As far as movie tie-ins go, this one isn't bad, but as a video game compared to other video games, it feels like a bit of a cheat. If you try to play this game without reading the instruction manual, you get a feeling this is one those grand adventure games, where figuring out what to do and how to play is as important as actually playing. You find yourself walking through a huge, nicely detailed landscape full of houses, trees and hills. Strange sounds are everywhere. Men chase after you when they see you, though sometimes they seem to keep their distance. Things appear in front of you as you walk along. What are they? Checkerboards? Miniature spaceships? Arrows pointing you in some important direction? And why does E.T. sometimes, but not always, appear when you press the fire button?
Inevitably you will realize you're not getting anywhere, and then decide you better give the instructions a look-see. When you do, you will learn the game is little more than a sprawling take on hide and seek and pattern matching, with a little bit of tag thrown in. In short, what seems like an epic fantasy that will take hours to learn really just needs five minutes of reading.
Once you know what you're doing, the game plays straightforwardly, and can even make for a fun challenge at the higher difficulty levels. Exploring the landscape for the right pieces to build E.T.'s phone is no small feat, especially with those government men hovering persistently around you. Once all the pieces have been collected and E.T. has his ticket home, the drama goes up a notch, as you must now get E.T. safely to the forest before he runs out of energy. Do that and you will witness the return and lift-off of his ship, signalling you have won the game.
It is impossible to review any E.T. game without comparing it to the famous fiasco of the Atari 2600's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. E.T. Phone Home! is better than that game, if not really by a whole lot. Both games suffer from being nearly impossible to figure out without reading the manual, but then both games offer some reward to patient fans who actually read and then take the time to apply what they've read. Fewer bugs plague the Atari home computer game, and, perhaps most importantly, there are no pits to fall into over and over again. If you absolutely hated the 2600 game, you probably won't find much to like here either. But if you did like the 2600 game, or even if you thought it could have been better with just a little more effort, you should find enjoyment in E.T. Phone Home! Just be sure to keep the manual handy.