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Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

Written by Ara Ajizian on 3/26/2004 for PS2  
More On: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
I remember when I was a kid, and I used to pretend I was sick so I could stay home and play video games all day. Keep in mind, this was pre-NES, so I had the awesome Colecovision with the Atari 2600 adapter. One of my all-time favorites was Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns. In those early days of gaming, it seemed so vast, and you could spend hours exploring and dodging bats. Ahhh, good times….

Obviously, video games have come quite a long way since then. But a good character never gets old. Hell, just look at that Mario guy—they’ve been milking him for like 20+ years already. Pitfall Harry is one of those legendary characters, and he’s back with a vengeance in Activision’s Pitfall: The Lost Expedition.

The game begins at the end, as you find yourself battling a gigantic demon jaguar. Just as the cat’s about to rip Harry’s throat open, he flashes back to his arrival in the jungle 24 hours earlier. Right before his plane crashes into the middle of the South American wilderness, Harry meets Bernard Bittenbinder, an older explorer whose work Harry is familiar with. Bittenbinder and his team are heading to the jungle as well, but for what, Harry doesn’t know. Oh, and of course, there’s a pretty girl. I mean, what good’s an adventure if you’re not going to get the girl at the end?

So anyway, the plane crashes, and the quest begins. Harry must make his way through the jungle, and figure out just what in the Sam Hell is going on, and along the way find out the real reason for Bittenbinder’s expedition—to claim the treasure of El Dorado. That won’t be easy, though, since Harry must collect a number of items along the way, and do battle with all his classic enemies—scorpions, bats, howler monkeys, crocodiles, and of course, the natives.

Certain areas won’t be accessible until you either find a certain item, or learn a special technique. Along his way, Harry must collect the torch, shield, canteen, slingshot, pickaxe, raft, gasmask, and all-important TNT. What good’s being in the middle of the jungle if you can’t blow up some sacred monuments, after all?

As you get further into the game, and collect more idols, you can buy things from the shaman, who turns up every few levels. These range from more life to new fighting or jumping techniques. The shaman also sells parts to the map, which will tell you more details about each level. You’ll find that there’s quite a bit of backtracking in the game, so the more information you have about each level, the better off you’ll be.

Harry also keeps track of what’s going on in his Heroic Handbook, also known as the “Pause Menu.” In the handbook, Harry keeps track of various things, like moves that he’s acquired, different enemies, and where he’s been on the map. This will be especially helpful as you progress in the game, so consult it often.Now on to one of the best things about this game—it’s sense of humor. It’s funny on a number of levels, too, not just in one character. The natives are my personal favorite, because they are so stereotypical. They shout things like “Hamawamalamamahey” and “Hoojibibabobo” non-stop, as they pelt you with coconuts and rocks. It’s hilarious! Harry’s got some good lines throughout the game, and his overall personality really gets you into his character. He’s not as boring as say, the aforementioned Mario is.

I was really impressed with the graphics on this game, as well as the soundtrack. The environments are spacious and full of lush jungle color, and they incorporate multi-levels often. Many stages will have you swimming, swinging on vines, and high jumping throughout, often in combination to get to where you need to be. The draw distance is excellent, letting you see what’s on the other side of the level at any time.

Normally with games, I either find the music so terrible that I turn it off, or it doesn’t bother me too much. With this game, I thought the music was great, and fit the game perfectly. There’s even tribal chanting at the Native Village. KMM Productions was responsible for this, and I tip my hat to them.

The only thing that continues to bug me about Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is the controller setup. The camera controls use the shoulder buttons, rather than the right analog stick as in most games. The right analog is used to grab things, which Harry doesn’t do that often. Not nearly as much as you’ll move the camera around. This took awhile to get used to, and even though I’ve played the game for hours, I still wish they would have rethought this one. It’s not going to make the game terrible for you, but it will take some getting used to. At least it did for me.

Yet another bonus, for you nostalgic types like me, is the inclusion of the Atari 2600 versions of the original Pitfall and Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns. Both of the games can be unlocked at the title screen with a cheat code. Granted, after playing The Lost Expedition for a while, the originals seem pretty lame, but for us older guys it will really take you back. All of a sudden, I was 8 again, in my tighty-whities, playing hooky from school. Then my wife came in and asked why I was in my underwear at three in the afternoon. But that’s another story….

The best thing about Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is that it’s just plain fun. Sure, it’s not the most difficult game in the world, or the most challenging, but you know, that’s not always what’s important. It seems to me that sometimes gamers, and game developers, lose sight of the fun factor. I can’t speak for everyone, but when I have time to play some games, I want to have fun doing it! And Pitfall delivers big time in this respect. Activision has given a classic character the game he deserves, after all these years.
Pitfall Harry makes his triumphant return to gamedom with a fantastic game that combines all the elements of the original, cranked up 3D-style for the 21st century. They even remembered Quickclaw!! Adding to the excellent gameplay and graphics is a great sense of humor, from Harry’s quips to the hilarious shouts of the restless natives. Aside from a couple minor control issues, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is a winner all around.

Rating: 8.7 Very Good

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.


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