Pitfall (Atari 2600)

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VideoGameCritic
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Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Pitfall (Atari 2600)

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 6th, 2022, 6:16 pm

Well since I'm in a Pitfall state of mind i went back and played the original today. Over the years I have attained a level of gaming enlightenment that allows me to play the game for its entire 20 minute duration.

That might sound dull but it's anything but! When you get down to the last few minutes, you realize you're only a treasure or two away from a high score! I did in fact eclipse my high, with a score of 87597. Not bad.

My previous high was 85738. I think I remember the night I did that. I had Steve N over, and I just missed beating his personal high of 85750. 12 points!

Anyway this time I ran to the LEFT and did NOT take any underground routes. It occurred to me that to improve I might have to change that.

So I ask you, which direction do you go, and do you go underground at all?

I may or may not be touching up my current review, although the B+ feels about right.

Cafeman
Posts: 331
Joined: July 27th, 2016, 8:28 am

Re: Pitfall (Atari 2600)

Postby Cafeman » August 6th, 2022, 7:00 pm

114,000. Perfect score! I run to the left and memorize which tunnels to take. Sometimes after leaving a tunnel, I need to run right a screen or two to nab treasure, hence my final treasure in the screen shot I was running right. But in general, running right means more danger of touching logs that may surprise you as you change screens.

I participated in one of AA's high score contests in February 2015 and decided I'd finally learn the Pitfall map and try for the perfect score. This means you get all the treasure and don't lose any points by falling or touching logs. I did it with 37 seconds left! Also, on this run, didn't lose any lives! It was so fun and frustrating and rewarding!

Pitfall! is a very good and fun game even if you can't get all the treasure in 20 minutes, but its extra challenge of doing so (and learning the 255 screen map) makes it incredibly well-designed by David Crane.

Pitfall score.png
Pitfall score.png (398.67 KiB) Viewed 219 times

Herschie
Posts: 1183
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 11:44 pm

Re: Pitfall (Atari 2600)

Postby Herschie » August 7th, 2022, 4:42 pm

I usually go left but to be honest it's like me at work; I have no idea what I'm doing.


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