gave clues to beat the game? 

[Nukey Shay]

That is backward.  Beating the challenges in the games unlocked the clues to gather the correct words hidden in the comics, and when rearranged, gave you the phrases to win the contests.  Because there are more "hidden" words in to comics' artwork than the contest forms require, a final clue shown in the comics' introduction is used to select which words needed to be used.

 

Although convoluted, there were enough people who solved the riddles in each of the 3 released games to hold the playoffs for the first 3 prizes.  The last game in the series was never developed, so its philosopher's stone prize and the grand prize sword never made it out of the vault.  Presumably returned to the Franklin Mint and melted down.

[JacobZu7zu7]

First played E.T. as a small kid, liked it, but really didn't know where I was exploring, or falling into. I did find the flower... but was years later, when I got the manual and game, I was able to put it all together and it was like learning a new language playing it the correct way.

 

My opinion improved quite a bit on E.T., but I wasn't too surprised. The game always seemed pretty decent, and very Atari-like, but the fact it also had purpose was great. Along with its randomized objects, make it more playable for me then like Sphinx or Pitfall II. Which once solved, is the exact same game next time around.

 

 

[JacobZu7zu7]

On 8/19/2019 at 10:23 AM, Cafeman said:

Sadly, if HSW had just made it a Pac-man or Donkey Kong clone with some inspiration, it would have likely done better in sales and word of mouth. 

I'm sure glad he didn't...! Already plenty of standard Pacman clones, and Kong clones to choose from. I tend to like original or weird titles over the usual safe bet and simplistic methodical games. Love or hate the unusual games, they pay off more then just playing it safe.

 

I was thinking a few days ago, about Yars and E.T. being two of my favs for 2600, both from HSW. Yet, I haven't really played Lost Ark more then a few mins. I really should get on that soon, without cheats, just manual and see how I do.

[zzip]

18 hours ago, JacobZu7zu7 said:

I'm sure glad he didn't...! Already plenty of standard Pacman clones, and Kong clones to choose from. I tend to like original or weird titles over the usual safe bet and simplistic methodical games. Love or hate the unusual games, they pay off more then just playing it safe.

 

I was thinking a few days ago, about Yars and E.T. being two of my favs for 2600, both from HSW. Yet, I haven't really played Lost Ark more then a few mins. I really should get on that soon, without cheats, just manual and see how I do.

Lost Ark was my favorite.   My friends and I did solve it from just the manual.  It took us a few weeks.   But everytime we discovered something, it was like a big Eureka moment for us.    I still remember the first time I stumbled into the "black market",  we had been looking for that for days.

[high voltage]

[bluejay]

On 9/11/2019 at 7:49 AM, zzip said:

Lost Ark was my favorite.   My friends and I did solve it from just the manual.  It took us a few weeks.   But everytime we discovered something, it was like a big Eureka moment for us.    I still remember the first time I stumbled into the "black market",  we had been looking for that for days.

I cant seem to figure out how Raiders of the Lost Ark works...

It's one of those games that you need the manual or the internet

[Nukey Shay]

Definitely a game that can take a few weeks to figure out even after reading the manual.  At least that is how long it took off my time via "brute force" method (try every object you can aquire in every place that you can get to).  Never did find out about the Yar back then...or that more than one of the "hints" were not part of the "real" solution to gain the maximum score (i.e. how high you are to the Ark graphic at the end of the game).

 

To save you a bit of frustration, it is not possible to actually touch the Ark graphic at the end of the game.  HSW probably did that on purpose just to tick everyone off.

[zzip]

22 hours ago, bluejay said:

I cant seem to figure out how Raiders of the Lost Ark works...

It's one of those games that you need the manual or the internet

Well the first thing you need to know is that it uses both joysticks,  one for movement, one for inventory management

 

And here's a small hint to get you started (not much of a spoiler because the manual gives this secret)

Spoiler

One of the baskets in the marketplace area contains a grenade.   Place this on the right-side of the start screen, near the middle, and leave the screen before it blows up.   When you return, it will have blown a hole in the wall where you can access more areas!