Pitfall: The Big Adventure Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 22nd April 2009

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This game falls down a pit!

Pitfall: The Big Adventure Details:

Goto Pitfall: The Big Adventure Game Page

	Action
	Nintendo Wii
	Edge of Reality
	Activision

Out Now

Pitfall is a game with its roots firmly in videogame history! It is also a game that provided me with one of my earliest home console gaming experiences, way back in the early 1980’s. Now Activision has once again revived Pitfall Harry and brought him into the world of 3D via Nintendo’s Wii. But will Pitfall: The Big Adventure leave me fond memories as its predecessors did so many years ago?

The story in Pitfall: The Big Adventure is vague to say the least. The game starts with Harry on board a plane flying throw a storm. Lightning strikes one of its engines and sends it plummeting to the ground. Harry then awakes in a dense Jungle in which he must track down his friends and discover the mysteries of the various ancient ruins.

Pitfall is very much a 3D platformer and it’s clear the game is intended for a younger audience. Level design in the game is fairly standard for the genre and sees you swing from vines, climbing ledges and so on. The game doesn’t really serve up any new or innovative ideas and frankly really never inspires you to progress any further through the game. The game feels very much like an uninspired mass produced title, instead of one that has been crafted with passion and this reflects on the way it plays in many ways! Most notably the lack of immersion it offers. As you never really feel any connection to the characters! Level design also isn’t the best and you will often find yourself wondering what you’re supposed to be doing. This coupled with the vagueness of the story means you will also often ask the question why you should really care. Also, rather annoyingly the game features an unprecedented amount of backtracking, as you are often required to go throw areas you have already cleared. All of which are small and pokey affairs, that never take more then a couple of minutes to clear.

The game also lacks any challenge, enemies you encounter are too easily disposed of whilst puzzles are overly simple. In fact the games biggest challenge usually comes from the games inaccurate controls that will frequently result in you plummeting to your death. All this combined can make Pitfall: The Big Adventure a somewhat laboured playing experience and as a result its lasting appeal is severely limited, as there’s very little incentive to play through the game a first time.

On a more positive note however, it’s not a bad looking game with lush jungle environments and colourful characters that will appeal to the games intended audience. The same sadly can’t be said for the games audio design which is all but forgettable, apart from some very fitting and occasionally humorous voice acting.

On the whole Pitfall: The Big Adventure serves up a pretty uninspiring, bog standard platform title. The game doesn’t innovate in any way giving it a very standard feel with limited appeal. This coupled with the fact that the game makes very little use of the Wii’s abilities. It’s not the worst platform game to ever grace the Wii but it’s a far cry from being a worthy addition to your games collection.