Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Caves Review

Platformer fans aren't going to encounter any surprises with this one, but they will get to play a solid entry in their genre of choice.

Pitfall Harry has come a long way since his days as 33 pixels (or so) of pink skin and green sweater. Last year's Pitfall: The Lost Expedition was a decent three-dimensional platformer, appearing on all three consoles and on the PC. Each of the three Lost Expedition mobile games represents one of the environments of the console games. As you might imagine, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Caves takes place in a series of dank, bat-infested caverns, presenting platforming puzzles aplenty. It's well designed and very conventional.

Moving platforms,
Moving platforms," you say? Brilliant!

If you've played a platformer with an underground temple level before--and, if you've played platformers at all, chances are you have--you'll know just what to expect from the jumping puzzles in The Lost Expedition. You'll want to avoid things like spikes, and you'll want to press anything that looks like a switch. Pitfall Harry can deal with enemies by either punching them or throwing rocks their way. Fortunately, the levels are well designed, and you won't want for analog controls. Jumps have been spaced with your limited means of input in mind.

Caves uses a checkpoint system to keep track of your progress. Your three hearts--each of which represents a point of damage--are replenished whenever you pass a checkpoint. Also, the game is saved. Even with three checkpoints per short level, the game is pretty challenging, and you'll likely have to retry each section several times.

Although The Lost Expedition Caves is rendered in sprite-based 2D, it matches the graphical style of its console predecessor well. The game runs at an excellent frame rate on the Nokia 6620, regardless of the number of moving platforms or enemies onscreen. Harry's own animations look a bit stilted, however. When he jumps, he stays frozen, as if in mid-stride, up until the moment he lands.

Don't let the bats spoil your glorious coif.
Don't let the bats spoil your glorious coif.

For whatever reason, your adventure is set to some great tango music. Perhaps the message is that Pitfall Harry, precariously perched atop some unstable precipice, is dancing dangerously with death. Or, maybe Sumea just digs tango music. We certainly do, whether or not it really fits the game.

Pitfall: The Lost Expedition Caves' six levels are challenging and entertaining, despite the game's apparent conventionality. Platformer fans aren't going to encounter any surprises with this one, but they will get to play a solid entry in their genre of choice.

The Good

  • Fun--if conventional--platforming puzzles
  • Good cartoonish graphics
  • Cool tango music
  • Solid control

The Bad

  • This is like every other platformer you've played

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