Is it true that there are millions of E.T. Atari games burried in the desert?

[Evan Wiener]

I'm watching a documentary on PBS HD called Video Game Revolution. They're talking about how shitty of a game E.T. was for Atari 2600, and how Warner, who owned Atari then, burried them in the desert.

They rushed to production with a piece of shit to cash in on. I wondered why that game was such a piece of crap, and why I never played it as a kid.

[mike black]

Yep. It's true.

[Briomega]

I've heard the story many times over the years from many sources so I'm inclined to believe it.

[MattJohnson]

http://www.snopes.com/business/market/atari.asp

[Ray G.]

And one day.....they'll be found. :scared:

[bartleby]

I think that's how the Area 51 rumors started.

[Amos Moses]

Yeah, I remember reading a story about it in GamePro.

[stevapalooza]

I started that trend by burying my copy back in 1982.

[markhow]

I played that game. I remember it being absolute shit.

Hopefully they will stay in the desert never to have its absolute shitiness exposed to the world again.

Peace,
Mark

[Kensington]

You know, once I got over my initial disappointment, I found E.T. to be a perfectly swell little game, easily worth a few hours of early 80s diversion. You have to remember: back in the early 80s, there were an awful lot of shitastic games for the home console. There were many far worse than E.T.

Swordquest anyone? At least with E.T. I could eventually work out what was needed to be done. Swordquest made zero sense whatsoever.

[Thudpucker]

When I was 10 years old I had alot of fun playing it. Never really saw why people hate it so much.

[Thudpucker]

You know, once I got over my initial disappointment, I found E.T. to be a perfectly swell little game, easily worth a few hours of early 80s diversion. You have to remember: back in the early 80s, there were an awful lot of shitastic games for the home console. There were many far worse than E.T.

Swordquest anyone? At least with E.T. I could eventually work out what was needed to be done. Swordquest made zero sense whatsoever.

I never figured them out when I was a kid, way too frustrating. Raiders of the Lost Ark also pissed me off I remember.

Pitfall 2 was the game to beat, best thing on that system.

[Kensington]

When I was 10 years old I had alot of fun playing it. Never really saw why people hate it so much.It and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a similarly maligned game of the time, at least tried to break out of the mindless repetitive gameplay that was typical of most games at the time. It may have been poorly done, but it did require some strategizing, which put it heads above such staples of the time as Asteroids, Pac-Man and Battle.

Sure it was no Adventure, but it doesn't deserve the abuse it gets. Damn Morgan Webb.:mad:

[Thudpucker]

It and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a similarly maligned game of the time, at least tried to break out of the mindless repetitive gameplay that was typical of most games at the time. It may have been poorly done, but it did require some strategizing, which put it heads above such staples of the time as Asteroids, Pac-Man and Battle.

Sure it was no Adventure, but it doesn't deserve the abuse it gets. Damn Morgan Webb.:mad:

When I was older I appreciated Raiders more. It really pissed me off when I was a kid though.

Adventure! Brilliant game, the first game I ever remember being obsessed with. I used to drag everything possible back to my castle, the dead dragons, the bridge, all the keys ect. Even the bat. Beating it wasn't enough. :D

[stevapalooza]

Swordquest anyone?

Agh! Don't say the S-word!! I made the mistake of buying one of those as a kid. Blew my entire birthday money wad on it. Never figured the fucker out. I think those games were made by the Russians as part of some Cold War psy-op.

[Kensington]

I never figured them out when I was a kid, way too frustrating. Raiders of the Lost Ark also pissed me off I remember.

Pitfall 2 was the game to beat, best thing on that system.Once I figured out what was required to beat Raiders, I had a lot of fun with it. The thing is, it absolutely did require a walkthrough, and for the life of me I can't remember how I obtained one. It's not like I could go to gamefaqs.com back in 1982 or anything. :crazy:

I spent obsessive days playing both Pitfall and Pitfall 2. The goal was to get a perfect score on each (which required no dying and no penalties from falling or contact with logs). It wasn't easy, but it was an accomplishment. Pitfall 2 was a revelation at the time. I almost think of it as a precursor to the rhythm games that would come along later because of how you had to choreograph Harry's moves to match the dips and rises of the flying bats.

[Kensington]

Agh! Don't say the S-word!! I made the mistake of buying one of those as a kid. Blew my entire birthday money wad on it. Never figured the fucker out. I think those games were made by the Russians as part of some Cold War psy-op.It really was the most infuriating game I've ever played. I'd start the damn thing and have no idea what I was supposed to do. There were no clues and no helpful directions. It was a total cockup.:mad:

[Susan BANthony]

It's all because floating out of those fucking pits you'd get stuck in was a major pain in the ass.

[Kensington]

Adventure! Brilliant game, the first game I ever remember being obsessed with. I used to drag everything possible back to my castle, the dead dragons, the bridge, all the keys ect. Even the bat. Beating it wasn't enough. :DYes! The trick to getting the bat into the castle was to catch it when it was flying upward. Then, if you let it go right outside, it would fly into the castle and never come out again.

Did you ever get to the bonus room? It's commonly considered the very first video game easter egg!

BONUS! Check out this website (http://www.ataritimes.com/features/q3_adventure.html). Apparently these guys have been working on an Atari Adventure mod for Quake and/or Half-Life 2.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/LordKensington/yorgle.jpg

[Kensington]

It's all because floating out of those fucking pits you'd get stuck in was a major pain in the ass.Not if you knew what you were doing...:razz:

[joeAR]

Well only 1 way to find out *Grabs shovel and heads out to the desert*

[Susan BANthony]

Not if you knew what you were doing...:razz:

I always fell back in. :surrend: That game vexed me.

[Kensington]

Well only 1 way to find out *Grabs shovel and heads out to the desert*Try not to unearth any wiseguys...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/LordKensington/suppactor-goodfellas.jpg

[Thudpucker]

Yes! The trick to getting the bat into the castle was to catch it when it was flying upward. Then, if you let it go right outside, it would fly into the castle and never come out again.

Did you ever get to the bonus room? It's commonly considered the very first video game easter egg!

BONUS! Check out this website (http://www.ataritimes.com/features/q3_adventure.html). Apparently these guys have been working on an Atari Adventure mod for Quake and/or Half-Life 2.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/LordKensington/yorgle.jpg

Ha, that's awesome! :o

And oh yea, got the bonus room. I loved that game so much. I had an Intellevision back then and even when I had games like the Dungeons and Dragons (which was beyond amazing for the time) I would go back and constantly play Adventure over and over. One of the first truely great games :D

[Kensington]

Ha, that's awesome! :o

And oh yea, got the bonus room. I loved that game so much. I had an Intellevision back then and even when I had games like the Dungeons and Dragons (which was beyond amazing for the time) I would go back and constantly play Adventure over and over. One of the first truely great games :DThat little block was the original Link!

Hey, here's a picture from Adventure 2 for the Atari 5200. I'd never even heard of it before:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/LordKensington/Adventure2_5200_1.png

[Thudpucker]

That little block was the original Link!

Hey, here's a picture from Adventure 2 for the Atari 5200. I'd never even heard of it before:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y5/LordKensington/Adventure2_5200_1.png

I've heard about that, it's a homebrew. There are fans who create new Atari games and actually produce them on cartridges and sell them, that's what that is. I'd really like to play it, sounds great.

[Kensington]

I've heard about that, it's a homebrew. There are fans who create new Atari games and actually produce them on cartridges and sell them, that's what that is. I'd really like to play it, sounds great.I'd like to see a full-scale next-gen Zelda-style adaption of the game, but only if the hero remains a featureless block. I suppose they could make him a cube, but that's as far as I'm willing to modernize him.

[Deej]

Damn! I still have a copy of that game lying around somewhere!! Should I bury it...or sell it on ebay? Hmmm....

[Modok Gas]

I finished the E.T. game a few times. I think it was pretty good. :)

[kpa]

Swordquest anyone? At least with E.T. I could eventually work out what was needed to be done. Swordquest made zero sense whatsoever.

Was this a series of four games, with each one focusing on a themed world (fire, water, etc.)? And they came with mini-comics drawn by George Perez? Or am I thinking of something else?

[markhow]

It's all because floating out of those fucking pits you'd get stuck in was a major pain in the ass.


Now I'm having flashbacks to when I was 10 playing that game and going nuts every time I fell back into one of those stupid holes. I hated that game soooooo much. But I kept playing it. I was a dumb kid.

Peace,
Mark

[Kensington]

Was this a series of four games, with each one focusing on a themed world (fire, water, etc.)? And they came with mini-comics drawn by George Perez? Or am I thinking of something else?Yup, that was the one! The only impressive part of it, if I remember correctly, is that the guy you played had arms and legs which moved, unlike the blocky hero from Atari Adventure.

Speaking of Atari Adventure, here (http://www.simmphonic.com/programming/flash.htm) is an online flash version!

[kpa]

Yup, that was the one! The only impressive part of it, if I remember correctly, is that the guy you played had arms and legs which moved, unlike the blocky hero from Atari Adventure.

Speaking of Atari Adventure, here (http://www.simmphonic.com/programming/flash.htm) is an online flash version!
Man, I would've completely forgotten about this game had you not brought it up. I remember being really impressed by this rainbow spectrum effect, and trying to convince myself I didn't need a 5200.

Does anyone want to admit to taking pictures of their TV screens with their Activision high scores and sending away for patches?

[Jamie Howdeshell]

When I was 10 years old I had alot of fun playing it. Never really saw why people hate it so much.


i used to love watching GIjoe, thundercats, and transformers as a kid.

if i watch them now? i want to gouge out my eyeballs.

i guess i'm trying to say that a ten year old's ability to appreciate quality can sometimes be nonexistent.
that combined with nostalgia will often cloud one's memories.

[Susan BANthony]

i used to love watching GIjoe, thundercats, and transformers as a kid.

if i watch them now? i want to gouge out my eyeballs.

i guess i'm trying to say that a ten year old's ability to appreciate quality can sometimes be nonexistent.
that combined with nostalgia will often cloud one's memories.

There is nothing wrong with GI Joe, and even less with Transformers. :x

And Jem is a pinnacle of storytelling! Oh Misfits, when will you ever learn?

[Thudpucker]

i used to love watching GIjoe, thundercats, and transformers as a kid.

if i watch them now? i want to gouge out my eyeballs.

i guess i'm trying to say that a ten year old's ability to appreciate quality can sometimes be nonexistent.
that combined with nostalgia will often cloud one's memories.

If they are made for a specific age group, and the target audience likes it? Mission accomplished. Alot of what I liked as a kid I wouldn't want to see now, but that's ok. It was good when I was a kid.

[Jamie Howdeshell]

If they are made for a specific age group, and the target audience likes it? Mission accomplished. Alot of what I liked as a kid I wouldn't want to see now, but that's ok. It was good when I was a kid.


i dunno. there are plenty of things that i loved as a kid and still do as an adult. to me, being able to stand the test of time and maturing tastes is a true mark of quality.

but hey, if you guys thought ET was good, that's fine.
it's all opinion, of course.

ya dirty hippies.
;-)

[Hate_Prime]

Mindset back then probably was "A licensed game?! This is gonna rock harder than anything has ever rocked before! Those movies were brilliant!" Nowadays nobody's shocked to discover a licensed game sucks (banZ0r-avoiding qualification: It sucks because eat my ass).

Of course I was not old enough to fully experience the Atari era; my first console was a NES. Had to go to a neighbor's house to play an Atari.

[Kensington]

ya dirty hippies.:-x