Pitfall : The Mayan Adventure (Sega Genesis) - Quick Review
This game was the second sequel to the original Pitfall and Pitfall II on Atari. The story follows Pitfall Harry Jr as he dives into a Mayan Jungle to try and rescue his father (Pitfall Harry from the original). The sequel features combat for the first time, as in the original all you could do was run, jump, swing, and try to avoid your enemies, as in this one you have the ability to throw regular stones, boomerangs, and magical stones, all of which you can collect along your way in the game. So let's break it down and see what's good, what's bad, and if it's worth it.
The Good
- New directions. With the obvious limitations on the Atari, the original Pitfall was literally just a side-scroller. Even though you could drop down a level into the tunnel, it was all just on one screen. The Mayan Adventure takes you to new heights, literally, as you'll find yourself scaling trees and waterfalls to get to the end of the levels.
- Full color and character model. This game looks absolutely beautiful, and that's not just by comparison to the original. The levels are stunning, in the foreground and the back, and it's a blast getting to see so much stuff in a Pitfall game.
- The original is packed in. That's right, Activision coded in the original Pitfall game from Atari inside The Mayan Adventure. So when you're done schlopping around in the fancy new levels, you can travel back to the glory days.
The Bad
- Controller lag. While it's not massive, there is a noticeable lag in some of the controls, like when you jump it takes a little bit after landing before you can do anything again, and the same thing when you try changing directions. It definitely makes itself known during some of the boss fights.
- Screen is unshiftable. There are portions in this game where you're required to drop down through what looks like a pit to your death, but actually leads to a lower portion of the level. It would be nice if you had the ability to shift the screen in a direction to get a peek of what's hidden below if anything.
Is it Worth it?
This game is definitely a lot of fun, worth adding to your collection, and getting a coded-in copy of the original game just adds to the benefit of picking up this game. It's amazing to see how far games came in the 12-years between Pitfall's original release in 1982 and this game's in '94. You can usually find a loose cartridge of this game for under five bucks, or a complete in box one for around ten. Either way, you get much more than your money's worth from this one.
The Good
- New directions. With the obvious limitations on the Atari, the original Pitfall was literally just a side-scroller. Even though you could drop down a level into the tunnel, it was all just on one screen. The Mayan Adventure takes you to new heights, literally, as you'll find yourself scaling trees and waterfalls to get to the end of the levels.
- Full color and character model. This game looks absolutely beautiful, and that's not just by comparison to the original. The levels are stunning, in the foreground and the back, and it's a blast getting to see so much stuff in a Pitfall game.
- The original is packed in. That's right, Activision coded in the original Pitfall game from Atari inside The Mayan Adventure. So when you're done schlopping around in the fancy new levels, you can travel back to the glory days.
The Bad
- Controller lag. While it's not massive, there is a noticeable lag in some of the controls, like when you jump it takes a little bit after landing before you can do anything again, and the same thing when you try changing directions. It definitely makes itself known during some of the boss fights.
- Screen is unshiftable. There are portions in this game where you're required to drop down through what looks like a pit to your death, but actually leads to a lower portion of the level. It would be nice if you had the ability to shift the screen in a direction to get a peek of what's hidden below if anything.
Is it Worth it?
This game is definitely a lot of fun, worth adding to your collection, and getting a coded-in copy of the original game just adds to the benefit of picking up this game. It's amazing to see how far games came in the 12-years between Pitfall's original release in 1982 and this game's in '94. You can usually find a loose cartridge of this game for under five bucks, or a complete in box one for around ten. Either way, you get much more than your money's worth from this one.
