PC

  News 
  Reviews
  Previews
  Hardware
  Interviews
  All Features

Areas

  3DS
  Android
  iPad
  iPhone
  Mac
  PC
  PlayStation 3
  PlayStation 4
  Switch
  Vita
  Wii U
  Xbox 360
  Xbox One
  Media
  Archives
  Search
  Contests

 

ET Phone Home Adventure

Score: 70%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment
Developer: Ubisoft Entertainment
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure

Graphics & Sound:

ET Phone Home Adventure (ETPHA) has nicely drawn 2D graphics, and has a very nice presentation of graphics and sound. Billed as an 'activity quest for Earthlings 8 and up', ETPHA is an adventure game with static backgrounds and animated characters.

Sound and music are well used throughout the game, and provide a nice backdrop for the setting. The pace of the same is fairly slow, and so the animation is rather choppy compared to many games available today, but overall the visual presentation is very good for a children's game.


Gameplay:

Like the Sierra adventure games of old, ETPHA requires you to navigate from one scene to another, gathering items and solving puzzles as you go. You interact with some of the characters from the ET film, and they lead you through the game.

There are a number of mini-games that you must play in order to solve the various puzzles, and they can get repetitive rather quickly. You are provided with some information to help you with the game, but trial and error is required for most puzzles, and it can become quite frustrating.


Difficulty:

There are no difficulty settings for the game, but overall most puzzles are rather straightforward. The hardest part of the game is just trying to get through it without becoming overly bored. Kids might find the challenge welcome, and might not become bored as quickly as this adult did.

Game Mechanics:

The interface is very nicely presented, with rather lush 2D graphics. When you quit the game, you are asked whether you want to save, and you can also save any time you wish to during the game.

Navigating ET is easy to do once you understand how to, but the various mouse cursors that are available are only subtly different, so sometimes it's unclear how to solve a given puzzle. For example, when attempting to get an umbrella from the family dog, the mouse cursor seems to change form and you would think it would allow you to click on the dog and retrieve the item. But doing so does not result in any action taking place, and getting the umbrella requires a completely different strategy.

As mentioned before, ETPHA is a standard adventure game in most respects. Though geared for children, adults enamored with the adorable alien might also enjoy it. Although this reviewer didn't find the game enjoyable, hopefully kids and teens will find the game less boring, and more satisfying.


-Gordy, GameVortex Communications
AKA Gary Lucero

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP, PIII 600 Mhz, Graphics Card capable of 640x480 and 32 bit Colour, Sound Blaster compatible sound card, 256MB RAM, 80MB HD Space, 32x CD-ROM
 

Test System:



Windows XP Professional, 1 GHz Pentium III, 384MB RAM, GeForce 2 Ultra with 64MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live! Value, 32x DVD-ROM.

Windows ET Interplanetary Mission Windows Face Factory

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated