Pitfall!

"Forget Mario, this is where it all started right here!!"

Welcome to the first sidescrolling adventure game, Pitfall! Mario was not the first, Pitfall Harry was, case closed. Anyway, in out little 4K cart, our little pixelated hero puts 4K Atari carts to the test, showing the true power of the 2600. This game is a winner.

Graphics: 8/10

For it's time, Pitfall! was one heck of a piece of programming in this department. Activision was not short of tricks on 2600 games being as the playfield is very mood setting and even Pitfall Harry is in more than one color, which I swear he's the Berzerk guy by design except he has more than one color to his looks. The graphics almost reach an early NES level to a degree.

Sound: 9/10

Pitfall! has sound like you would not believe. Instead of your average funny Atari Boops and Beeps, we actually get some musical fare here, like the george of the jungle call when Harry swings on the vines, the tada you get grabbing treasures, and of course, my personal fave, the death music. The death music in this game, as with all Atari games, Is about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth........YOUR WRONG! I could just see a funky Chinaman jump out of the Atari when you fall in a pit and yell in a wild Chinese accent ''WRONG!''. The Atari does not B.S. when it comes to when you mess up.

Gameplay: 10/10

This game was some of the best gameplay to be had on the 2600. Our little embodiment of hex and pixels runs and jumps like theres no tomorrow and fast and smoothly too, not like alot of 2600 games where the character runs like he need to have his pacemaker replaced.

Plot: 7/10

This is the only thing the game lacks, a plot that makes alot of sense. Your given 20 minutes to run through the jungle around snakes and campfires (who set them), scorpions with built in Pitfall Harry radar, and pits full of alligators, all to grab a bunch of treasures if not make it completley around in one run. And to make things even weirder, you can go in 2 directions, left or right, there is no set path for Harry to follow. Oh, and I almost forgot, you start with 2000 points and must avoid logs that roll around and are placed in strategic locations that will eat up your score.

Overall: 9/10

This game is a Classic, I highly reccommend this. Without this game there would be no Super Mario Bros., Contra, Time Lord, Illusion of Gaia, or many of the other games with side scrolling in them. Lets all thank Mr. Crane for the awesome 4K game.

Rent/Buy: Good luck finding one of these carts. My only suggestion is to go to your local flea market and go look in random cardboard boxes of electronics and in the bucket o' eight tracks (you know, these carts do look like 8 tracks). Either that or get the Activision classics pack for Playstation or even get the Pitfall! The Mayan Adventure, all those have this game built into them.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/02, Updated 01/23/02