No more E.T bashing, there are games that are really garbage, ET is not one

[SuperGoodPixel]

 

Raiders is my all-time favorite 2600 game! It's an adventure game with more depth than most games on the system, so of course you need the manual to explain things, the system didn't have enough storage for in-game tutorials like you'd find today. My friends and I had a blast trying to solve it, and finally we did. It ignited my love of adventure games.

Had I played Raiders as a kid I would have nicer things to say about it. Things from our childhood always have a home in our hearts. I believe the first time I played that game was on a emulator and I just didn't understand what was going on. Later on I remember watching a youtube video explaining all the crazy stuff you had to do to win the game. I was like...holy hell..thats how you play! I should note that after all that I did in fact go out and buy a "REAL" copy. Just because a game is bad, doesn't mean its not fun to kick around with from time to time. I just think it's freaking insane how you play/win it. Also considering we started off talking about E.T., I certainly think E.T. was more playable. I would have thought Raiders should have taken more heat than E.T.....

Edited August 30, 2017 by SuperGoodPixel

[zzip]

Had I played Raiders as a kid I would have nicer things to say about it. Things from our childhood always have a home in our hearts. I believe the first time I played that game was on a emulator and I just didn't understand what was going on. Later on I remember watching a youtube video explaining all the crazy stuff you had to do to win the game. I was like...holy hell..thats how you play! I should note that after all that I did in fact go out and buy a "REAL" copy. Just because a game is bad, doesn't mean its not fun to kick around with from time to time. I just think it's freaking insane how you play/win it. Also considering we started off talking about E.T., I certainly think E.T. was more playable. I would have thought Raiders should have taken more heat than E.T.....

 

We also have much better games in the genre today to compare it to. So Raiders will seem primitive and crazy by today's standards, but back then there wasn't much like it. It required more puzzle solving skills than ET or Adventure, but not the crazy amount Swordquest required.

 

It might seem like a lot of crazy steps, but as kids when we finally figured out each of those steps, it was exciting. I still remember when we finally discovered how the map room worked, found the hidden location of the black market, etc. The manual was vital to the game. It explained what the symbols and objects meant, but left the function of some a mystery for the player to figure out. It also explained what the locations were, so that you weren't in just a "square room where snakes appear when you pick something up" you were in "the temple". This helped with immersion.

[SuperGoodPixel]

 

We also have much better games in the genre today to compare it to. So Raiders will seem primitive and crazy by today's standards, but back then there wasn't much like it. It required more puzzle solving skills than ET or Adventure, but not the crazy amount Swordquest required.

 

It might seem like a lot of crazy steps, but as kids when we finally figured out each of those steps, it was exciting. I still remember when we finally discovered how the map room worked, found the hidden location of the black market, etc. The manual was vital to the game. It explained what the symbols and objects meant, but left the function of some a mystery for the player to figure out. It also explained what the locations were, so that you weren't in just a "square room where snakes appear when you pick something up" you were in "the temple". This helped with immersion.

Trust me, I wished a had played it as a kid. I think I had moved on to a colecovision or something by then (Not sure about the timeline on that). However I think as far as Howard Warshaw games go...I'd say Yar's was his best Atari game, and raiders still rates below e.t.... I think the first real Indiana jones game I played was the Temple of Doom arcade game.

I would have loved to see an ATARI 800 version of raiders. They could have really expanded on what they were trying to pull off.

I do see how you love the Atari 2600 version. Just for me, not having the memories of playing it as a kid takes doesn't do it any favors... Getting back on topic, I do agree E.T. got too much hate. I don't believe for a second that it crashed the market. Everyone was moving on to computers and consoles didn't cut it anymore. In fact, I think the first game I got that made me think Atari 2600 glory was over was PAC-MAN. I played it as a kid, but I remember thinking that it wasn't that great even back then .

[zzip]

Trust me, I wished a had played it as a kid. I think I had moved on to a colecovision or something by then (Not sure about the timeline on that). However I think as far as Howard Warshaw games go...I'd say Yar's was his best Atari game, and raiders still rates below e.t.... I think the first real Indiana jones game I played was the Temple of Doom arcade game.

I would have loved to see an ATARI 800 version of raiders. They could have really expanded on what they were trying to pull off.

I do see how you love the Atari 2600 version. Just for me, not having the memories of playing it as a kid takes doesn't do it any favors... Getting back on topic, I do agree E.T. got too much hate. I don't believe for a second that it crashed the market. Everyone was moving on to computers and consoles didn't cut it anymore. In fact, I think the first game I got that made me think Atari 2600 glory was over was PAC-MAN. I played it as a kid, but I remember thinking that it wasn't that great even back then .

 

Agreed, I always wanted an Atari 800 version of Raiders too, with more detailed graphics and gameplay. There is now a an 8-bit homebrew version, but it's essentially a clone of the 2600 version down to the graphics.

 

Agreed, Pacman was the biggest letdown. They kind of redeemed themselves with Ms Pacman, but I suspect many people felt like you did, and lost interest in Atari after, leading to the disappointing sales of the 82 Christmas season, because it was such a hotly anticipated title.

[SuperGoodPixel]

 

Agreed, I always wanted an Atari 800 version of Raiders too, with more detailed graphics and gameplay. There is now a an 8-bit homebrew version, but it's essentially a clone of the 2600 version down to the graphics.

 

Agreed, Pacman was the biggest letdown. They kind of redeemed themselves with Ms Pacman, but I suspect many people felt like you did, and lost interest in Atari after, leading to the disappointing sales of the 82 Christmas season, because it was such a hotly anticipated title.

What blows my mind is that I sat down once and tried to figure out when I had various systems. As far as I can figure, I really only had the 2600 for like 2-3 years before jumping to the next system. Sadly , I sold my 2600 back then to get cash for colecovision games. In my mind I had the Atari 2600 for my entire childhood, crazy to think it was just a brief blip...... However...what is ever worse than that is I threw away all my colecovision stuff at a teen. OMG! What was I thinking?

[moycon]

What blows my mind is that I sat down once and tried to figure out when I had various systems. As far as I can figure, I really only had the 2600 for like 2-3 years before jumping to the next system. Sadly , I sold my 2600 back then to get cash for colecovision games. In my mind I had the Atari 2600 for my entire childhood, crazy to think it was just a brief blip...... However...what is ever worse than that is I threw away all my colecovision stuff at a teen. OMG! What was I thinking?

I think many of us have been there. I left my Star Wars and GI Joe figure/vehicle collection as well as all my minty Atari 2600 boxes that were tacked up on my bedroom wall (Ok they weren't mint because they had a tack hole in them) when I was sent to live with my father in GA at the age of 16. Didn't think twice about them at the time. Now most are all gone. Lost to the trash and/or a fire at my mom's house in the late 80's. I haven't even attempted to replace what was lost. these days it would cost many thousands. One thing has always been true, hindsight is 20/20. LOL

 

And add me to the list of people who would LOVE to see a proper 8-bit Raiders. I played and beat it (with the help of a school friend) over the weekend as a kid, we left the game on overnight as we slept and picked it up in the AM. Might be one of my best Atari 2600 memories EVER!! This game deserves an update for sure!

[SuperGoodPixel]

I think many of us have been there. I left my Star Wars and GI Joe figure/vehicle collection as well as all my minty Atari 2600 boxes that were tacked up on my bedroom wall (Ok they weren't mint because they had a tack hole in them) when I was sent to live with my father in GA at the age of 16. Didn't think twice about them at the time. Now most are all gone. Lost to the trash and/or a fire at my mom's house in the late 80's. I haven't even attempted to replace what was lost. these days it would cost many thousands. One thing has always been true, hindsight is 20/20. LOL

 

And add me to the list of people who would LOVE to see a proper 8-bit Raiders. I played and beat it (with the help of a school friend) over the weekend as a kid, we left the game on overnight as we slept and picked it up in the AM. Might be one of my best Atari 2600 memories EVER!! This game deserves an update for sure!

I've been trying to replace my Atari stuff slowly. Just got a pack of 10 case fresh games from ebay. However this is getting expensive. What really sucks is that some of my 2000'ish ebay Atari game boxes faded from being too close to the light in the room.

 

I'd give anything to be able to go back in time and NOT throw away those coleco games tho. I threw so much away! STUPID ME! Funny how there is an age range where you stop caring about your childhood stuff, then another one where you crave it.

[zzip]

I think many of us have been there. I left my Star Wars and GI Joe figure/vehicle collection as well as all my minty Atari 2600 boxes that were tacked up on my bedroom wall (Ok they weren't mint because they had a tack hole in them) when I was sent to live with my father in GA at the age of 16. Didn't think twice about them at the time. Now most are all gone. Lost to the trash and/or a fire at my mom's house in the late 80's. I haven't even attempted to replace what was lost. these days it would cost many thousands. One thing has always been true, hindsight is 20/20. LOL

 

 

The sad part is even as a kid I had always heard "save this, it could be worth money someday". I had a decent sized Star Wars collection and Lego collection. But it's gone now, and I don't remember what happened to them. My guess is parents house cleaned and got rid of them, and I forgot about it. Before the prequels came out, I assumed Star Wars would just die out.. ha ha.

[SuperGoodPixel]

 

Completely agree. Sexist games are immediately awful because they're sexist, regardless of how fun they are to play.

 

ET is Howard Scott Warshaw right? He maintains that ET is fun to play, and that the reviewers of the game didn't really understand it.

The last person to admit E.T. wasn't a stellar game is Howard Scott Warshaw

[Buyatari]

Raiders is my all-time favorite 2600 game! It's an adventure game with more depth than most games on the system, so of course you need the manual to explain things, the system didn't have enough storage for in-game tutorials like you'd find today. My friends and I had a blast trying to solve it, and finally we did. It ignited my love of adventure games.

 

Raiders was a decent game and it makes sense. I too had fun playing this as a kid. It wasn't fun in traditional sense but a puzzle that we wanted to solve. When Indy goes into a pit he is exploring as you would expect him to. What doesn't make sense is turning Raiders into ET. There is no reason for ET to be in these pits.

 

I'll say it and this is hard for me to admit. As a game ET isn't a bad game. It is however the wrong genre for that movie. If it was named space tunnel digger instead of ET then no one would have much to say about it.

[zzip]

Raiders was a decent game and it makes sense. I too had fun playing this as a kid. It wasn't fun in traditional sense but a puzzle that we wanted to solve. When Indy goes into a pit he is exploring as you would expect him to. What doesn't make sense is turning Raiders into ET. There is no reason for ET to be in these pits.

 

I'll say it and this is hard for me to admit. As a game ET isn't a bad game. It is however the wrong genre for that movie. If it was named space tunnel digger instead of ET then no one would have much to say about it.

 

E.T. kinda follows the movie, but the pits make no sense. Maybe instead of pits, there should be shrubs or trees that the parts could be hiding in, maybe ET could hide behind them to avoid detection too..

[Buyatari]

E.T. kinda follows the movie, but the pits make no sense. Maybe instead of pits, there should be shrubs or trees that the parts could be hiding in, maybe ET could hide behind them to avoid detection too..

That would have been better but a bike race game with ET on the handlebars would have been the way I would have taken it.

An Adventure game wasn't the genre people were expecting as it wasn't an adventure movie.

You expect it with Raiders of the Lost Ark and Adventure games weren't for everyone.

[Video]

The sad part is even as a kid I had always heard "save this, it could be worth money someday". I had a decent sized Star Wars collection and Lego collection. But it's gone now, and I don't remember what happened to them. My guess is parents house cleaned and got rid of them, and I forgot about it. Before the prequels came out, I assumed Star Wars would just die out.. ha ha.

 

Always thought it was funny. My parents always hounded me to keep stuff cause " it could be worth something someday" yet almost anything of value that I no longer have from the day, is because my parents would find me gone and help it out of the house (likely into the garbage, unfortunately)

I imagine this happens more regularly than not for most children. What always drove me nuts was stuff they'd disappear was usually something I currently used a lot. Dug more than one thing out of the trash on more than one occasion. It just screams "don't give a damn" to me, as well as smacking of hypocrisy.

[Torr]

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again...

 

I had both Raiders and ET, neither with a manual.

I never DID figure out exactly HOW to play either one.

But I still had a ton of fun with them somehow. I'm not quite sure how.

 

Just wandering around as Indy/ET, exploring screens.... trying to figure out WHAT to do.

As someone said, I too am sure this sparked my love for Adventure Gaming as a whole.

A virtual world to just wander and figure out.

I almost solved ET on my own... I just never knew there was a "Landing Zone"!

Indy, I never even seen half the game...

 

But I still enjoyed the shit outta them.

I've fonder memories of wandering clueless through the Middle East, some American forest, and the halls of Earthworld (SQ Reference) than I do of defeating the Qotile or driving off all the Mutants to reclaim a city in Defender.

Those games were definitely great, but they didn't spark my imagination and creativity the way those other 3 did (Indy/ET/SQ) even though I had NO idea how to play them.

[Rom Hunter]

But I still enjoyed the shit outta them.

I've fonder memories of wandering clueless through the Middle East, some American forest, and the halls of Earthworld (SQ Reference) than I do of defeating the Qotile or driving off all the Mutants to reclaim a city in Defender.

Those games were definitely great, but they didn't spark my imagination and creativity the way those other 3 did (Indy/ET/SQ) even though I had NO idea how to play them.

Same here.

 

Was really excited each time I found a new clue or item and enjoyed thinking about 'What to do next?'.

 

Also enjoyed frying my brains on Riddle of the Sphinx, btw.

 

 

 

[high voltage]

Maybe it was 'too much of a thinking man's game', not just shoot shoot, jump jump.

[moycon]

Maybe it was 'too much of a thinking man's game', not just shoot shoot, jump jump.

Yes I would agree with this 100%, it would explain why all the smart people (thinkers) know that E.T. was an awesome game, and all the dumb people (stinkers) say it sucks and is the worst.

[zzip]

Yes I would agree with this 100%, it would explain why all the smart people (thinkers) know that E.T. was an awesome game, and all the dumb people (stinkers) say it sucks and is the worst.

 

It's not even much of a thinking game. It's gameplay is more or less a clone of Haunted House (find the 3 pieces and 1 bonus magic object and escape, while avoiding the badies). ET's just a bit more sophisticated with Elliot, reeses pieces, health meter, space ship, icons and god-forsaken pits. The dividing line is really just a test of who can be bothered to skim a short manual to find out what the symbols mean.

[moycon]

 

The dividing line is really just a test of who can be bothered to skim a short manual to find out what the symbols mean.

Agreed! Another dividing line between the smart people and the dumb people. Thanks for that additional example.

[+wongojack]

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again...

 

I had both Raiders and ET, neither with a manual.

I never DID figure out exactly HOW to play either one.

But I still had a ton of fun with them somehow. I'm not quite sure how.

 

Just wandering around as Indy/ET, exploring screens.... trying to figure out WHAT to do.

As someone said, I too am sure this sparked my love for Adventure Gaming as a whole.

A virtual world to just wander and figure out.

I almost solved ET on my own... I just never knew there was a "Landing Zone"!

Indy, I never even seen half the game...

 

But I still enjoyed the shit outta them.

I've fonder memories of wandering clueless through the Middle East, some American forest, and the halls of Earthworld (SQ Reference) than I do of defeating the Qotile or driving off all the Mutants to reclaim a city in Defender.

Those games were definitely great, but they didn't spark my imagination and creativity the way those other 3 did (Indy/ET/SQ) even though I had NO idea how to play them.

 

 

This describes a lot of my childhood experiences with gaming. I played ET and Raiders with friends, and if those friends had read the manual, they sure didn't describe what to do to me correctly. Fast Forward a little and I had to figure out tons of C64 games without benefit of any instructions at all. It was still fun.

 

I will say that nowadays, I always go looking for the manual - lol