Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure

"Mayans and Alligators and Idols...Oh My..."

Pitfall has come a long way over the years and with the emergence of the Mayan Adventure, you are no longer that little stick figure that runs through endless jungles in search of treasure. Instead, you are a fully detailed and well-designed character that runs through the jungle trying to rescue your father, the legendary Pitfall Harry. If you can get into the overall feel and theme of the game as well as get used to the fact that you have weapons this time around that allow you to kill your enemies instead o merely leaping them, then you’ll find a good adventure game. The Mayan Adventure has plenty here that will keep any fan of the action genre busy with plenty of jumping platforms and plenty of enemies to smash into the ground.

Running Through The Jungle…

The game play that you run into is strictly your run and jump action game with plenty of enemies that you can dispatch with stones from a sling. Collection of idols and gold will help to further your score, while certain types of statues will give you powers to help increase your abilities and otherwise. Although the game is pretty linear in the run from one end of the stage to the other, you are able to go back and forth in order to find different hidden items. The challenge that you find here is that the enemies seem to spawn and all of them must be dispatched in different ways, lest you become jungle meat!

When you get further into the game, you’ll find that most of the stages require you to use a little bit of strategy instead of simply running into the middle of a battle with enemies. You’ll find that the difficulty also increases if you don’t take out key enemies at certain points, but once you’ve been through the game, you’ll know right where the enemies are. The collection of your items is key to your survival and you’ll need to learn and remember just where all of the important items are in order to complete some of the tougher portions of the game. Things like this really make an adventure game special, especially if it really starts to piss you off.

Control really isn’t much of a problem here and you may find that the game is pretty easy to work with. You use one button to jump and another to throw stones from a sling or hit them with the sling itself. The only thing that you have to keep an eye on is the way that you jump from place to place and the timing that is involved in some of the more crucial areas. As always, it’s a simple matter of being able to work with the sometimes stiff and unresponsive controller and being able to control your jumps on the more narrow ledges. Beginners and veterans of action/adventure games really shouldn’t have a problem picking up on what this title has to offer.

The Jungle…Is Hazy…

Visually, the Genesis version of the Pitfall game isn’t all that different than the other versions of the game on other platforms. One of the things that you’re going to notice is that this version of Pitfall is a bit on the grainy side and that there really isn’t much here that you can sink your teeth into in terms of overall detail. There are plenty of places that show off some of the Genesis power, but those places such as the waterfalls and the like are few and far between. However, the stages that you run through and some of the more intricate designs and detail that you find will come with the enemies and how they move, react and die when you smack them around with the sling. Harry Jr. is nothing more than a more detailed character than his legendary father, right down to the flapping of his leather jacket.

Grooving To The Jungle Beat…

The audio has a funky beat to it that will keep you in the theme and the overall pace of the game. Without much of a thought, you’ll blend into the game and even though it may seem like the tracks repeat, there are enough differences to keep you from hearing the same thing more than once. The audio effects themselves take a slightly hushed tone to the music tracks, so be prepared to hear very little come out of the younger adventurer during the different portions of the game. What you do hear though will keep the pace of the game and it does blend together nicely to give you that jungle exploration and adventure feel. Audio portions like this really do keep the theme of the game in the jungle and ruins where the game takes place, which is a step above some of the other adventure games on the Genesis system.

Next Generation

Pitfall! The Mayan Adventure is a game that takes the age-old game of Pitfall and brings it to life with detail and plenty of action. You’ll find that the visuals and the audio as well as the familiar control is easy enough to work with and makes this game worthy of playing through more than once. With the secrets that can be found in this title, the replay value is increased, although some of the more difficult stages take some time and effort to learn how to work with. If you can find it in your busy schedule to sit down with this title and enjoy it for the remark that it truly is, then you’ll find a dim gem on a ageless platform starting with an ageless namesake.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/03, Updated 03/03/03