"Welcome to the jungle..."

Do you have a job? What is it? Do you train new employees to follow a strict code of conduct and lead by example? Maybe you're a bag boy down at the local supermarket, or one of those faceless entities lurking behind every 1-800 number known to mankind. There are plenty of opportunities waiting to be found, all with their own standards, expectations, and limitations. But why do you even work? What motivates you to get up every morning, get dressed, and deal with thankless customers and clients who wouldn't give you the time of day otherwise? Don't tell me you work just out of the goodness of your heart. That goody-goody excuse is utter BS and we both know it. You have a job for one reason: the paycheck. The bread. El dinero. Don't deny it; you need money to pay for school, food, bills, transportation, and even that Internet connection you're using right now. Let's face it; the world runs on cash, and you better have the green stuff to support yourself.

Pitfall Harry knows what I'm talking about. He doesn't bother with middle management, corporate bureaucracy, dress codes, or any of that junk that we put up with every workday. Instead, this famous explorer goes straight for the money, tax deductions be damned. He's lost in the middle of some godforsaken jungle with nothing more than his wits to keep him alive. Somewhere in that endless green mass of Mother Nature, several pieces of an immense treasure are just waiting for some great adventurer to come along and swipe them. Understandably, the promise of potentially infinite wealth is more than enough to drive Harry past the point logical reasoning. Thus, he's about to embark on an epic romp through the jungle, with both his financial security and his very life hanging in the balance.

There's no denying that Harry is a greedy bastard. While his desire for gain makes him nearly unstoppable, he's still a human being with all the applicable limitations. He's only got twenty minutes to scour the entire jungle of every treasure, the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme of all time. He'll have to wonder in and out of each area, carefully looking for alternative paths and ways to progress deeper into the brush. Many of the stages will involve some well-timed platforming action over some (you guessed it) pitfalls. The jungle is cut in half, allowing you to traverse the jungle ground or spelunking through its cavernous depths. Traversing both areas will prove timely and rewarding, allowing you to skip past several obstacles and hazards along the way. Once you've wandered through the right areas, you may come across a bar of gold, a bag of money, and plenty of other idle loot. Not only are these treasures worth loads of cash, but they also add a considerable amount of life points to Harry's endurance.

However, Pitfall! is not just about gallivanting over holes and wandering around in search of fortune. The jungle is not only laden with pitfalls, but sprinkled with dozens of dangerous features as well. Harry could be walking around a certain area when a horde of rolling logs comes tumbling toward him. At that point he has two choices: he can either run forward and attempt to jump over the logs with platforming perfection, or he can simply run away and try to figure out another way around. He'll also have to deal with blazing campfires, deadly snakes and scorpions, and ponds filled with giant alligators. Also, there will be various chasms that will open and close every few seconds, forcing Harry to run for his life, jump, or swing with a well-placed vine. All of these hazards are mixed together in the various areas, offering for a truly unforgiving. Each time that our hero accidentally touches a hazard or falls down a hole, he'll either lose part of his health/fortune or end up losing a life. Considering that he's only got three lives to spare, you better have some good gaming skills to keep him out of trouble.

The constant mix up of foes and obstacles makes this brief adventure both lively and entertaining. The game boasts a total of 256 areas with their own combination of features. The majority of the screen is depicted in a few different shades of green and yellow, nicely rendering the different layers of the jungle. While most of the details amount to nothing but big blotches of color, you'll still be able to observe the overgrown layer of trees overhead, the dusty yellow ground and the pitch black caverns beneath it. You'll also be able to make out the intricate network of ladders, walls, and pitfalls that make up most of the underground areas. While Pitfall Harry is lusting for money, he sports a fashionable adventuring outfit with a few running and jumping animations. All of the wild animals are depicted nicely as well, including the little details like the scorpions' stingers or the alligator's massive jaws. While such a presentation can't compete with the stuff of the current game generation, it's still an impressive spectacle on the Atari 2600.

Turn off that Prince of Persia game you love so much. Give Mega Man a rest. Tell Mario and his crew to go unclog a toilet somewhere. Before all of these huge platforming titles and characters made it big in the glitz and glamour of mainstream gaming, Pitfall Harry was busting his behind to make it rich. His epic adventure through the jungle has earned him not only a place in gaming history, but a place in the hearts of retro gamers everywhere as well. This game has all the basic elements that make up the standard of almost every platforming game that came after it. It has the necessity for excellent timing and good reflexes, dangerous foes, and plenty of challenge to back it up. But above all else, Pitfall! remains a simple and fun game to play, years after its original creation.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/06