Title: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Platform:
Atari 2600
Released:
1982
Format:
Atari cartridge
Developer/Publisher:
Atari
Availabilty: We'll get to that.
Try finding a
ROM if you really feel a need for
pain.
The Skinny: "E.T." is notorious
for being what many believe to be the
worst game ever. You play as Elliot, the boy from the film
"E.T." in a quest to go into
craters lining the ground to find pieces
for...
whatever. Along for the ride is E.T., the little alien who is
graphically represented on the
Atari as something somewhat resembling
a green
penis. In each pit, after looking for pieces of said
whatever, in order to escape you must use E.T.'s Neck Stretching
Powers™ to leave the pit. This sounds a lot easier than it truly is.
E.T. takes about an
hour to move halfway up the
screen, slowly
inching upward toward the top. When he finally stretches his neck to
the right length for your escape, you must
push the red button at the
correct instant or else his
slimy little neck will retract in an
instant leaving you back where you started. Needless to say, the game
is extremely
frustrating and sold terribly. In a legendary act of sheer stupidity, more copies of the game were allegedly made than systems to play them on (thanks
archiewood). Apparently the president
of
Atari had to get rid of all of the copies that were not sold so he
took them to a dump in
New Mexico and had them buried underground.
Ouch. This title is only recomended for
masochists.