Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (GC, 2004)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+
Metroid-like gameplay (rolling works like being in morph ball form in Metroid, gain movement abilities and tools with which to progress (high jump/air strike, dash, innertube, pickaxe for climbing, dive jump/lunge; smash, sling, torch, TNT, gas mask (more like a key), shield), can buy HP and canteen capacity upgrades (have to find the canteen first but you get it early), buy combat moves and hints from vendors (often hidden), hidden items (currency items generally), breakable walls and pillars)
Control options, Hints and HUD toggle (some hints are overly obvious and frequent)
Some interesting level gimmicks (can push enemies into traps to temporarily disarm them, use certain enemies as platforms, )
Hints don't pause gameplay
Can quickly slide down vines and ladders
Some large scale environmental changes (water levels, felling some large trees, blowing up or toppling over some larger structures)
Start with a double jump however it barely adds any height to your jumps
Pretty good variety overall
In medias res beginning (short boss fight, kinda weird how you don't have your moves though since it's suppose to show your future self near the finale)
Some infighting between different types of enemies (tribals and animals)
Audio cues when near hidden items (Ecco Jr., Powerslave, Rayman 2, Metroid Prime)
Some sequence breaking possibilities (can double jump from rolling position (while getting back up) at a point near the beginning where the game expects you to use the high jump/air strike - lets you reach one more shop+idol earlier as well as the native jungle area a bit earlier, can dash into mid-air and then jump to reach further at some points for some minor skips (similar to DKC and M2), earlier excavation camp with some tricky jumping; more with glitches (can get to battered bridge without the torch for example, TNT lets you skip both the gas mask and the shield if you did some out of bounds sequence breaking at the turtle monument and got to the jungle->cavern teleporter which let you reach the snow area early), )
Skippable cutscenes and staff roll
A couple of decent puzzles (luring an enemy into a hole to get to a survivor and another into a breakable pillar that you'd otherwise need TNT for)
Some mini-game like segments (switch bodies with a baby monkey then catch your body by latching onto it and making a monkey mom tackle it - decent (repeats this with a couple of other enemies but it's only ok), downhill innertube segment (pretty good and you can replay it), ) and actual mini-games (whack-a-mole, tuco shot; decent)
Don't fall down when attacking near ledges
Includes the first Pitfall (mystery item) and you can unlock Pitfall 2 as well with a code
Some decent bosses (second french guy encounter in the mines) and interesting enemy designs (the dynamite throwers that also dodge your attacks, the alligators in the mud pools that you have to dash past, penultimate boss)
Some decent slapstick humour
Some new enemies appear when revisiting previous areas and at the final area there's an invasion by the excavators when you get there for the finale (environmental storytelling; could've been more visually exciting though)
Some nice lighting while underwater and in the penguin temple
Three teleporters and a couple of shortcuts (between bittenbinder camp and renegade fort for example; there could have been more of both though)
Some ape escape-style movement which works pretty well (climbing using the pickaxe, steering the innertube could've been quicker and more responsive however)
Can keep playing after beating the game
Buildings and objects generally become semi-transparent when in front of your avatar (not always though and there are occasional minor camera issues in tight spaces)
+/-
Mostly linear structure (can only progress to the crashed plane at first and then to the tank (a couple of temporary points of no return during this part of the game), after that you can go back for some optional items (one more if you buy the smash move) but forward progression is still linear, can reach the eldorado gates before going to white valley but it's pointless, plenty of optional paths to explore in the late game but there's not much interesting to buy with the remaining idols at that point)
Backtracking and looping back around to progress and sometimes for optional items
Partial hub area near the beginning
Save at the beginning of area/levels only (can at least save at any point; 4 slots - shows completion percentage+number of idols collected and left to collect+time taken but not the current area)
Frequent healing points and very frequent checkpoints
The first intro is more like a trailer
The game outright tells you what tool or move you need to progress at an ability gate
Some death pits but the frequent checkpoints make them not matter much (some also just do 1 HP damage and respawn you where you previously stood)
Optional rescue mission element (kinda weird how rescued survivors don't talk to you)
Auto-grab and climb ledges (sometimes breaks flow a bit)
No mini-map
Marks the next sub goal on the map (the map is rather vague however)
Player char is vaguely reminiscent of Brendan Fraser
Some forced combat encounters
Punching and rolling is a bit faster than running
Some mostly straightforward "corridor" segments with minor detours here and there
One fetch quest (12 butterflies)
Some underwater segments
A few neutral animals but you can't interact with them
Can't move while using the sling - could've let you do it while reducing accuracy
No glide jump or other form of temporary flight
-
Some control/interface issues (can't reverse the camera rotation movement (it's inverted by default - can fix it in an emulator though; vertical looking around while still can be inverted but not if you use the alternate method of looking around that lets you move at the same time), Harry's head should've become transparent when looking around (it actually is if looking upwards but no other angles), no proper area maps - vague world map only? (and can't place markers on it), fall faster than the camera can keep up with, can't attack after double jumping, can use the c-stick to look around while moving but have to hold L+R while doing it - seems like it should've been default instead of the pointless grab move to pick up items with, kinda odd hit detection on some parts of the environment, no subtitles, can't grab items while crouching, filling up the canteen is kinda slow, can't double jump after high jumping/air striking, slower camera rotation underwater, can't dash nor jump while using the gas mask, can't dash while using the shield - slower movement while using it, mashing the button to keep dashing gets a bit tiresome, pretty slow climbing, the automatic ledge grabbing isn't 100% reliable at times, turning in the innertube is pretty sluggish)
Some boring backtracking (for example the backtracking for a couple of cutscenes in the late game (you also don't get to use the TNT that much unless you take detours here)
Player char is kind of a douche
Pretty generic art direction and some NPCs are somewhat ugly (kinda dated facial animations)
Having to buy completion info for areas is a bit lame since the main point to finding the idols is to get more money to buy stuff with
Some tedious parts (not enough teleporters and shortcuts (there are three teleporters in the game - they could've just used them a bit more), some of the vertical platforming, introduces too many ability gates before you get any new tools/abilities (something like 8?, otoh you suddenly gain 2 after getting to the tank, takes forever to gain the TNT), some of the gates could've been less binary to reward risktaking or thinking outside the box (gas, lava), hard part of the tuco shot mini-game - delay on dodging when using a super shot, gas mask gate right after one of the underwater segments, parts of the mines - hard to see+overly vertical focused and some untapped potential with few hidden items to find if you go higher, no health refill right after the mines boss - instead the eyes of doom trap segment first, the scorpion transformation segment is a decent idea but the arena is too big/moving down and attacking is too slow (the penguin one is better paced but it's annoying how you have to redo it if you get knocked into the water once), forced stealth segment right before the final area that you have to restart if you get caught - at least you keep any retrieved gear (and you can use ranged attacks but that's kinda slow too) but it's also pretty long+detection feels a bit inconsistent (for example you can shoot a guy right next to another one without a reaction), some boring gates where you have to use the innertube for a brief moment instead of adding more downhill parts - or there could've been an upgrade that gave it temporary flight or something, fighting the spinning enemies en masse (fight before you get dynamite))
Shops disappear after one purchase
Some trial & error (the large monkey mom enemy is invincible, progressing at cavern lake - need to hit the ice stalactite exactly right with the slingshot or it won't fall and open the way forward, kinda hard to spot some paths forward (small hole after breaking into the box structure in the mines, small patch of land in the ice water at one point), fairly easy to forget about the path to the excavation camp behind a waterfall in one area)
The slingshot lacks impact
Mostly lame jokes (the comic relief leopard is kind of tedious)
If TNT was ammo-based and you could gain it from the TNT throwing enemies earlier that would open up the game quite a bit without completely breaking it open at once - you get it way too late when about 75% of the game is over with
Could've had some more outlandish enemies/creatures and more enemy variation
Sometimes the lunge jump gets in the way as you actually need to koyote/DKC jump instead to reach the other side - could've let you double jump after the lunge maybe
Some later idols are sort of placed right out in the open
Puzzles don't really grow more complex over the course of the game (the later temples could've been expanded into something more zelda-like)
Weirdly inconsistent in what can and can't be destroyed (TNT can destroy rock walls but not certain cloth "doors" on huts for example)
Fairly easy final boss
Bugs:
-Sometimes glitchy physics near platform edges or steep slopes (fairly rare)
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+
Metroid-like gameplay (rolling works like being in morph ball form in Metroid, gain movement abilities and tools with which to progress (high jump/air strike, dash, innertube, pickaxe for climbing, dive jump/lunge; smash, sling, torch, TNT, gas mask (more like a key), shield), can buy HP and canteen capacity upgrades (have to find the canteen first but you get it early), buy combat moves and hints from vendors (often hidden), hidden items (currency items generally), breakable walls and pillars)
Control options, Hints and HUD toggle (some hints are overly obvious and frequent)
Some interesting level gimmicks (can push enemies into traps to temporarily disarm them, use certain enemies as platforms, )
Hints don't pause gameplay
Can quickly slide down vines and ladders
Some large scale environmental changes (water levels, felling some large trees, blowing up or toppling over some larger structures)
Start with a double jump however it barely adds any height to your jumps
Pretty good variety overall
In medias res beginning (short boss fight, kinda weird how you don't have your moves though since it's suppose to show your future self near the finale)
Some infighting between different types of enemies (tribals and animals)
Audio cues when near hidden items (Ecco Jr., Powerslave, Rayman 2, Metroid Prime)
Some sequence breaking possibilities (can double jump from rolling position (while getting back up) at a point near the beginning where the game expects you to use the high jump/air strike - lets you reach one more shop+idol earlier as well as the native jungle area a bit earlier, can dash into mid-air and then jump to reach further at some points for some minor skips (similar to DKC and M2), earlier excavation camp with some tricky jumping; more with glitches (can get to battered bridge without the torch for example, TNT lets you skip both the gas mask and the shield if you did some out of bounds sequence breaking at the turtle monument and got to the jungle->cavern teleporter which let you reach the snow area early), )
Skippable cutscenes and staff roll
A couple of decent puzzles (luring an enemy into a hole to get to a survivor and another into a breakable pillar that you'd otherwise need TNT for)
Some mini-game like segments (switch bodies with a baby monkey then catch your body by latching onto it and making a monkey mom tackle it - decent (repeats this with a couple of other enemies but it's only ok), downhill innertube segment (pretty good and you can replay it), ) and actual mini-games (whack-a-mole, tuco shot; decent)
Don't fall down when attacking near ledges
Includes the first Pitfall (mystery item) and you can unlock Pitfall 2 as well with a code
Some decent bosses (second french guy encounter in the mines) and interesting enemy designs (the dynamite throwers that also dodge your attacks, the alligators in the mud pools that you have to dash past, penultimate boss)
Some decent slapstick humour
Some new enemies appear when revisiting previous areas and at the final area there's an invasion by the excavators when you get there for the finale (environmental storytelling; could've been more visually exciting though)
Some nice lighting while underwater and in the penguin temple
Three teleporters and a couple of shortcuts (between bittenbinder camp and renegade fort for example; there could have been more of both though)
Some ape escape-style movement which works pretty well (climbing using the pickaxe, steering the innertube could've been quicker and more responsive however)
Can keep playing after beating the game
Buildings and objects generally become semi-transparent when in front of your avatar (not always though and there are occasional minor camera issues in tight spaces)
+/-
Mostly linear structure (can only progress to the crashed plane at first and then to the tank (a couple of temporary points of no return during this part of the game), after that you can go back for some optional items (one more if you buy the smash move) but forward progression is still linear, can reach the eldorado gates before going to white valley but it's pointless, plenty of optional paths to explore in the late game but there's not much interesting to buy with the remaining idols at that point)
Backtracking and looping back around to progress and sometimes for optional items
Partial hub area near the beginning
Save at the beginning of area/levels only (can at least save at any point; 4 slots - shows completion percentage+number of idols collected and left to collect+time taken but not the current area)
Frequent healing points and very frequent checkpoints
The first intro is more like a trailer
The game outright tells you what tool or move you need to progress at an ability gate
Some death pits but the frequent checkpoints make them not matter much (some also just do 1 HP damage and respawn you where you previously stood)
Optional rescue mission element (kinda weird how rescued survivors don't talk to you)
Auto-grab and climb ledges (sometimes breaks flow a bit)
No mini-map
Marks the next sub goal on the map (the map is rather vague however)
Player char is vaguely reminiscent of Brendan Fraser
Some forced combat encounters
Punching and rolling is a bit faster than running
Some mostly straightforward "corridor" segments with minor detours here and there
One fetch quest (12 butterflies)
Some underwater segments
A few neutral animals but you can't interact with them
Can't move while using the sling - could've let you do it while reducing accuracy
No glide jump or other form of temporary flight
-
Some control/interface issues (can't reverse the camera rotation movement (it's inverted by default - can fix it in an emulator though; vertical looking around while still can be inverted but not if you use the alternate method of looking around that lets you move at the same time), Harry's head should've become transparent when looking around (it actually is if looking upwards but no other angles), no proper area maps - vague world map only? (and can't place markers on it), fall faster than the camera can keep up with, can't attack after double jumping, can use the c-stick to look around while moving but have to hold L+R while doing it - seems like it should've been default instead of the pointless grab move to pick up items with, kinda odd hit detection on some parts of the environment, no subtitles, can't grab items while crouching, filling up the canteen is kinda slow, can't double jump after high jumping/air striking, slower camera rotation underwater, can't dash nor jump while using the gas mask, can't dash while using the shield - slower movement while using it, mashing the button to keep dashing gets a bit tiresome, pretty slow climbing, the automatic ledge grabbing isn't 100% reliable at times, turning in the innertube is pretty sluggish)
Some boring backtracking (for example the backtracking for a couple of cutscenes in the late game (you also don't get to use the TNT that much unless you take detours here)
Player char is kind of a douche
Pretty generic art direction and some NPCs are somewhat ugly (kinda dated facial animations)
Having to buy completion info for areas is a bit lame since the main point to finding the idols is to get more money to buy stuff with
Some tedious parts (not enough teleporters and shortcuts (there are three teleporters in the game - they could've just used them a bit more), some of the vertical platforming, introduces too many ability gates before you get any new tools/abilities (something like 8?, otoh you suddenly gain 2 after getting to the tank, takes forever to gain the TNT), some of the gates could've been less binary to reward risktaking or thinking outside the box (gas, lava), hard part of the tuco shot mini-game - delay on dodging when using a super shot, gas mask gate right after one of the underwater segments, parts of the mines - hard to see+overly vertical focused and some untapped potential with few hidden items to find if you go higher, no health refill right after the mines boss - instead the eyes of doom trap segment first, the scorpion transformation segment is a decent idea but the arena is too big/moving down and attacking is too slow (the penguin one is better paced but it's annoying how you have to redo it if you get knocked into the water once), forced stealth segment right before the final area that you have to restart if you get caught - at least you keep any retrieved gear (and you can use ranged attacks but that's kinda slow too) but it's also pretty long+detection feels a bit inconsistent (for example you can shoot a guy right next to another one without a reaction), some boring gates where you have to use the innertube for a brief moment instead of adding more downhill parts - or there could've been an upgrade that gave it temporary flight or something, fighting the spinning enemies en masse (fight before you get dynamite))
Shops disappear after one purchase
Some trial & error (the large monkey mom enemy is invincible, progressing at cavern lake - need to hit the ice stalactite exactly right with the slingshot or it won't fall and open the way forward, kinda hard to spot some paths forward (small hole after breaking into the box structure in the mines, small patch of land in the ice water at one point), fairly easy to forget about the path to the excavation camp behind a waterfall in one area)
The slingshot lacks impact
Mostly lame jokes (the comic relief leopard is kind of tedious)
If TNT was ammo-based and you could gain it from the TNT throwing enemies earlier that would open up the game quite a bit without completely breaking it open at once - you get it way too late when about 75% of the game is over with
Could've had some more outlandish enemies/creatures and more enemy variation
Sometimes the lunge jump gets in the way as you actually need to koyote/DKC jump instead to reach the other side - could've let you double jump after the lunge maybe
Some later idols are sort of placed right out in the open
Puzzles don't really grow more complex over the course of the game (the later temples could've been expanded into something more zelda-like)
Weirdly inconsistent in what can and can't be destroyed (TNT can destroy rock walls but not certain cloth "doors" on huts for example)
Fairly easy final boss
Bugs:
-Sometimes glitchy physics near platform edges or steep slopes (fairly rare)