Pitfall: The Last Expedition

Rating:
Summary: Pitfall is pretty cool!
Review: I picked up Pitfall: The Lost Expedition because of it's nostalgia factor and because I like platformers. Little did I realize however, that I would be in for a true treat. Pitfall manages to avoid committing many of the sins which are normally all too common in console ports. The game supports rumblepads, has pretty good graphics, and perhaps best of all, doesn't force you to switch between using your gamepad, and keyboard/mouse when you exit to the menu's. It has also been updated to be comparable to modern platformers nicely.

Pitfall stays pretty true to it's original gameplay forumula of running and jumping puzzles, but also adds in several new conventions such as a treasure hunt, climbing and scaling walls and cliffs, and even rescuing a damsel in distress (as well as other comrades). Harry has new moves now too--several unlockable "heroic actions", as well as fighting in croc filled swamps against screaming natives, and a variety of idiginous critters. Truly, this game does it's forebears proud.

I can find little to complain about in Pitfall save that it doesn't implement a true "save anywhere" system (you re-start at the beginning of an area regardless of where you save) so like many platformers, there is a slight reliance on a frustration factor to keep you playing, but not overly so. The game isn't a system hog, and doesn't seem to demand inordinately high system specs. I experienced no frame rate issues, or graphical anomalies, nor problems with the game hard-locking, or crashing to desktop, and didn't have to shut everything else down to play. There were moments when I caught myself wishing I had a game guide (which seems to have become obscure already), but the puzzles and brain teasers don't seem terribly abstract, or overly difficult. But make no mistake: Pitfall's main selling points are it's personality, and high nostalgia factor. For a value title (I paid $30.00 because it was a new release, but I've seen it since then for $20.00 or less), you'll be hard pressed to beat "Pitfall: The Lost Expedition" for old school platforming fun.