Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

"Atari Pitfall is back! And it brought its rare friend!"

I wanted to make a review that focused on what I thought was the best thing about this game- it has the original Atarti Pitfall 1 and 2 on it! Why tell you about the history of this game when you can play it!??
Don't even know what Atari is? Its a classic video game system that outdates the NES, in fact Atari was one of the first systems that had cartridge games, rather than just a few games built into the system. I consider it the first, since its the only one that was really successful.
Pitfall was one of its most popular games, and Pitfall 2 was one of its rarest games. Yes, we use to actually have to track down games back then. The good ones sold fast.
Both of these games are unlocked with a password, so you can play them right away if they are all you care about.
Unfortunatly, you must enter the passwords every time you want to play the games, as they do not save.
This is the second time Pitfall has been available to play on a Nintendo system, the first being in the Super NES game. Its good to have it back.
And this is the first time Pitfall 2 has been available to play on ANY other system as far as I know.

Gameplay - The Atari Pitfall games might not look like much, but they are both very fun old school games. They start off seeming quite hard, but with a little practice, and keeping notes of how to get to the treasure quickly, you can make yourself look good without a problem. The controls are ackward until you get use to them, but they are simple enough. You run and jump. No attacks.

Story - In Pitfall you are a treasure hunter. You run through the jungle looking for treasure. In Pitfall 2 you are looking for your lost cat and daughter along with treasure. Unlike Pitfall 1, which is basically just a game to see how high a score you can get before you die or time runs out; Pitfall 2 ends when you find your daughter and cat.

Graphics/Sound - Dont compare this with the Atari games you see on that controller you plug right into the TV. These games do not hardly look that bad or are that ackward to control. Pitfall was one of the best looking Atari games, and it looks just a bit worse than Super Mario Bros. The sound, however is still pretty corny lol.

Play Time/Replayability - As I said, Pitfall is all about replayability, as there is no ending. Pitfall 2 can be very frustrating, so it will probably take awhile and some patience to beat it. I think youll be replaying Pitfall 1 more, since it is less frustrating; but fans of hard games might prefer Pitfall 2. Either way its a cute thing to bust out 2 classic Atari games on the gamecube.

Final Recommendation - Not only do you get these 2 classics, but if you actually play the normal game you will find it is a very good platformer. The story is decent, the graphics are decent, and its rather fun. As cheap as this game is now, if you find a copy pick it up. If you never heard of Atari you might want to rent this. Old school games are either for you or not, and you cant tell until you play them. :)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/04