Format: Advance
Genre: Action platformer
Developer: Torus Games
Publisher: Activision

Truly a Hidden Gem in every pun-sense of the term. Pitfall is an atari throwback that's part of the Activision family now. This was not another remake of the original game, but rather, a completely new adventure for Pitfall Harry and his unfortunate allies. The game starts off pretty jolly, Harry is on a plane looking to solve the mystery of some Aztec Torches when it's suddenly hit by lightning. Many explorers that came with them jump out and need to be rescued, as well as his professor buddy friend guy and blonde girl love interest. The blondie is searching for her father as well. After somehow surviving the crash, Harry makes his way through the jungle until he stumbles upon... you guessed it, a pitfall! The game has a few modes to it that all play similar but a bit different. It starts you off in platform mode and you learn the basics of movement, using your sling to hurl rocks at enemies, and jumping / double jumping. This quickly gets replaced by it's other mode "Adventure Mode". This second mode is a sort of top-down 2.5d affair where you are tasked with exploring a map to find the missing explorers and the exit. You can find a crazy talking jaguar and a weird time traveling merchant who sells magic scrolls in this mode. There's also an unofficial mode that I've nicknamed "mini-game mode". In this mode you are usually restricted in some ways and the screen changes to resemble more of an arcade-styled game. For example, one minigame is climbing a glacier while avoiding falling objects, another is flying over a jungle while shooting down birds, and another is floating down a river in a tube. There's additionally a Boss Fight at the end of every world which plays in platform mode. Most of the bosses involve somehow hurting the boss with something in the room. What really makes this game great though is the Dialogue. The music isn't bad either, but Pitfall Harry here takes the cake with his 'dirty jobs duke nukem' style of context. Straight up telling enemies to shut up, get better, or that he'll kill them made me earn a bit of respect for the character. This isn't something you'd expect on a nintendo game. The controls of the game modes feel pretty smooth except for the mini-game mode. Enemies are just slightly annoying enough to be hazardous and deadly. Of course, you have unlimited continues/lives. That fact alone makes this game astounding. I'd liken this game to a previous game I reviewed "Tak 2: The staff of Dreams" which scored a perfect 10. The mechanics in this game aren't as finessed as tak 2 was, and there's some cheap deaths as well, but the basic concept was there and it was quite enjoyable for what it was. S'okay.

Hot Tips: Seek out the Treasure Tokens to unlock Heroic Powers. +10 = 1 Extra Unlock

All in All, Pitfall Harry grabs an 8.6 score for the creative dialogue and action. Mini-game Mode has sticky controls. Holding L to use secondary weapon is a bad design. Boss fights are borderline RNG. Dismounting climb objects or swing vines drops you straight down. I fell through one of the levels and had to reset.