Descpription:
The original Pitfall! has Harry exploring a jungle,
collecting treasures, and avoiding danger in the forms of crocodiles, scorpions,
cobras, and quicksand. Although the background does not scroll, the game was
one of the first large platform games for a home video game console.
Lost Caverns stays true to the gameplay of the original but greatly expands
the scope of the environment, as Harry now descends deep into the catacombs.
The game features vertical travel and scrolling; like the original, it does
not scroll horizontally, but switches the screen when the player reaches the edge.
While faithful in many respects to its predecessor, Lost Caverns featured numerous
changes to make it play differently from the original game. Pitfall Harry
has unlimited time and lives, making it impossible to "lose" the game; when
Harry touches a dangerous creature, he simply loses points as he floats back
to the last continue point (marked with a red cross) he touched.
Pitfall II has 27 vertical levels, along with eight screens across. Quicksand
and tar pits are replaced by rivers and chasms, neither of which is deadly to
fall into (through dropping onto a hard surface will cause a loss of points).
Balloons allow Harry to ascend to new areas. The game does not have
the snakes or crocodiles of the original, but scorpions are still present.
