Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Review - VGLN.com PS2 Reviews

When you hear the name of a gaming system, a few famous or defining games might pop into your head. When one thinks NES, most of the time the character associated with it is Mario. With Sega Genesis, it is Sonic. Now, let’s go back even further. What character was associated with the Atari 2600? None other than Pitfall Harry himself.

I am pretty sure that throughout the years, every gamer has played some form or another of Pitfall, whether it be the original on the Atari 2600 or one of the multiple platform spin-offs. Well, Activision, who has been with Pitfall Harry since the beginning, is setting him out on his latest adventure in Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. This latest adventure of Harry’s starts him out on a plane headed for the Peruvian jungle with a team consisting of a wide spectrum of characters. Unfortunately, the plane gets caught in a nasty storm and is forced to make a crash landing. However, as parachutes are being handed out, the team realizes they are short. Therefore, Pitfall Harry goes down with the plane. When he regains consciousness, he finds himself thrown from the crash site, away from his fellow teammates and without equipment. From this point on, you must take control of Harry and lead him to find his lost teammates and equipment.

This game is a linear action/adventure platformer disguised by a non-linear feel. Objectives are always clear, and only some areas can be accessed after certain items are acquired (i.e. icepicks must be found to climb ice walls). One is never lost on his/her objective. A simple look at the map will mark your destination with an enormous “X.” However, this “linearism” is disguised by the ability to backtrack to any area at one’s whim. Once most of the equipment is acquired, a player could explore any area of the game at his/her own will, searching for over a hundred treasures and almost twenty shamans, who will sell you notes, health, skills, and more. The controls are very tight in this game. Combined with Harry’s acrobatic moves, the game possesses a very heartening feel for a platformer. The player gains control of almost every aspect of Harry’s movements, including his influence on swinging vine to vine, which requires Harry to be placed on the correct area on the vine with enough momentum to make it to the next vine. Aside from the main storyline, there are multiple (and sometimes very challenging) native mini-games you can unlock during the game that are playable by simply going to the native village at anytime during your adventure. This game also features many things that fans of the original Pitfall will relate with. As stated earlier, there is a lot of vine swinging and treasure collecting, as well as alligator and pit jumping. It is the little things like these that make this platformer so enjoyable. I only have a few real complaints. First off, this platform had some bugs. Like many platformers, both old and new, this game has the “floating” bug. What I mean by this is that in some areas, you can position Pitfall Harry in such a way (between two rocks for example) that he is “floating.” Another problem with this game is its length. If one was looking for a story that lasts twenty hours or more, he/she is barking up the wrong tree on this one.

The graphics in this game include beautiful landscapes, character design, and animation. The environments hold even the smallest details including water ripples, icy transparencies, and cracks on structures. Lighting also plays an important role in the game, as one will see through interaction with the torch. Harry’s goofy facial expressions (along with his personality which I will hit on later) add a humorous element I did not expect to see in this game. His animations, in and out of cutscenes, compliment the expressions and reactions Harry will make, creating a game to sit back and giggle at like a teenage girl (no offense to any teenage girls), especially in instances such as when Harry tries to escape being eaten by an alligator. There are a few misses, such as the lack of a reflection in the water. However, these small problems can be overlooked when one considers the rest of this fine-looking game.

The audio was done even better than the graphics. The game consists of an appropriate soundtrack for the surroundings, humorous dialogue, and realistic animal noises (did I mention I hate howler monkeys?). As I DID mentioned earlier, this humorous dialogue really surprised me. Whenever I envisioned Pitfall Harry, I always saw a serious, almost Lara Croft character (male, of course). However, this game portrays Harry as self-centered, egotistical, and arrogant. This depiction of Harry allowed Edge of Reality (the developers) to poke fun at the genre and of the concept itself. However, Harry is not the only one with humorous lines. Trapped or lost explorers can be found throughout the game, mumbling to themselves. Before you free them, you can hear them muttering lines like “Kill me, kill me…” A little dark, but definitely funny. Also quite humorous are the belligerent natives, who sound like they are out of a C-rate American-made movie set in New Guinea.

As for the presentation of the game, it comes off great, but unexpected. When I popped in the game, I expected an original Pitfall game with serious characters and deadly enemies. Instead, I received hilarious characters with a light-hearted feel to the entire game. The cinematics are just as great as the gameplay animations if not better. They are able to further the chauvinistic depiction of Harry as he makes advances toward Nicole, another key teammate. Simply put, this was probably one of the most enjoyable presentations in a platformer I have ever seen.

One wouldn’t expect the replay value for such a short game to be much…let alone for a single player platformer. However, besides the game’s fun feel, there are a number of other reasons to keep this game in your console. First off, Pitfall I and Pitfall II are both unlockables in the game, for all of you old school gamers. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, there are games in the native village that can be played at anytime in the game as many times as the player pleases. Lastly, if you like to get everything you can out of the game, you can try and find all the treasures and shamans in the game. This allows for great replay experience.

Overall, I really enjoyed reliving the Pitfall experience. Beautiful graphics, humorous dialogue, and cool unlockables make this a must have for any fan of the original Pitfall games. Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is a good buy for $40, and a must rent at the least!

--- Jeremy Gard

	Gameplay: [8.5] Very linear, and attempts to hide it is obvious. However, this game was easy to pick up and continue playing. A fun, humorous atmosphere mixed with tons of treasures to collect and a few games to unlock make this worth it a few glitches.
	Graphics: [8.0] Great facial expressions. Beautiful environments. Some misses (no water reflection), but they are ignorable.
	Sound: [8.5] Funny dialogue from the cast of characters, as well as the natives and trapped explorers. A fitting soundtrack. However, the howler monkeys definitely could push someone to the edge.
	Presentation: [9.0] Great cinematics featuring mostly the advances of Harry to Nicole. Definitely one of the best presentations in a platformer I have seen yet.
	Replay Value: [8.0] A decent replay value for a non-multiplayer linear platformer. Multiple treasures and shamans can be found, and two original Pitfall games can be unlocked!
	Global Score: [8.4] Great graphics, humorous dialogue, and a decent replay value makes this game a good buy for $40, or at least a must rent! Pitfall fans wait no longer. This is the platformer you have been waiting for.

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