Ahhh... Pitfall Harry. One of the classics....a man of mystery. A man who knows how to jump over scorpions, frogs and holes. Does it get any better than this? Yes. Well, at least it should. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a let-down for me. Sure, it's one of the "classics" but isn't every game? Seriously, seems like every game for the Commodore gets labelled a classic.


Anyway, it's not that this is a bad game. It just could have been better. If the scenery would have changed with new monsters then it could have been an awesome game.

The plot is something like this. You have to reach that aligator/moose-man with wiggly knees that you can see in the beginning. Of course, you have to make your way through a pretty large jungle to find him. Along the way, you can pick up bricks of gold and other items like rings, etc.


In your path, you will encounter scorpions, frogs (they must be poison frogs), bats, giant birds, and...eh...well, that's really about it. Oh wait, there are electric eels in the river. When you touch one of these baddies, you are transported back to the last "save spot". Those save spots look like the letter "X" on the ground. Now, while you are being magically lifted back to the last save spot, your money is rapidly depleting. So, stock up on gold because once the money is out...well, you get the idea.


Ok, let me first tell you what I LIKED about this game.

1) It's a classic (there's that word again!)

2) You really get the impression that you are exploring.

3) The gold sprites look like real shiny gold!

4) When you fall in a river, you can swim down to the bottom. The river actually looks really cool (no pun intended). The water waves up and down and you actually feel like you are swimming. Once again, this adds to the adventure and exploration.

5) The music is cool (although, repetitive).

6) The balloon ride is fun!!

Now, let me first tell you what I DID NOT LIKE about this game.

1) It can be incredibly frustrating.

2) Timing your moves under those birds and bats can be very difficult. Especially since you have to do it 10,000 times before you reach the end!

3) Check points can be far away. And just when you've cleared about 20 miles of bats and birds you touch a single hair on the bird's feather then you are warped back 20 more miles to do it all over again.

4) Enemies are boring, never seem to have any brains (except the scorpion), and simply move back and forth in the same pattern.

5) After you played the game for 10 minutes, you've played the whole thing. There is literally nothing past the first 10 minutes of the game that is any different than the last 10 minutes.

6) You have to start over and over and over and over and over........



Now, to have made this game better, I would have done the following:

1) Give Harry a weapon or two. Let him find a gun or whip or something to destroy those damn birds and bats.

2) Change the scenery!!! The graphics are awesome...just not enough of it.

3) More monsters. Snakes, spiders, gators, spike pits, poison pits, quicksand, giant roaches, etc.

4) Have caves to explore that are dark and dank.

5) Instead of picking up so much money, have an objective like finding a rare stone or jewel or something.

6) When you get hit, loose a little energy...not warp back 500 miles!!

7) A raft for faster water moving.

8) Secret caves under the water.

I could go on and on. :-)