Harry fell in a pitfall, but he's alright.
posted by JCDenton (FREEDOM, NH) May 16, 2009
Member since Mar 2006
Pitfall: The Big Adventure is a re-release of the Lost Expedition released some years back. If you liked that game... well, you probably have no reason to play this one. If you didn't, you might find that the controls are made more cumbersome by the motion-sensor controls of the Wii.
The story follows Pitfall Harry as he looks for the lost city of El Dorado, batting natives, scorpions and penguins (you heard me) along the way. Of course, there are buxom babes to save as well and mystical foes to defeat. It's actually pretty standard stuff, but it works.
Seriously, you're playing the game for the action. And while the game has some action, it gets a bit squashed by overly-complicated controls. The best example I can give you are the pickaxes, which allow you to climb certain surfaces. Most games would simply let you navigate around these walls until you wish to get off, but Pitfall makes you rotate the control stick while shaking both the nunchuk and Wiimote to achieve the same thing. As I said, overly complicated. There are some truly frustrating moments and odd design choices that bring this game down.
What the game has going for it is content. With shamans to locate, explorers to rescue, idols to find and mini-games to complete there's plenty to do. The main quest lasts for awhile, although much attention is given to backtracking.
In the end, Pitfall is a nice diversion, but nothing special. You'll like tossing TNT at your enemies and get a smile out of the dung-chucking monkeys, but you could live without it. The technical and design flaws in the game are too noticeable to dismiss, making this a take it or leave it title.
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