Become a premium member
Visit the store
- News
- New Games
-
Reviews
PS3, X360, PC- Game of Thrones
- Review
- There is probably a great role-playing game to be made out of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, but Game of Thrones isn't it.
MAC, PC- Diablo III
- Review
- The first Diablo game in over a decade is also one of the most insidiously satisfying loot treadmills in almost as long.
PS3N, PS3, X360, PC- Prototype 2
- Review
- Prototype 2 gives you some interesting abilities that can be fun to use, but it doesn't give you enough good opportunities to cut loose with all that power.
PS3, X360, PC- Max Payne 3
- Review
- Rockstar Games modernizes and makes Max Payne its own, creating something grittier and more grounded in reality, if not quite as singular.
Pitfall! has been holding it down as the grandfather of the modern day platformer since its release in 1982. The premise of the game? Avoid falling down pits!
Gameplay
A shortcut!
The game had many basic gameplay elements that are now common in all platformers. Harry had the ability to jump, swing, climb ladders and run left or right on the screen. The game places Harry on the left side of the screen by default, but a player could choose to tackle the jungle by going right on the screen. The game also had many secret passages which could be used as shortcuts.
Release History
Pitfall! was created in 1982 by Activision employee David Crane. The game was a technical achievement in that it had multiple animated sprites of varying colors with no flickering. Pitfall! introduced the basic concept of having a character jump around to avoid obstacles and collect items, which is now the basis for all platformers. The game was a massive success on the Atari 2600 and had ports for numerous game systems afterwards.The character in the game is lovingly referred to as Pitfall Harry.
Fun Facts
- Pitfall! was used in an episode of South Park in which Father Maxy had to traverse a series of levels (with himself being the main character) to retrieve a lost scroll hidden in the catacombs of The Vatican.
- In 1982, then-unknown actor Jack Black was in a Pitfall! commercial.
- Actor Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame would eventually play the voice of Pitfall Harry in the Playstation version of the game.
- When Pitfall! was originally sold, anyone who scored above 20,000 points could send Activision a picture of his or her television screen to receive a Pitfall Harry's Explorers' Club patch.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance, the player must complete a game of Pitfall! using their own character in order to proceed in a mission.
General Information
Edit
| Game Name | Pitfall! |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
|
| Themes |
Add a new theme
|
| Original US Release |
Sept. 6, 1982
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release | know the real date? |
| Aliases | |
| ESRB |
ESRB: E
|
Top Rated Lists
Create a list
Collection
a list of 353 items by drewbert
My Gaming Collection
a list of 939 items by pikeplacer
Every Video Game I've Ever Beaten.
a list of 1000 items by Video_Game_King
Related Games
Edit
Top Editors
-
Spacetrucking
81 points
- Metiphis 72 points
- noibn 60 points
- JohnTheGamer 28 points
- KimFidler 17 points
