Pitfall: The Lost Expedition

by Aspyr

Product Features

• Explore and vine-swing across over 40 challenging and adventure-filled levels
• Arm yourself with cool tools, including a slingshot, TNT and ice axes
• Battle enemies at every turn--from human mercenaries to piranhas and scorpions
• Adventure your way through a vast landscape, from forests to ancient ruins to subterranean mines
• For 1 player

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002E6WIS
• Item Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 18, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,297 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Deep in the Peruvian Jungle, assume the role of Pitfall Harry, a fearless, rough-and-ready treasure seeker who battles evil using his athletic ability and a knapsack filled with adventure gear. Your mission: race against a rival explorer to find hidden treasures, which in the wrong hands could spell doom for you and your friends. Laugh in the face of danger as you search for lost treasures and rescue those in distress from deadly foes.

Product Description

Pitfall: The Lost Expedition - Pitfall Harry, the 80s arcade hero, comes back in all-new graphics and gameplay. Lead Harry on a series of great adventures through the world's most remote jungles!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Pitfall Installment Yet!, January 20, 2005

By 

KnyteOwl (Noneyaville, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (CD-ROM)

I've been a fan of Pitfall games since the franchise debuted, and played each of the five previous games. I'm also a big fan of mascot platformers. So after seeing it at CompUSA, I immediately decided "Pitfall: The Lost Expedition" was a 'must have' game. I have to admit to being a bit skeptical at first because mascot platformers are rare on the PC, and usually very haphazardly ported. I'm pleased to report however that my skepticism was misplaced, and that I was in for a true treat. 'Lost Expedition' manages to avoid many of the "pitfalls" that so many other console ports usually fall into. But given that Activsion has always taken care to treat what is perhaps their best known franchise with respect, and make their Pitfall games good, this should come as no surprise. The game includes native gamepad support (including rumblepads), has pretty good graphics, and perhaps best of all, doesn't force you to switch between using your gamepad, and keyboard/mouse when you exit to the menus. It has also been updated to be comparable to modern platformers nicely. This installment in the Pitfall franchise marks a milestone. Despite numerous homages to it's predecessors, it is in no way a re-make of, or sequel to any previous Pitfall adventure. For the first time since "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure", you're not playing as the son of the legend, Pitfall Harry Jr; you're stepping into the hiking boots of the man himself. Turned over to the capable hands of the developers at "Edge of Reality", this installment is a re-imagining of the character, and a new direction for the franchise complete with a new story, and fresh plot. After stormy weather damages their plane over the South American jungle, Harry and friends are forced to bail out, and end up scattered all over native territory deep in the jungle. Awakening, and finding himself seperated from his colleagues, Harry sets out to rescue the members of his lost expedition (most of whom have been stranded, or captured by hostile natives), but in the process encounters an old rival, and and gets caught up in a much larger adventure.

Though it's been updated in many ways, Activision has gone to some pains here to avoid re-vamping the franchise to the point of alienating fans, and it has been treated with obvious respect. 'Lost Expedition' stays pretty true to Pitfall's original gameplay forumula of running and jumping puzzles, vine swinging, and treasure hunting, but adds several new dynamics to the mix, such as climbing and scaling walls and cliffs, and even rescuing a damsel in distress, as well as other explorers and comrades who provide Harry with gear they've salvaged from the plane wreck. There is even an interesting over arch to the story centered around a legendary lost city, and an ancient power which, if allowed to fall into the wrong hands, could spell doom for Harry and his friends, and perhaps even the world at large. For the first time since 'Super Pitfall', Harry's long-standing friend "Quickclaw" shows up to help; though as a jaguar this time whereas he was originally a mountain lion (though it's been speculated he was also featured as a jaguar in 'Mayan Adventure' as the first level boss). His presence is not just cursory either; after discovering early on that he's been granted speech by a powerful and evil shaman, he emerges as a helpful companion at several junctures in the story, and even plays a crucial role late in the game. Harry himself has been modernized as well, havng allot more personality, a stylized look, and new moves too. Among them are several unlockable "heroic actions" which you can either purchase (with recovered idols) from one of the game's many shamans (who also sells maps, health powerups, and other useful items), or unlock them as you progress by recovering 'heroic handbook' pages. And you're going to need them as Harry will be racing against a rival explorer, and his mercenary henchmen for the treasure and artifacts, and fighting in croc-filled swamps against hillarious "ooga booga" natives, as well as a variety of idiginous critters. Many of your enemies like the monkeys, bats, scorpions, and crocodiles are familiar, but offer new challenges. There is also a fun assortment of "native games" included in the native village which are fun diversions as well.

Despite that it's core gameplay remains essentially the same, a good deal of effort has been made to add variety, and reduce the repetition and frustration associated with previous Pitfall games, which improves the pacing, makes the game more inviting to young or casual players, and ultimately makes the game more enjoyable. Most significantly, there are no more instant death traps. Instead, each time you fall into a chasm, or get turned into a croc snack, you lose health (which can be replenished by drinking "magic healing water" from your canteen which you re-fill at fountains scattered throughout the game), and when your health is depleted, you re-start from the beginning of the area. That isn't to say there isn't any challenge in this game though, and as in every Pitfall game, more avid or experienced players will still find a good assortment of challenges, especially in the game's later levels. The graphics, though cartoonish, look appreciably better than console versions with support for two HD resolutions, have an appealing feel to them, and are pretty impressive for a game with such modest system specs. Throughout, you'll notice nice detail touches like Harry's hair blowing in the wind, his backpack bouncing on his shoulders as he runs, his breath pluming in the cold (during the snow levels), and even some fairly detailed, and nice looking 3D backgrounds. Level design is generally good, and reflects inventiveness and originaltiy throughout the game. They are impressively large, colorful, fun to explore, and nicely decorated. The levels are also laid out in branching hubs using a non-linear design so if you have trouble with one, you can simply try another. This is a great feature which was held over from 'Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle', is aimed at reducing frustration, and really sets Pitfall apart from other mascot platformers wherein if you're stuck, you're stuck; and it encourages exploration. Even the music has been well done, with catchy tribal-sounding tunes that are appropriate to the various environments you'll encounter. Perhaps most importantly, Pitfall is nothing if not original (at least in execution, if not in concept). At no point will you feel like you're playing a poor man's Tomb Raider, or Indiana Jones. Like every previous Pitfall game, it has a style, look, and gameplay feel that is distinctly Pitfall, and all it's own. The game is quite large, and requires revisiting several areas; particularly if you're shooting for 100% completion. Most players can expect to invest on average 20-30 hours in completing it depending on how experienced a player you are, how dilligently you play, whether you're shooting for 100% completion, and whether you're playing with or without a guide.

'Lost Expedition' has also been modernized in the sense that it fully embraces dual analog gamepads (which I strongly recommend), and is a bit innovative in the way it uses them; the right joystick controls Harry's right hand, and you will use it for a variety of imaginative things like grabbing idols, throwing dynamite, paddling the raft, climbing with the pick-axes, shooting with the sling, and accessing inventory items. At several points, Activision also throws in sly jokes, and tributes to previous Pitfall installments as you find that it even contains an emulator which includes full versions of "Pitfall!" and "Pitfall 2: Lost Caverns" as playable mini-games. More than that, playing these games, and reaching certain scoring thresholds in them grants codes which unlock different outfits for Harry to wear in-game (Nicole, Old School Harry, and Pusca) as well as a few handy cheats. I thought this was a nice touch as other games with bonus/mini-games like "Sonic Adventure DX", and "Rayman 3" contain them purely for your enjoyment, and that's fine; but here, Activision has gone one better, and there is an in-game reward for playing them. But then, would it truly be Pitfall if like all Pitfall installments, it didn't have the original Atari Safari stuffed into it somewhere? Overall, 'Lost Expedition' is a game that respects it's legacy, and I find that refreshing. Fans paying attention will notice nods to nearly all previous Pitfall adventures in the presence of Quickclaw (from 'Super Pitfall'), the tiki statues pointing the way for you to go (from 'Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure'), the classic opening and closing pits (of course), and the health re-fill fountains, and pick-axes (from 'Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle'). This all helps 'Lost Expedition' shine as a stand-out effort. Few old franchises ever manage to update themselves this gracefully, and remain relevant to casual, and avid gamers alike. Truly, David Crane (designer of the original game, and who is referenced late in the game as "Professor Crane") would be proud.

No game is perfect, but I can find little to complain about in 'Lost Expedition' except that it doesn't implement a true "save anywhere" system (you re-start at the beginning of an area regardless of where you save) so like many mascot platformers, there is a slight reliance on frustration factor to keep you playing at times, but a good balance has been struck, and the game doesn't seem to over-rely on it. The camera became a problem in a handful of instances, but to be fair, almost all 3D games have camera problems to some extent, and given that it can panned around (any object obstructing it's view also turns transparent), and that you have a "look" function, it certainly was no deal breaker by any means. While it will inevitably look, and run better on gaming computers, the game isn't a system hog, and doesn't seem to... Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old game still fun, December 30, 2010

By 

sam - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (CD-ROM)

I had this game when I had an Atari system. Fun then, still fun now. It is made for xp so the graphics are not great, I am running it on win 7 64 in compatability mode. Mouse isn't recognized so it is just me and the keyboard. quirky, but fun.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pitfall: The Lost Expedition, September 5, 2007

By 

Shadow (USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (CD-ROM)

I'm an old school fan of this franchise. The play control of this game is excellent and coupled with a fun physics engine. You will not find the game childish as you may other platformers. Excellent heroesque music, beautifull graphics and steady pitfall style challenges will capture your imagination and draw you into a simple, yet entertaining plot centered around discovering an ancient power & a lost fabled city. And the constant challenges of pitfalling, will delight your sense of accomplishment or possibly frustrate you at times. All in all, a positively brilliant title.

My only caution, is to point out that the game will not minimize to the task bar - so be sure your computer is optimized for it before you get into the game, and try to save often.