Pitfall II - Lost Caverns © 1983 Activision.
We were all pretty worried about Pitfall Harry. We sent him and his niece, Rhonda, along with Quickclaw the cat, on a treacherous journey to an underground cavern. Well, not a word was heard from him until today. We now present you with Pitfall Harry's diary the journal he's been keeping in the lost caverns. It arrived this morning by carrier condor. Typical of Harry.
Mode AB-035
One of the largest and most successful games ever created for the Atari 2600. Made possible by custom hardware built inside the game cartridge. Programmer David Crane designed and patented a component he called the Display Processor Chip (DPC), which could greatly enhance the 2600's graphics capabilities and could process music in three channels plus drums.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS OR WHAT DAVID CRANE TOLD ME BEFORE I LEFT
Since David taught me everything I know, I thought I'd share this letter:
"Dear Pitfall,
Good luck in the Lost Caverns! Here are some tips that'll help you out:
Time your approach to condors and bats so that you run exactly below their highest elevation.
A free-fall down an entire shaft can be a short-cut to the river below. This particular jump must be timed, though, to avoid colliding with bats on the way down.
If you're unintentionally falling down a chute of ladders or past many levels, hold the Joystick to the left or right. The underground wind will slowly move you in that direction.
Don't get discouraged if a bat gets you whenever you go from a ladder to a gold bar. Listen up. Stay low on the ladder, wait until a bat is just over you, then climb up quickly and run to the gold bar. You'll barely miss the next bat, but miss it you will.
Finally, not everything you see is always easy to get to. Some things can be so close, yet so far away. Like Quickclaw, for instance. And the rat...who, incidentally, can only be subdued from behind.
Good luck and don't forget to write.
David Crane"
1. Pitfall! [Model AX-018] (1982, Atari 2600)
2. Pitfall II - Lost Caverns [Model AB-035] (1984, Atari 2600)
3. Pitfall II - The Lost Caverns (1985, Arcade)
4. Super Pitfall! (1987, Famicom)
5. Pitfall - The Mayan Adventure (1991, Super Famicom)
6. Pitfall 3D - Beyond The Jungle (1998, PlayStation)
7. Pitfall - The Lost Expedition (2004, PlayStation 2)
Programmer: David Crane
CONSOLES:
Sony PlayStation 2 (nov.19, 2002) "Activision Anthology [Model SLUS-20588]"
Sony PlayStation 2 (2003) "Activision Anthology [Model SLES-51313]"
HANDHELDS:
Nintendo Game Boy Advance (dec.9, 2003) "Activision Anthology [Model AGB-BAVE-USA]"
Sony PSP (nov.8, 2006) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULUS-10186]"
Sony PSP (feb.9, 2007) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULES-00640]"
Sony PSP (feb.14, 2007) "Activision Hits Remixed [Model ULES-00640]"
COMPUTERS:
PC [Microsoft Windows, CD-ROM] (oct.2003) "Activision Anthology: Remix Edition"
Apple Macintosh [CD-ROM] (2003) "Activision Anthology: Remix Edition"
OTHERS:
Android (aug.30, 2012) "Activision Anthology"
Apple iPhone/iPad (aug.30, 2012) "Activision Anthology [Model 542727742]"
Game's ROM.