E.T. the Extra Terrestrial to be orphaned on mobiles

If you are a child of the '80s, chances are you saw E.T. the Extra Terrestrial at least once.

If you aren't, the film is about an alien who gets stranded on Earth, where he befriends a young boy named Elliot. Various madcap misadventures ensue, as the pair work together to try and contact E.T.'s parents so that he can return safely to his home world rather than become the subject of experimentation for the nasty scientists who want to study him. You know, that old chestnut.

It was a hugely successful and critically acclaimed film that spawned what is widely regarded as one of the worst games ever made, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial for the Atari 2600.

Thankfully, Ojom's new mobile version of the same name sounds a much better affair.

The game is made up of 47 mini-games, each of which is geared towards obtaining another part that E.T. needs in order to build an intergalactic telephone so that he can phone home.

But the really important questions are: Can you lure E.T. into your house with a trail of sweets? Can you dress E.T. up as a tarty old lady? And can you ride on a BMX through a suburban American backdrop in order to evade some evil scientists?

The answer is yes, yes and yes, which will hopefully finally satisfy fans of the film who've been waiting 25 years for a decent game based on the licence.

There is also a Playroom mode promised, in which you're able to launch all 47 mini-games from the safety of E.T.'s hideout. It essentially acts as a training mode so as to improve your chances when you take them on for real in the Play mode.

Ojom insists that the rather flat looking visuals are 3D, leading us to believe that this might be some sort of cell shaded effort. Either way, they're looking bold and colourful and full of quirky references to the film, which is certainly a good thing.

Update: Ojom's PR representative has since got in touch to say the original press release has undergone a couple of amendments, one of which is that the graphics are "3D looking" and not fully 3D, as previously stated.

We have high hopes for this robust sounding effort, even if the licence is a little out of step with the yoof of today. Click 'Track It!' to catch our forthcoming review.