Publisher: Activision
Developer: Activision/Redline Games
Released: 1994
You know Pitfall, right? David Crane’s 1982 platformer basically defined a genre. Its success not only solidified Activision as a powerhouse publisher, but proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that great Atari 2600 games could come from somewhere other than Atari. For all intents and purposes, Pitfall Harry was basically Activision’s mascot back before video game companies had such a thing.
Activision would go on to port its megahit to multiple other platforms, including the Intellivision and Colecovision, as well as licensing it out for use on other platforms like the NES. It even licensed the game and its 1983 sequel to Sega so that it could bring Pitfall Harry to the arcade. Sega’s Pitfall arcade game mixed elements of both titles, and would eventually be ported to their SG-1000 home console.
After that, Pitfall Harry lay dormant for over a decade. In the meantime, Activision bought out Infocom, a merger which eventually lead to the company diversifying into business software, changing its name to Mediagenic, and ultimately being taken over by an investment group lead by Robert Kotick, who filed for Chapter 11 and rebuilt the company as the new Activision.
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is this new company’s first attempt at capitalizing on the once-mighty Activision’s premiere brand. It tells the story of Pitfall Harry Jr, on an expedition with his dad to find some sort of golden trinket. The opening scene shows Pitfall Harry Senior carried off by something just as the pair are about to cash in. Now Junior has to set off to find and rescue the old man.
If this game hadn’t been called Pitfall, Activision could have easily slapped an Indiana Jones license on it and no one would have batted an eyelash.
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure hit multiple systems back in 1994 and 1995. Besides the SNES, Genesis and Sega CD, it was eventually released for platforms like the Atari Jaguar and 32X.
The first thing that catches your eye when you fire up The Mayan Adventure is the wonderful animation. Junior moves very smoothly, and features a lot of really nice touches, like waving his arms wildly when he rides a mine cart or falling over backwards if he smacks into a wall while running at top speed.
For the most part, the Sega CD version features more frames of animation and more details throughout the game. For example, the little gold Harry statues in each level have a nice little sparkle to them in the CD game.
Plus, of course, you’re getting much better sound effects than what is found on the Genesis cartridge. Not to mention a very solid, redbook audio soundtrack that fits the game almost perfectly.
And the levels are nicely varied as well. While the general jungle aesthetic exists throughout, there’s a nice mix of vertical and horizontal stages, as well as standard elements like caves and waterfalls to traverse.
If The Mayan Adventure struggles anywhere, it’s with combat. All that smooth animation comes at a price. Namely, Harry Junior just doesn’t feel that responsive. This is especially true if he gets surrounded by the various wildlife that all seems determined to kill him. Turning around just takes a tiny bit of extra time, as does crouching, so that usually by the time you’re in position to hit an enemy coming from behind or one approaching on the ground, they’re already on top of you. It’s a major blemish on what is otherwise a pretty decent game.
And the Sega CD version is my favourite, if only because of the redbook audio and higher quality sound effects. The 32X game appears to use slightly more colour, and maybe even a better resolution, but overall it still doesn’t beat the shiny disc.
