Archive: 3 posts

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Level name: Pitfall PSN: jedi_jeff Before I begin here, allow me to drop a link here, to a photo I took, which may perhaps help illustrate something: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-5/1340144/AT.JPG If you click that, what you will see is part of my collection of games for the Atari 2600. Im a retro fan, you see. Oh, I play plenty of recent/modern games, of course, but I have tons of these older ones like this. And I go down to the local Play & Trade all the time to buy more things like this.... notice those boxes at the top of the photo? I nearly had a heart attack when I found them at that store; Games, for the 2600, IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOXES, complete with the manuals and all the little ad cards and everything! I just about popped. Yeah, Im that type of fan. But even more, I'm not the type of collector that gets these things, and then they just sit here and collect dust all the time; no, these get actual USE, and alot of it. The 2600 system itself (perfect condition), sits right next to the PC here, and is always plugged into the TV. I play those games pretty frequently, and frankly, I dont get tired of them. Never did get tired of them, never will. And as any retro fan knows, one of the top selling, and also perhaps one of the greatest games for the 2600, was of course, Pitfall. It was like Super Mario Bros for the NES; it was that one game that EVERYONE had. And for good reason; it was one heck of a game, and it's one of those that stands the test of time. So imagine my delight when, right on the heels of the review of his quite wonderful Sac-man level, I find that the next level on my list, is another of Jedi_Jeff's stages, titled simply, "Pitfall". This time, I knew I was in for a treat before I even loaded it. Yet even then; I was surprised. And once again, impressed. I think this one impressed me even more than the Sac-man level did. First, perhaps to explain a few things about the original Pitfall. The original Pitfall may be described as something resembling a platformer, but not QUITE. The idea was, that you were running through this lost jungle, searching for treasure. You had a certain amount of time to try to find as many treasures as you could in the jungle. The treasures themselves were worth tons of points.... but you had to beware of all of the many hazards that were strewn about. You had to contend with giant scorpions, snakes, rolling logs, lakes full of crocs that you either jumped across, or sometimes swung across, and the infamous "vanishing hole" that makes many players swear at the screen. Each possible screen would repeat itself many times in the course of your adventure; yet the overall game structure made SENSE somehow. It didnt matter that you'd just run into the same croc lake for the 7th time; you were still having a blast, and the challenge wasnt dying down. And that, is what this level is like. Every single possible screen, and I mean ALL of them, that were anywhere in the original Pitfall on the 2600, has been recreated here. The croc lake, the swinging over lake or hole with a vine, the log areas with the holes, and even that "vanish" hole..... all of them show up here. And what's more, They LOOK like the original screens. Though the level scrolls smoothly, you can tell that it's still divided up into those screens just by looking at it. You will, for example, run into that exact same croc lake more than once as you traverse this area. ALL of the possible "screens" will repeat themselves like that. Now, to some players, that might sound a bit tedious. But shame on them! To do otherwise, would be to not give Pitfall it's proper due. By doing this, the author stays true to what the original game was. All of the original hazards and dangers, from the giant scorpions, to the logs, or the crocs, all of them, are faithfully reproduced here. What's more, the SIZE of everything is just right; The height of Sackboy's jump and such was obviously taken into consideration here; so that the jumps you need to make here feel so very close to the same jumps in the original game. For example, the two "static" hazards that show up; the snake and the fire.... just like in the original, they're strangely difficult to jump over..... strangely dangerous, despite that they DO NOT MOVE. Dont be surprised if you die to these a few times! Also true to the original is the ability to go underground; down here, you wont have to deal with the hazards that appear above, but you will have to deal with the quick moving giant scorpions. And despite how linear it seems, it is oddly easy to get lost down there.... you might think you're finding a shortcut to the next treasure, only to find, of course, that it takes you well PAST it, or to a dead end. There are 5 treasures scattered throughout this rather large level that you must find. You dont NEED all of them in order to reach the level gate, but you get something for doing it.... anyone remember those "patches" that Activision used to send to players that met certain challenge requirements in their games? Yeah. Finally, a prize bubble I actually thought was pretty dang neat. Everything about this level, was, to me, something special. The graphics, the attention to detail, every little thing..... alot of love went into this one, it seems. Lets get to the scoring though: Gameplay: 10/10 Brilliant. This FEELS just like the original Pitfall, and to me, that's one of the most difficult things to do when creating a level for LBP that is based off of an old gaming property. I've seen so many levels that tried to do soemthing like that, but just couldnt quite manage it. This one, though, does. It just PLAYS like Pitfall did. All of the original hazards and traps are here, too. Graphics/sound: 9/10 Each of the "screens" was replicated brilliantly. Right down to every little detail. And the backgrounds were well done, even the croc heads. There's alot of detail here, and all of it is true to the original game, while not actually being in the Atari's blocky graphics style. Another thing that, to me, is hard to do. I thought the music choice and a couple of the sound effects seemed slightly odd, but that's just nitpicking, really. Challenge: 7/10 This is a tough one.... dont be surprised if you die more than a few times. Though, you might be surprised at how many times you may die to the hazards that DONT EVEN MOVE. Juuuuuuuuust like the original. I never did like that stupid snake. It just sits there, taunting you, and then you always jump stupidly right on top of it..... Pacing/Length: 8/10 It's hard to judge this one. Some players might find that the level is a little long, and it DEFINITELY repeats itself a bunch. BUT. That's how it's SUPPOSED to be. Unfortunately, some players just arent going to know why that is. Overall: 10/10 Yeah, Im giving it a 10. Call me biased if you want. But this one was a real treat for me.... it was something special, something I just dont see very often. This is a level that is based off of an old classic game, and actually does it JUSTICE. To a retro-gaming fan like myself, that.... is just something else, is what it is. I wish there were more levels like this, I really do..... so, perhaps, we can perhaps get our resident Jedi to make more like this, hint hint? Cause if they're anything like this one, they'll be very much worth waiting for. If you like these older games like I do, if you've ever enjoyed Pitfall, or even just the 2600 in general..... go try this level. Now. Or I may have to throw a chair. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-5/1340144/Pitfall1.JPG If you want, you can try finding a shortcut through the underground caverns.... but beware the scorpions. And even then, you may not find yourself ending up quite where you wanted to..... http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-5/1340144/Pitfall2.JPG The timing on the crocs was pretty difficult in the original.... but there was a trick you could do; if you stood right on the croc's eyes, you were safe, even if it opened it's mouth. That trick works in this level as well. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-5/1340144/Pitfall3.JPG Classic Pitfall moment: Vine-swinging over a lake of horrible doom. Watch that landing though; it's easier to die here than it might at first appear.

2009-08-03 11:45:00 Author: Bridget Posts: 334

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Wow! I'm a HUGE fan of Pitfall, and this looks fantastic (I still play the Activision collection and play this game regularly) - I'm all over this when I get home.

2009-08-03 13:18:00 Author: CCubbage Posts: 4430

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Glad you liked it. Like all my other levels, I playtested this level for countless hours trying to smash nasty bugs and make it feel right. (I hate levels that have glitches of death.) I usually keep making them easier to get through as I play them. It's always tough trying to balance the challenge with the fun factor. This level was definitely aimed at old-school type gamers, but it is much easier than the original imho. Finding the right audience for some levels is just as difficult as making them. I'm sure there are thousands of levels out there that certain groups of people would love. Finding them is the problem when there are over a million levels available to play. If only there was a matchmaking service for LBP levels and players, all those wonderful neglected levels could get some love. Jeff

2009-08-06 04:45:00 Author: jedijeff Posts: 33

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