Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Sega CD)

[Melf]

Activision has spent the better part of the past two decades trying to recapture the magic (and the sales) of the original Pitfall! To say that it's been mostly unsuccessful would be something of an understatement, with most of the games that have appeared bearing the famous moniker have fallen far, far short of David Crane's 1982 classic. Probably the only title in recent years to come close was The Mayan Adventure, a game that had players assume the role of Pitfall Harry's son on a mission to rescue his famous father. Activision apparently saw what it had, and it went on to release versions of its wayward hit on every console under the sun. We have a full review of the stellar Sega CD rendition, so grab a whip and read on.

[nathanallan]

After I read the review, I decided to go back and pop in the Genesis version, and it's a really good game there so the CD version must be stellar, like you say. IMHO the PC version doesn't stack up better than the Genesis version and I have yet to compare the SCD game.

A great review for a great game, I'll keep an eye out for it!

[McMasters]

It was a good game and all but a 10? That's a little overzealous methinks.

[Aarzak]

I'd say the PC version is the best one, followed by the SNES version, then the SCD one, then the Jaguar version, then the Genesis one........32X version with it's jerky frame rate and re-hash of the Genesis version's soundtrack is worst.

As far as graphics go though: PC>>Jaguar>>SNES>>>32X>>>Genesis/SCD.

[vintagegamecrazy]

Aarzak it's funny you mention that because I thought the Jaguar version was one of the worst versions, it still didn't have all of the levels and it looked poor too with how dark it was, it also had some of the worst sound quality too.

Oh well, just my humble opinion.

[Phantar]

good review, but rated too high IMO. I'd have gone for a 9 instead. I just feel that the game is enjoyable, but drags out a tad too long.

[Aarzak]

Aarzak it's funny you mention that because I thought the Jaguar version was one of the worst versions, it still didn't have all of the levels and it looked poor too with how dark it was, it also had some of the worst sound quality too.

Oh well, just my humble opinion.

You could be right, as my only experience playing the Jaguar version was through an emulator. To me it looked similar to the PC version. The 32X version had the sprites and foregrounds of the Jaguar and PC versions, but the backgrounds of the Genesis/SCD versions. And the foreground moved at a different frame-rate than the backgrounds so it was quite nausea-inducing.

[TheEdge]

Pitfall was a masterpiece of a game. I really liked it. Good graphics, animation, storyline, levels. The list goes on and on. Great review.

[j_factor]

I'd say the PC version is the best one, followed by the SNES version, then the SCD one, then the Jaguar version, then the Genesis one........32X version with it's jerky frame rate and re-hash of the Genesis version's soundtrack is worst.

As far as graphics go though: PC>>Jaguar>>SNES>>>32X>>>Genesis/SCD.

How is the SNES version better than the Sega CD version? It might be a bit more colorful on SNES, but I thought the CD soundtrack really added to the game, not to mention the extra content in the Sega CD version (which was also in the PC version).

[Tanegashima]

I dislike this game immensely...sorry everybody...

[Aarzak]

The SNES version's soundtrack was quite impressive as well and held its own against the Redbook soundtrack. It's graphics were second best compared to the PC (and Jaguar I suppose) versions. The PC version features the best of both of these worlds (better graphics, Redbook soundtrack, added stuff).

The Genesis/SCD versions look the darkest and muddiest of them all. Muddy mudskipper.

[acdc]

good game but when it s played out and you found the secret letters

there s no turning back so i give it a seven