Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
An Activision classic finally gets a proper update.
Published: March 10, 2004
Plenty of gamers have been waiting for an update to Metroid's classic 2D hub-based gameplay. While the release of Metroid Prime showed that the jump to 3D and the simultaneous switch in gears to a first-person perspective showed the gameplay definitely works. However, there are still those of us that wouldn't mind seeing the series brought into a proper third-person 3D view and executed with the same flair.
By no means is Edge of Reality's attempt to give Pitfall the rope-swinging, pit-jumping, croc-hopping update it deserves anything close to any Metroid, but it does borrow quite a bit from Samus' style of navigation and does so with enough respect and just a dash of originality in weapons execution that the whole mess serves as a quaint reminder of just how good a Metroid update would be.
That's not to say The Lost Expedition isn't good. It is indeed a decent game, that mixes humor with a rather average platforming experience to make it just fun enough to recommend to anyone looking for a good 10 hours of platforming gameplay. Metroid's formula of blocking off areas until you acquire the proper upgrades to explore things along with a design that thankfully doesn't enforce backtracking as much as it could have (though there is more than enough to go around).
Told as a round-about flashback, The Lost Expedition starts out with the intrepid Pitfall Harry seconds away from being scarfed by a fire-engulfed demon jaguar, at which point he launches into a recounting of a downed flight that housed a famous explorer, his goofy expedition crew and an ultra conservative female researcher (Harry describes her as an "ice queen with a dash of bookworm") that eventually becomes the requisite love interest and part-time damsel in distress.
When the plane plummets into the jungle after an errant lightning bolt clips its metallic wings, it quickly becomes Harry's job to round up the missing members of the expeditionary crew. Along the way he meets a talking jaguar, a butterfly-chasing princess, and plenty of 3D representations of old Pitfall standbys like pits (mercifully, these ones only chew you up a bit and spit you out), ropes, and the odd croc to jump on.
Most of the gameplay is standard platforming fare, but there is some decent Ape Escape-style implementation with the analog sticks. At any given time, the right analog stick controls Harry's right hand, allowing him to do everything from hold a gas mask to his face to toss lit bundles of dynamite to hurling stones from a sling to snagging idols from freed exploration crew members and pedestals (which are used smartly as currency to buy new moves and upgrade life and health refill capacity).
TLE's biggest faults lie in the fact that it doesn't really do too much to distinguish itself from the wealth of platformers released over the past year or so – some of them, like Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, among the best ever released. While the implementation of weapons and upgrades keep things interesting, there's still little more than the humor to carry the game. The humor itself is quite well done, however, and it bears mentioning that the writing for the game packs plenty of genuinely funny moments with top-notch deliveries.
Even the Metroid Prime-style way Harry can curl into a ball and roll into tight spaces, the ability to dive and the upgradable super attacks don't really pull the game too far above the platformer mean. Worse yet, the heavily Metroid-influenced style of blocking off areas of the game and slowly opening them up with scripted move and item upgrades – while plenty good at keeping the game interesting – doesn't distract from the fact that the core gameplay is rather vanilla.
Some of this pervasive feeling of blah will stem in no small part from the graphics. It wouldn't be fair to call TLE the worst looking game on the PS2, but it's hardly a stretch to say it's frankly rather fugly. Disgusting dithering problems, frequent framerate dips to near-slideshow levels – especially when the Havok physics engine kicks in to allow falling slabs of stone or tumbling spiked pillars to play off each other realistically – and texture detail that's painfully bad add up to a lackluster visual experience.
The modeling on the different characters isn't quite as abysmal, but the game's oft too stark lighting plays off their faces in odd ways, sometimes to a distracting degree. The actual animations for all of Harry's moves and the cutscenes are smooth and show plenty of polish, but the world he and the characters he interacts with certainly won't be winning any graphics awards.
Luckily, the audio is quite strong, with a decent (if basic) tribal soundtrack that gets the job done, though won't have anyone humming the tunes after they've turned their PS2 off. The effects, mainly consisting of the occasional burst of babble from local tribesmen, a random bird chirp or grunt, and the near-constant string of jumps, grunts and yelps from Harry.
It's the voice acting, however, that really carries the game. Cowboy Bebop alum (and near-ubiquitous video game aural persona) Steven Jay Blum voices Harry, and does a fantastic job of filling his slightly pompous shoes. The deliveries for all the characters and indeed the writing that fuels them is good enough to single-handedly raise the game above the average. It's not a huge leap, but it's enough to make the game noteworthy.
The Lost Expedition is indeed noteworthy, if for no reason other than the fact that it manages to bite the style off of Metroid rather strongly but still injects enough humor to keep it entertaining. Yes, things are about as average as you're going to get otherwise, but for those looking for at least a fair try at a Metroid clone, there's enough here to warrant a purchase. For everyone else, a rental will probably suffice, but either way, after a few slip-ups Pitfall has finally gotten a proper shove into the post Activision/Atari/Intellivision era.
By no means is Edge of Reality's attempt to give Pitfall the rope-swinging, pit-jumping, croc-hopping update it deserves anything close to any Metroid, but it does borrow quite a bit from Samus' style of navigation and does so with enough respect and just a dash of originality in weapons execution that the whole mess serves as a quaint reminder of just how good a Metroid update would be.
That's not to say The Lost Expedition isn't good. It is indeed a decent game, that mixes humor with a rather average platforming experience to make it just fun enough to recommend to anyone looking for a good 10 hours of platforming gameplay. Metroid's formula of blocking off areas until you acquire the proper upgrades to explore things along with a design that thankfully doesn't enforce backtracking as much as it could have (though there is more than enough to go around).
Told as a round-about flashback, The Lost Expedition starts out with the intrepid Pitfall Harry seconds away from being scarfed by a fire-engulfed demon jaguar, at which point he launches into a recounting of a downed flight that housed a famous explorer, his goofy expedition crew and an ultra conservative female researcher (Harry describes her as an "ice queen with a dash of bookworm") that eventually becomes the requisite love interest and part-time damsel in distress.
When the plane plummets into the jungle after an errant lightning bolt clips its metallic wings, it quickly becomes Harry's job to round up the missing members of the expeditionary crew. Along the way he meets a talking jaguar, a butterfly-chasing princess, and plenty of 3D representations of old Pitfall standbys like pits (mercifully, these ones only chew you up a bit and spit you out), ropes, and the odd croc to jump on.
Most of the gameplay is standard platforming fare, but there is some decent Ape Escape-style implementation with the analog sticks. At any given time, the right analog stick controls Harry's right hand, allowing him to do everything from hold a gas mask to his face to toss lit bundles of dynamite to hurling stones from a sling to snagging idols from freed exploration crew members and pedestals (which are used smartly as currency to buy new moves and upgrade life and health refill capacity).
TLE's biggest faults lie in the fact that it doesn't really do too much to distinguish itself from the wealth of platformers released over the past year or so – some of them, like Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, among the best ever released. While the implementation of weapons and upgrades keep things interesting, there's still little more than the humor to carry the game. The humor itself is quite well done, however, and it bears mentioning that the writing for the game packs plenty of genuinely funny moments with top-notch deliveries.
Even the Metroid Prime-style way Harry can curl into a ball and roll into tight spaces, the ability to dive and the upgradable super attacks don't really pull the game too far above the platformer mean. Worse yet, the heavily Metroid-influenced style of blocking off areas of the game and slowly opening them up with scripted move and item upgrades – while plenty good at keeping the game interesting – doesn't distract from the fact that the core gameplay is rather vanilla.
Some of this pervasive feeling of blah will stem in no small part from the graphics. It wouldn't be fair to call TLE the worst looking game on the PS2, but it's hardly a stretch to say it's frankly rather fugly. Disgusting dithering problems, frequent framerate dips to near-slideshow levels – especially when the Havok physics engine kicks in to allow falling slabs of stone or tumbling spiked pillars to play off each other realistically – and texture detail that's painfully bad add up to a lackluster visual experience.
The modeling on the different characters isn't quite as abysmal, but the game's oft too stark lighting plays off their faces in odd ways, sometimes to a distracting degree. The actual animations for all of Harry's moves and the cutscenes are smooth and show plenty of polish, but the world he and the characters he interacts with certainly won't be winning any graphics awards.
Luckily, the audio is quite strong, with a decent (if basic) tribal soundtrack that gets the job done, though won't have anyone humming the tunes after they've turned their PS2 off. The effects, mainly consisting of the occasional burst of babble from local tribesmen, a random bird chirp or grunt, and the near-constant string of jumps, grunts and yelps from Harry.
It's the voice acting, however, that really carries the game. Cowboy Bebop alum (and near-ubiquitous video game aural persona) Steven Jay Blum voices Harry, and does a fantastic job of filling his slightly pompous shoes. The deliveries for all the characters and indeed the writing that fuels them is good enough to single-handedly raise the game above the average. It's not a huge leap, but it's enough to make the game noteworthy.
The Lost Expedition is indeed noteworthy, if for no reason other than the fact that it manages to bite the style off of Metroid rather strongly but still injects enough humor to keep it entertaining. Yes, things are about as average as you're going to get otherwise, but for those looking for at least a fair try at a Metroid clone, there's enough here to warrant a purchase. For everyone else, a rental will probably suffice, but either way, after a few slip-ups Pitfall has finally gotten a proper shove into the post Activision/Atari/Intellivision era.
