Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure

"Right where Pitfall needs to be...on an Atari system!"

Pitfall started out on the Atari as a game that was simplistic to watch and play, as well as enjoy on the original 2600. You’ll find that in this upgraded version of Pitfall, there are more weapons, better looking visuals and a completely different way that the game is presented and played. Although I’m a fan of the original Pitfall, I must say that I enjoyed this upgraded version of the original leaps and bounds above the game of old. Consider me a traitor or consider me someone who doesn’t know a good game, but the Mayan Adventure takes the original Pitfall to the cleaners and back with little effort.

While the story line that you find here is more of a ‘later on in life’ type of deal in which you take on the role of Harry Jr. who must venture into the Mayan ruins and jungles in order to save his father from a fate worse than death. You’ll use stones and slings as well as collect different idols and statues that will help further you into the game and keep you at full health. The game is exceptionally challenging at some points, and to be honest, there are points in the game that might just cause you to throw the controller in frustration.

-The Game Play-

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 oddly shaped Jaguar 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 Visuals-

Visually, the Jaguar version of the Pitfall game isn’t all that different than the other versions of the game on other platforms. The only thing that this game has over some CD versions of the game is the fact that there aren’t any loading times in between the stages and the levels throughout the game. 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.

-The Audio-

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.

-The Verdict-

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.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/30/02, Updated 09/30/02