Pitfall: The Lost Expedition screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 7.5 Graphics 7.5 Sound 7.0 Value 7.8 Pitfall: The Lost Expedition -  reviewed by Andrew B  Review Date: March 2004 Review Score 7.5/10  Distributed By: Activision

One of the most memorable games of the 20th century makes a bold return in the new millennium but can this arcade classic leave a lasting impression on the gamers of today? The Pitfall series revolved a heroic adventurer named Pitfall Harry who was the classic hero archetype from the serials of the 1930's and as recently shown in the Mummy movies with Brendan Frasier or the Indiana Jones Trilogy. The original game itself was a classic 2D arcade game where the player had to fight his way through a variety of deadly traps, duel his way through a plethora of enemies and of course, recover lost and ancient treasures from a civilisation long gone. The developers have ensured that much of the original magic that made Pitfall so popular has remained in this current incarnation and once again gamers get the chance to play the legendary Pitfall Harry. Although the original two games had a fairly linear and stock-standard adventure storyline, this new version has a much more in-depth plotline and gives the gamer a much more dynamic gaming experience. This time Pitfall Harry has travelled to South America in an attempt to recover the lost treasures of the mysterious city of Gold, El Dorado. Unfortunately for Harry, things were never meant to be easy and he must now rescue a lost expedition, stop an evil priest from unleashing an ancient curse upon the world and also prevent his nemesis from beating him to the treasures of El Dorado. If you thought this was more than enough for Harry to encounter, then you are sadly mistaken because our daring hero mush also ensure that a princess fulfils her destiny that was written many eons ago. The first things gamers will notice about this new version of the Pitfall series, provided that you grew up with the original game is that the gaming environment is now fully 3D. The gameplay of Pitfall can be compared to a variety of 3D games on the market at the moment such as Jak and Daxter (although not as in-depth as this game) and Crash Bandicoot where the hero much perform a variety of mini-missions, defeat enemies and have a damn good time. Pitfall Harry can also perform a variety of manoeuvres from running, climbing, swinging on branches, attacking enemies, performing frogger like moves on the back of crocodiles and use a variety of adventure tools to help him in his pursuits. Apart from the traditionalist arcade gaming environment, I found the control system of the game a little on the rough side. The analog stick is used to control Harry in the gaming environment but unfortunate thing about this game is the annoying camera angles that sometimes make you sigh in frustration.

In order to rectify the camera, you must use the two shoulders buttons to rotate the camera angle and although it works fine, it is either extremely too sensitive or not sensitive enough so you find yourself zooming around until you finally get a good angle.  The battles, using your equipment and swinging on vines is all perfect... save for the fiddle some camera angles.

Fortunately the gaming environments of Pitfall are rich and varied that contain amazing jungles areas, underground cities of lost civilizations and also deadly mountain scenes of snow and ice. That said, the level designs are rather simplistic and there isn't really much going on at once beside a handful of monsters here and there which makes me think the game would of been more fun if there was more things happening on screen at once. Still, the game brings back fond memories of the 3D arcade games of the 90's such as Croc and Crash Bandicoot, which if you ask me, is a good thing.

Graphically, Pitfall: The lost Expedition is a fairly stock-standard arcade game, especially on the PlayStation 2. The developers have gone for a more "cartoon" feel to the game which means the characters look rather "undeveloped" and "child-like", even the deadly monsters in the game such as the natives, crocodiles or villains that appear every now and then. The characters themselves also contain a fairly low polygon count but the texture details make up for the lack of true 3D development.

The backgrounds in the game are all made up of polygon that helps give the game that true 3D feel to it but unfortunately it looks a little static when compared to games such as Ratchet & Clank 2 or Sly Raccoon. I must admit that the game is a virtual candy treat because everything looks so fresh and vibrant. Best of all, Pitfall runs at a very stable and smooth frame rate without any slowdown that will keep even the most staunchest and pickiest of gamers extremely happy.

The soundtrack of Pitfall is extremely reminiscent to a variety of adventure movies from Hollywood and although it isn't really in your face, it does help immerse the gamer into this colourful world of action, heroics and arcade entertainment. The sound effects in the game have also taken a backseat to the graphics as with the music but there is enough noise in the game to keep you interested such as Harry himself or the various deadly puzzles and enemies that you encounter throughout your travels in the search for El Dorado.

In conclusion Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is fun little game that although it doesn't add anything new to the market is a great trip down memory lane. The gaming engine is extremely sturdy and the backgrounds feature a plethora of bright colours that I'm sure children will automatically fall in love with. I would recommend this game to the younger gamer because the difficulty is fairly easy for the more professional gamer. The only problem with the game is the annoying camera angles and that you can only rotate the camera angle with the two shoulder buttons which does effect the gameplay of this fun and exciting title. It should also be mentioned that Pitfall comes with the two original games if you wish to see what graphics were like in the days of the dinosaur!

- Andrew B