Now Playing: Pitfall! (1982)
Topic: Atari 2600
As Pitfall Harry, the fearless explorer, you will traverse through the endless dangers of the jungle, collecting treasures along the way in an effort to reach the end. You'll encounter various pits, alligators, spiders, snakes, etc. One thing is for sure, you are in for one wild ride.
Pitfall! is an incredibly challenging game as to beat it, you must survive all 255 different screens with only 3 lives. Unfortunately, you will never have more than 3 lives as their is no way to earn new ones. These improbable odds make the game nearly impossible to defeat, but you'll have a blast either way. It is one of the definitive Atari 2600 games, and one of the best on the system.
One of the best elements of this game, is that is has personality. So many of these old games are just bizarre and confusing in their presentation and seem like archaic pieces of technology not able to keep up with todays uber-evolved games. Yet Pitfall! still seems so playable today. Sure, it is ancient, and games have really come a long way, but it is still fun and that is a testament to the power of this old Atari cartridge.
Pitfall! spawned various sequels and re-makes for the NES, the SNES, the Genesis, and more modern versions on the Wii. While some of the sequels were valiant efforts, like the one for the SNES, none of them were able to recapture the magic of the Atari original. As a side note, Super Pitfall for the NES is atrocious - stay far away from it. Anyway, there is a unique charm in Pitfall!. Take the moment when Harry jumps onto vines to swing past lakes and whatnot, and you'll hear like a sort of Tarzan like cry in that old blippy sound effect glory.
Apparently, a profound influence on this game is the great Indiana Jones adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark. There was an Atari game based on that movie, but it was awful. Pitfall! does a much better job at capturing the excitement of a Indy-like adventure.
A rather difficult video game, but an undisputed classic. Pitfall! is a ton of fun to play...though expect to go through a bit of trial and error to get through some of the tougher screens. Best of luck to you if you can sucessfully survive all 255 screens - the mark of a true legendary explorer and adventurer!
-Kurt L.
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