Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

Written by D'Marcus Beatty  on February 04, 2004

First Impressions: How does one lose an expedition?

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Pitfall Harry is the original adventurer. Debuting on the Atari decades ago as a pixilated stick figure, Pitfall Harry and his game Pitfall were one of a few true adventure games. Sure, the screens began to repeat themselves after a while, and the graphics were sometimes hard to interpret and required a lot of imagination, but many older gamers fondly remember swinging from vines and hopping across the mouths of crocodiles to help Pitfall Harry achieve his goals. Though it was a simplistic side scroller, the original Pitfall was as effective as the technology of the day permitted in creating an immersive adventure for the player. Despite the blank stares that one may get from some of the younger gamers out there, the name Pitfall generally will evoke pleasant memories from any gamer who is old enough to personally remember the Atari. Although there have been numerous earlier attempts to revitalize this video game legend, the endeavors have been less than successful. However, Activision is still planning on restoring Pitfall Harry to his long-lost limelight once more with Pitfall: The Lost Expedition.

Pitfall: The Lost Expedition will bring Pitfall Harry to today's current consoles with much evolved graphics and gameplay. Harry now has a 3D cartoonish look, a great improvement from his multicolored stick figure look that he originated with. So far, the graphics and animation are fairly good, and should please most gamers. Harry has the big head look, which, in addition to making him look comical, makes it easier to animate and identify facial expressions. Activision is definitely trying to give this generation's Pitfall Harry a great deal of character.

The Lost Expedition will be more than a simple platformer. Harry must make his way through different locations in a race to uncover hidden treasures in a global scavenger hunt. All of Harry's old staples return, so gamers can expect to encounter scorpions, crocodiles, and swinging vines. There will also be a number of new things for Harry to use, such as a slingshot, a torch, a pogo stick, and even dynamite. Apparently, Harry has been learning some new tricks since his original Atari adventure.

One of the major innovations that The Lost Expedition will make is "direct control", which, similar to Ape Escape for the PlayStation, makes use of both analog sticks in an original way. For Gamecube, chances are the game will be using the C-stick as a replacement. By using "direct control", players can control Harry's right hand independent of the character control. Using this mechanic, players will have to actually direct Harry's hand to flip a switch, or rotate the C-stick to use Harry's slingshot.

There will also be a number of puzzles in the game as well, so gamers shouldn't expect an intense action game. Hopefully, there will be a solid mixture of action and platforming elements. It has already been confirmed that the game has a number of mini-games and extras, and that the game will be fairly long, so that should ensure the replay value.