Platform: Atari 2600
Region: NTSC-U
Country: United States of America
Developer(s): Activision
Publishers(s): Activision
ReleaseDate: 1982-09-02
Players: 1
Co-op: No
Pitfall!
Pitfall! is a 1982 Atari 2600 platformer video game developed and released by Activision in the USA on September 2, 1982. Pitfall! is a video game set in a jungle where the player controls Pitfall Harry, a fortune hunter and explorer. Pitfall! has been characterized as a platformer by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost, the authors of Racing the Beam. Similar to Superman (1979) and Adventure (1980), the game does not feature side-scrolling and instead loads one screen at a time, with a new screen appearing when the player character, Pitfall Harry, moves to the edge of the screen. The goal is to get Harry as many points as possible within a twenty-minute time limit. The player starts the game with 2,000 points and can collect a total of 32 treasure hidden among 255 scenes to increase their total, ranging from a money bag worth 2,000 points to a diamond ring worth 5,000 points. Pitfall Harry moves left and right and can jump over and onto objects, swing from vines, and climb up and down ladders to seek treasure and avoid danger. The player can lose points from hazards, such as falling down a hole or colliding with rolling logs. The player starts with three lives and loses one if they sink into quicksand, swamps or tar pits, running into fire, or are hit by a scorpion, cobra rattler, or crocodile.
Trailer: YouTube
ESRB Rating: E - Everyone
Genre(s): Platform
