Play E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The Legend of the Lost Phone Pieces
Step into the shoes of a very famous visitor from another world. You are controlling E.T., and your journey takes you through six different environments that feel like scenes from a movie. The goal is simple but incredibly frustrating: you must find three pieces of an interplanetary telephone to call home. To do this, you have to guide E.T. through various screens, searching for hidden items while avoiding dangers.
At the start of each level, you are dropped into a new area. Some look like forests, others like houses or fields. You move E.T. around by walking left and right. Your main task is to find the pieces of the telephone. However, the game does not make this easy. The items are often hidden behind objects or in places that are hard to see. You will spend a lot of time just walking back and forth, hoping to stumble upon what you need.
While you search, you must keep an eye on your energy. E.T. loses energy as he moves around. To stay alive, you need to collect Reese's Pieces, which appear as small black dots scattered across the screen. These candies restore your energy, but they are also hard to find. If you run out of energy, E.T. collapses and you lose a life. You have three lives in total. If you die, Elliott revives you, but finding a geranium in a well grants a fourth life, which is a rare and welcome bonus.
The biggest challenge in this game is the terrain. The ground is full of pits, often represented by dark wells or holes. If E.T. falls into one, he gets stuck at the bottom. To get out, you must make him levitate back up. This levitation costs a lot of energy. Many players find themselves trapped in these pits, draining their energy quickly and leading to a game over. You have to be very careful about where you step.
As you collect the telephone pieces, the pressure builds. Once you have all three pieces, you must call Elliott to obtain a piece of the telephone connection. After that, you need to reach the landing zone before the timer expires. The spaceship arrives to rescue E.T., but only if you make it to the right spot in time. If the timer runs out, the ship leaves without you, and you have to start over.
Playing this game feels like a test of patience. It is not about fast reflexes or complex strategies. It is about persistence. You will get lost often. You will fall into pits repeatedly. The movement can feel stiff, and the screen changes from room to room without warning, making it easy to miss items. Yet, there is a strange charm in trying to complete the mission despite the difficulty.
Many people know this game for its reputation. It was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw in just five weeks, which explains why the gameplay feels so rushed and confusing. Despite this, it remains one of the most recognizable titles from the Atari 2600 era. The story is based on the film of the same name, and you will see settings familiar to fans of the movie.
Why play it today? It is a piece of gaming history. You can experience the infamous challenge that contributed to the 1983 video game crash. Unsold cartridges were even buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, confirming its unique place in pop culture. Playing it now lets you understand why it was so controversial and how it shaped the industry.
If you enjoy games that are more about exploration than action, this might appeal to you. The atmosphere is quiet and lonely, matching the feeling of a lost alien trying to get home. You are not fighting enemies; you are fighting against confusion and bad luck. It is a challenging experience that tests your ability to keep going when nothing seems to be working.
So, grab your controller and start searching. Look for the phone pieces, eat the candies, and try not to fall in the wells. It is a short but memorable adventure that has captivated players for decades. Give it a try and see if you can help E.T. make it back to his spaceship. You can also try more Atari 2600 games from the same system.