PITFALL!

PITFALL! is a classic side-scrolling action-adventure game where players control the stick figure Harry on a parkour adventure. Players must skillfully dodge various obstacles such as rolling logs, quicksand, ponds, and dangerous creatures, utilizing vines above the jungle or jumping directly onto crocodiles' heads to successfully complete levels and win. The game offers over 255 levels of varying difficulty, each with new obstacles and dangers to challenge players, including hidden areas for exploration, providing even more fun.

Gameplay of PITFALL!:

Pitfall! is a platform game set in a jungle where the player controls Pitfall Harry, a fortune hunter and explorer. The goal is to get Harry as many points as possible within a twenty-minute time limit. The player starts the game with 2,000 points and can collect a total of 32 treasures hidden among 255 scenes to increase their total, ranging from a money bag worth 2,000 points to a diamond ring worth 5,000 points.Pitfall Harry moves left and right and can jump over and onto objects, swing from vines, and climb up and down ladders to seek treasure and avoid danger. The player can lose points from hazards, such as falling down a hole or colliding with rolling logs. The player starts with three lives and loses one if they sink into quicksand, swamps or tar pits, running into fire, or are hit by a scorpion, cobra rattler, or crocodile.

Useful Tips of PITFALL!:

Left or Right: At the start of the game, Harry is positioned at the left side of the first scene, and is facing to the right. With this setup, it seems only natural to want to proceed left-to-right. However, it is generally more helpful to go continually right-to-left through the jungle - just turn Harry around and go. Two main reasons for travelling left are:You can avoid having to leap over rolling logs this way, since they always roll right-to-left. If you go left, they will never be rolling right at you.Whenever you lose a life to one of the fatal obstacles, you are always reincarnated on the left of that scene. Thus if you are going right-to-left, you are actually placed past the trouble spot. If you were going left-to-right, on the other hand, after losing the life you would still have to struggle with that same danger all over again, risking yet another life.

The Logs: There are both moving and stationary logs in the jungle. The moving logs are constantly rolling, and they always roll in the right-to-left direction. You have to jump (via the fire button) to successfully negotiate the logs. If a log contacts you, you not only lose precious time in the slowdown effect, you also have points deducted from your game total. Thus those logs are double trouble.When a log contacts you, you lose a variable number of points. The actual number of points deducted depends on how long you are in contact with the log. If you stay in continuous contact, you can watch your point total keep on decreasing. Thus, whenever you do have the misfortune to go into a log, get away from it as fast as possible! It could mean the difference between losing a few points and losing many points.One other useful observation about the rolling logs: A given log never continues from one screen to the next. Thus if you avoid a log and leave the screen, you need not be concerned about meeting that same log or having it catch up to you on the next scene. There will be other dangers there, however, so don't relax too much.

Jump to Your Heart's Content: To have Pitfall Harry jump into the air, you must depress the red fire button on the joystick controller. You do not have to hold the button down; just a nice press-and-let-go action will do nicely. Holding the button down does not make Harry jump any higher. And when you execute the jump, you may also be moving to the left or right, thus performing the Pitfall Harry Running Jump.

The Log-Jump Event: Sometimes rolling logs appear in pairs in the jungle. Some pairs are fairly close together, and some are very far apart. Whether or not you get a running start and are going at full speed, you can still leap completely over the closer pairs of logs (of course, if you are going right-to-left through the jungle, you don't have to worry about this). You don't have to jump over one, land, and then jump over the other. Try it!

Don't Get Shafted: You will come across stairways and also wider, plain open holes. If you run or stumble into one of the latter, you fall through a shaft into the underground passageway. You can get across the holes with a running jump or jumping from a standstill. Going at top speed you can negotiate a hole and still have a little room to spare. You need never fall through that shaft into the underground if you just make sure that you don't begin the leap until you are quite close to the actual hole.

Player Comments of PITFALL!:

One of my all-time favorites on Atari 2600 was the Activision game Pitfall. There was just something about the treasure hunt adventure of swinging over crocodiles and avoiding scorpions that intrigued me as a kid. It was a relatively simple game that anyone could play, but still posed a challenge within its maze of misfortunate. I was never good enough to achieve a perfect score, but it was still fun and in my regular cartridge rotation.

To my nostalgic delight, I was recently in the Google Play store and followed a recommendation to experience a new version of Pitfall! In this endless runner style game, Harry joins the HD world as a whip weilding, rope swinging adventurer that is a fun modern re-imagining of his 30-year old self.

Early in my tablet gaming history, my boys directed me toward the Temple Run series which I enjoy. Pitfall is very similar but actually adds a few more elements into the finger-swiping marathon. The rope swing is still incorporated in the game and just as fun as ever. As mentioned earlier, Harry also carries a whip that you can use on the traditional scorpion and crocodile obstacles in your path.

Pitfall is not just about running though. Like in Temple Run 2 where mine cars and water slides are incorporated, Harry also gets to take a break from just running. Pitfall features a mine car ride with similar maneuverability to its Temple Run counterpart, but Harry also gets a motorcycle to ride through the jungle with multiple path choices to make.

What I really like about the game is the use of multiple camera angles. Typically the endless runner games only offer the behind view of the character, but Pitfall incorporates some different angles into the action. There is a 45 degree view from behind as well as a 90 degree side view that not only breaks the monotony but also add a level of challenge.

The game was actually published on Pitfall's 30th anniversary so some of you might have already experienced it. If you are like me and are late to the show but enjoy endless runner games like Minion Rush and Sonic Dash, I'd recommend giving Pitfall a chance. It currently holds a 4/5 star rating in all stores. Plus, it's free to download with optional in-app purchases available to help you advance in the game.

Final words:

PITFALL! is not just an adventure game. It's a classic that deserves a slot in every mobile phone. Its seamless integration of engagement and entertainment makes it a top choice for both young and old players looking for something to kill time or brush up their puzzle-solving skills. To sum it up, PITFALL! comes with our highest recommendation for hours of guaranteed adventurous fun.