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Welcome to the Jungle.
February 28, 2004 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Stephen Smith
Pitfall is arguably one of the first sidescrollers ever created. It premiered on the Atari 2600 from Activision, and became a phenomenon. Almost every major game console has either had a remake, or a sequel. This rivals other video game mascots like Pac-man, or Mario. Even the ill fated Atari Jaguar had a Pitfall published for it. So in generation four of home consoles, it is no surprise that we have Pitfall: The Lost Expedition.
Venture through 6 different locales.
Collect treasure to enable Harry with Heroic moves.
A Cartridge save feature with two slots.
The original Pitfall had players grabbing onto to vines and swinging across to safety, while dodging crocodiles, and scorpions. You could even venture underground. For the time it was truly an amazing game. David Crane programmed it all by himself, and was one of the largest Atari 2600 games ever written.
The story for The Lost Expedition centers on Pitfall Harry as he flies over a Peruvian Jungle. He has been hired, along with other explorers to help Dr. Bittenbinder. Harry also meets a women named Nicole on the plane that is looking for her father. Can anyone say possible love interest? Without warning, lightening strikes the plane and it crashes into the middle of the vast jungle. Harry awakens to find that the good Dr. and Nicole were apparently injured in the plane crash and worse yet all the explorers have gone missing. So Harry sets off to find his fellow explorers and begin his grand new adventure.
The GBA version has quite a few things going for it. New top down levels have been added that have you finding treasure, as well as looking for your fellow explorers. Once you find an explorer he gives you a spirit torch. These spirit torches hold the key to opening sacred temples found in each level. Once you enter the temple you are transported to the sidescrolling levels of the game. At the end of each area there is boss that has to be defeated to progress.
A variety of locals await Pitfall Harry that range from dense forests, to snow top mountains. I never played a Pitfall game with this much variety in levels before. It is nice to see Harry gets out more. Before you begin every new mission Harry must complete a bonus level. These have our favorite spelunker rafting down a raging river cavern, flying a hang glider, or actually riding a pogo stick. The bonus levels were my favorite part of the game, however they don’t last very long. Their sole purpose seems to add some variety before your next mission begins.
Gone is Harry’s pacifist view on exploration, now he means business, and business is good. Harry uses a traditional sling to hurl projectiles at enemies. The slings default armament is rocks, but Harry can find special projectiles that include; beehive grenade, lava ball, and a bomb. Harry has adopted quite an arsenal for his sling it seems. If this wasn’t enough collecting treasure will reward Harry with Heroic moves, which include a roll, spin, and a upgraded sling attack. Still you will find yourself tossing rocks at most enemies, since you never run out of them, and they will kill almost anything in the game, eventually.
Another addition to the franchise is the sheer amount of humor that has been added. Dialogue walks a fine line between witty, and just plain silly. I do like that this game doesn’t take itself to seriously, even acknowledging that they used the same character throughout the entire game. Dr. Bittenbinder at the beginning of the adventure remarks “My explorers all look alike.”
For fans of the franchise the developers haven’t forgot about Pitfalls assorted past. Sharp Claw the Jaguar for example plays a vital role in this game. You can also find some familiar enemies such as scorpions, and crocodiles.
The visual side of Pitfall is done well. You can tell they tried to mimic the look of the other home versions The Lost Expedition (GC/PS2/XBOX). Harry is surprisingly well animated, and so are most of the enemies. My only real complaint is that Harry himself is quite a big character for a Gameboy Advance game, and there by he takes up a lot of room. This makes it very difficult to make jumps because of the limited view of Harry’s surroundings.
Audio wise Pitfall works well. Music is light and lively, and sound effects come in crisp and clear. What does a Peruvian Jungle sound like? Apparently native drums and a catchy base line if we trust what the developers of Pitfall: The Lost Expedition believe.
Control leaves a little to be desired. Trying to pull up onto platforms can be a little taxing. As well as dodging enemies can become just as tedious. Thankfully the missions are pretty standard, and don’t require the player to worry about anything more than making it to the end of the level.
Being a fan of the series I was very excited to be able to review Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. I enjoyed this game completely, but it feels like so many of the other versions of Pitfall because it suffers from the same problems that plagued them. The end result is a good game, but I feel fans of the series will enjoy it vastly more than a newcomer would.
The original Pitfall had players grabbing onto to vines and swinging across to safety, while dodging crocodiles, and scorpions. You could even venture underground. For the time it was truly an amazing game. David Crane programmed it all by himself, and was one of the largest Atari 2600 games ever written.
The story for The Lost Expedition centers on Pitfall Harry as he flies over a Peruvian Jungle. He has been hired, along with other explorers to help Dr. Bittenbinder. Harry also meets a women named Nicole on the plane that is looking for her father. Can anyone say possible love interest? Without warning, lightening strikes the plane and it crashes into the middle of the vast jungle. Harry awakens to find that the good Dr. and Nicole were apparently injured in the plane crash and worse yet all the explorers have gone missing. So Harry sets off to find his fellow explorers and begin his grand new adventure.
The GBA version has quite a few things going for it. New top down levels have been added that have you finding treasure, as well as looking for your fellow explorers. Once you find an explorer he gives you a spirit torch. These spirit torches hold the key to opening sacred temples found in each level. Once you enter the temple you are transported to the sidescrolling levels of the game. At the end of each area there is boss that has to be defeated to progress.
A variety of locals await Pitfall Harry that range from dense forests, to snow top mountains. I never played a Pitfall game with this much variety in levels before. It is nice to see Harry gets out more. Before you begin every new mission Harry must complete a bonus level. These have our favorite spelunker rafting down a raging river cavern, flying a hang glider, or actually riding a pogo stick. The bonus levels were my favorite part of the game, however they don’t last very long. Their sole purpose seems to add some variety before your next mission begins.
Gone is Harry’s pacifist view on exploration, now he means business, and business is good. Harry uses a traditional sling to hurl projectiles at enemies. The slings default armament is rocks, but Harry can find special projectiles that include; beehive grenade, lava ball, and a bomb. Harry has adopted quite an arsenal for his sling it seems. If this wasn’t enough collecting treasure will reward Harry with Heroic moves, which include a roll, spin, and a upgraded sling attack. Still you will find yourself tossing rocks at most enemies, since you never run out of them, and they will kill almost anything in the game, eventually.
Another addition to the franchise is the sheer amount of humor that has been added. Dialogue walks a fine line between witty, and just plain silly. I do like that this game doesn’t take itself to seriously, even acknowledging that they used the same character throughout the entire game. Dr. Bittenbinder at the beginning of the adventure remarks “My explorers all look alike.”
For fans of the franchise the developers haven’t forgot about Pitfalls assorted past. Sharp Claw the Jaguar for example plays a vital role in this game. You can also find some familiar enemies such as scorpions, and crocodiles.
The visual side of Pitfall is done well. You can tell they tried to mimic the look of the other home versions The Lost Expedition (GC/PS2/XBOX). Harry is surprisingly well animated, and so are most of the enemies. My only real complaint is that Harry himself is quite a big character for a Gameboy Advance game, and there by he takes up a lot of room. This makes it very difficult to make jumps because of the limited view of Harry’s surroundings.
Audio wise Pitfall works well. Music is light and lively, and sound effects come in crisp and clear. What does a Peruvian Jungle sound like? Apparently native drums and a catchy base line if we trust what the developers of Pitfall: The Lost Expedition believe.
Control leaves a little to be desired. Trying to pull up onto platforms can be a little taxing. As well as dodging enemies can become just as tedious. Thankfully the missions are pretty standard, and don’t require the player to worry about anything more than making it to the end of the level.
Being a fan of the series I was very excited to be able to review Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. I enjoyed this game completely, but it feels like so many of the other versions of Pitfall because it suffers from the same problems that plagued them. The end result is a good game, but I feel fans of the series will enjoy it vastly more than a newcomer would.
February 8, 2010
