Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Pitfall Harry returns (finally) to kick it old school in a new school way (huh?)
Tags: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Feb 26th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Adventure | No | ||
 |
The thing about the Pitfall franchise is that it could have been one of the longest running and successful franchises in videogame history. Having started before the NES and Mario, Pitfall appeared on the Atari 2600 back in the veritable stone-age of videogames. A sequel appeared shortly afterwards, and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure appeared on the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo. There was also a Pitfall 3D for the PlayStation, but nobody remembers it.
And then nothing. The franchise slipped into oblivion, irrelevance and finally into nostalgia. What could have been a franchise with a steady entry every few years just sort of… disappeared, like a lost civilization, only to be remembered by those old enough to remember the “stories of our elders” or whatever cliché you want to think of.
Enter Pitfall: The Lost Expedition.
 |
Activision exhumes Pitfall Harry from his videogame sarcophagus, dusts him off, and puts him in an adventure that sees many changes to the franchise, while retaining the basic gameplay of over 20 years ago.
Here we have Pitfall Harry traveling to South America, and naturally, things go wrong. How wrong? Well, the game isn’t titled “The Lost Expedition” for nothing.
What happens plot-wise is of relative small importance. Suffice to say that it’s well written and adheres to the principles of the universe that Harry lives in. And it’s funny. Sure some of the plot contrivances are… well, contrived, but the execution in many places will actually make the player laugh out loud.
 |
 |
This is a welcome change as many platform games take themselves far too seriously. There are references to another famous explorer, as well as a mocking reference to the franchise itself – Harry himself writes down that he acquires something that would make a great heirloom for a son, if he ever found a woman to settle down with (Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure saw the debut of Harry’s son).
 |
Harry finds himself traipsing through the jungle (and other environments – who would have guessed there were penguins in the… oh, nevermind) attempting to do what any self respecting explorer would do – find butterflies for the tribal princess. Ok, so that’s only about 3 minutes of the story, but that gives you an idea as to what to expect for the various “missions” that Harry will have to endure.
The game’s puzzles are relatively simple (unless you’re an absolute idiot like I was for about 4 hours one morning and didn’t think to light the friggin’ TORCH and got stuck in one area) and the game should be completed in a couple of days.
 |
Harry will jump over man eating plants, swing on vines, use crocodiles (or are they alligators?) as logs, and in general journey through the jungle like a good platform hero should. There are a lot of “platform” style elements that keep this game from being a straight adventure game, but you shouldn’t go into Pitfall: The Lost Expedition expecting to have a “serious” game of archeological expedition happen.
It’s very nice that 100% isn’t necessary to “finish” the game. This however is one of the two problems that I have with Pitfall: The Lost Expedition – the fact there is a bunch of collecting in the first place. Ok, so you don’t need it to finish the game, but when there’s a particular item that you can’t find, it can be irritating after a couple of hours.
 |
Collecting the various idols will net Harry not only 100% completion of the game, but also serve as the currency for which certain items (i.e. more health, a new move) can be purchased. Moves can also be learned by finding pages of the Heroes Handbook – a tome that any heroic person shouldn’t be without.
While the collecting isn’t so much of a major problem, it’s exacerbated by the second – the backtracking. Various areas are, of course, accessible only after a certain item is obtained (such as the Heroic Dash page of the handbook to get over the hot coals, or the pick axe, to scale the ice). This can lead to having Harry explore the same area several times over. While breaking things up is good, a little bit more of a linear layout (story-wise) would have better served this iteration of Pitfall.
That not to say that the whole game should be a “point A to point B” affair – on the contrary, there is definitely a history of multiple paths with the Pitfall franchise, and it’s something that should continue.
 |
 |
My biggest problem however is a small thing, and it really is a matter of personal preference – the way Harry runs. The graphics are bright and colorful, and yes, Harry’s head is a little too big for his body, but that’s how things go when making a “platform” style game. Sure, the humans don’t have the correct number of digits, but again, creative license within the universe. I know this was a design decision to further the “cartoon-like” feel of the game, but when Harry runs, he looks like a buffoon and I can’t stand it.
 |
He also comes across a bit more like a dope in the script than I would have preferred (he is, after all, Pitfall Harry – explorer, adventurer, and all around good looking guy). He’s the lovable lug that you root for, and thankfully, he’s presented decently, if a little hapless at times (especially with the ladies). It should be noted that previous installments of the franchise didn’t really imbibe Harry with a personality, so older gamers with preconcieved notions of what their hero may be like will have some adjusting to do.
The dialogue is good, along with the rest of the audio. Activision and Edge of Reality took care in revamping the franchise and finding a voice for Harry (so to speak – damn puns). The audio isn’t the shining star in this game, nor was it meant to be. It is, however, solid and delivers where and when it counts.
 |
The gameplay, the heart of the game is definitely something that will please many gamers that grew up on the franchise, and is appealing to those that are only now discovering it. If the same level of quality presented with Pitfall: The Lost Expedition can be maintained, sequels should follow (and would be welcome) every few years. It would be nice to see more exploring, and a little (read take this damn thing out) less double-jumping, but keep the light-hearted tone in future games. Buy this one, and hopefully send a message to Activision that the Pitfall franchise isn’t forgotten and deserves to be maintained.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Solid, accessable gameplay + Humorous script + Exploration |
8.6 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Countless backtracking - The way Harry runs - Minor camera placement issues |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Platform and adventure gamers should be required to play this game. | |
[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]
Tags: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Feb 26th, 2004 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
