Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure by Imagitec Design

Who doesn't remember the classic 2600 Pitfall from our childhood? What a great game, 20 full minutes of treasure hunting involving scorpions, alligators, and plenty of treasure sitting around for the taking. Well, there aren't many similarities with the next generation of Pitfall, though this one does involve a Harry, except its Harry Jr. looking for his adventuring father.

Graphics:

Its obvious this game is a port from those other 16-bit systems. The graphics are slightly better than most 16-bit action/adventure games, but the big improvement is the motion. Harry Jr. moves with a Flashback-like fluidity, but with much better control. Don't expect any 3-D polygons here, this is traditional 2-D graphics. Nothing groundbreaking here, just another side scroller that happens to scroll more up and down than left and right. This game uses very little of the Jag's potential, and it especially shows here.

Rating 5 out of 10.

Sound:

A little congo rhythms with all sorts of nifty sound effects. Harry Jr. says "whoa" now and again, but its a very fuzzy sample. The kind you get from a 16-bit system. The music is fitting though, not as nice as Tempest 2000, but it sets a nice mood.

Rating 8 out of 10.

Game play:

Pitfall becomes the pits here. Your main job is to get around the level and avoid getting killed. Harry Jr. can take a lot of hits, but its almost next to impossible to avoid getting hit a lot. Using the slingshot takes about as much time as getting hit, so be prepared to be bitten and smacked around al ot regardless of your strategy. It gets annoying quickly when a dragonfly hits you twice before you have time to react. Its not a fun game really, the levels just begin to get annoying after about 5 minutes. The game is seldom rewarding and fighting end bosses is little more than hoping you saved enough powered weapons.

Rating 4 out of 10.

This game falls somewhere between a desperate rental and "I've got nothing else to play at 2 am." Its a sad sequel to the classic fun-type game that uses very little of the Jaguar's awesome potential. Even in the genre of mindless action-adventure games its still pretty bad. In my opinion this is one of the many reasons the Jaguar failed to gain popularity.

By Mike skallas (mskall1@uic.edu)