Like E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark was an adventure game based on a movie for the Atari 2600. Also like E.T., it was developed by Howard Scott Warshaw. But don't let that scare you off as he actually made some pretty great games. The difference was that E.T. had a development schedule that was a fraction of Raiders of the Lost Ark and most other games. Raiders of the Lost Ark development started in late 1981 and the game was released in November 1982. Critics put Raiders of the Lost Ark somewhere between E.T. and Pitfall.
The player starts out on the streets of Cairo in 1936. From the entrance room you can reach the Temple of the Ancients from which you have two paths to choose from, each with their own obstacles. Eventually, you'll reach the Map Room. From there you can reach a Thieves Den and Black Market where there are more opponents and items that you will need. Ultimately, after a parachute jump, you'll find your way to the place to dig up the ark. Controls are somewhat interesting in that they make use of both joysticks. The primary joystick is used to move around and perform actions such as using the currently equipped item. The secondary joystick is used to select or drop items.
Raiders of the Lost Ark isn't a great game but it is a decent one and better than most movie conversions for any system. Graphics and game play are pretty average for the Atari 2600 but you'll find the frustration and repetition isn't nearly as bad as it is for E.T. If you are going to pick one 1980s game based on a 1980s movie than Raiders is a good choice. And really, both Indiana Jones and the Atari 2600 are such icons of the 1980s that you should at least give it a try. Unlike the game, the movie is one of the best of all time.
While many classic Atari 2600 games have been released in some form or another as parts of various collections, Indiana Jones has not been, nor is it likely to be. Licensing considerations make it impractical at best. So if you want to give this one a try, you'll have to track down an original cartridge or make do with emulation.
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I got this game (and a slew of others) back in the late 80's during a summer of intense yard sale stalking. Annoyed the absolutely bejeezus out of me, because it was just the cart, with no instruction manual, and I had no way to make heads or tails out of it. :)
It was years later when I finally got internet access and started looking up info on games of the past that I learned what all the weird stuff was, and saw an insanely complex but also well-realized adventure game, considering system limitations and all. This was a great trip down memory lane!
Yeah, graphics on the 2600 are often more symbolic than actually resembling the objects they are supposed to be. Makes it very difficult. I mean is that random brown line a snake that will kill you or a shovel you need to dig? I guess touch it and find out...