Transforming a classic side-scrolling platform series into the realm of 3D is without a doubt a highly challenging task. Games such as Super Mario 64, Metroid Prime, and Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time spring to mind as superb examples that show us how to do this without sacrificing the charm of the series. These games feel as though they belong with their predecessors despite their obvious differences with them in areas such as gameplay, controls, and visuals. In this way, they manage to be both groundbreaking and familiar at the same time.

So now the time has come for Pitfall – which debuted more than 20 years ago – to prove that it belongs in that same category of extraordinary series.

The most dazzling thing about Pitfall: The Lost Expedition is the expressions on the characters’ faces. Even though the story is very light-hearted and doesn’t take itself too seriously, Harry will undergo a wealth of emotions ranging from happiness and satisfaction to anger and confusion – he even gets shafted by a pretty girl in the beginning. The facial expressions convey these feelings so beautifully that they almost manage to rival those found in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Another positive aspect that deserves mention is the fact that the game world feels very coherent. The levels themselves are not based around a hub area, neither are they placed after one another in a linear fashion. Instead, the structure is comparable to the one found in Metroid Prime, although the levels are clearly defined and separated by loading sequences. Still, you feel very free to go out and explore, since you can often choose between a number of different paths. Furthermore, you’ll often notice areas that are inaccessible until you acquire a certain item. Like Metroid Prime, remembering these places for later is important in order to progress through the game.

Sadly, the battle system is too simple. There are no enemy lock-on, no real evasive manoeuvres to perform, and blocking cannot be done until you get a shield, which happens fairly late. Fortunately, new ways of attacking enemies become available as you play, such as firing your sling-shot or tossing TNT barrels. Still your standard 3 hit combo - done by hammering away at the B-button – will remain your best solution at most occasions.

The simple battle system, the colourful graphics, and the comical style seem to imply that this is a children’s game. On the other hand, some sections are tremendously hard. This occurs mainly where lots of jumping and vine-swinging actions are involved. It’s not that the controls for these actions feel unnatural, because they’re actually quite satisfactory to pull off – it’s just that the areas where you’re supposed to land are so incredibly narrow. Furthermore, judging distances is tough. Generally, the learning curve is far too inconsistent. You might blaze through entire levels without losing any health at all, only to arrive at a section that needs to be repeated over and over again. This tends to leave the player frustrated and demands a lot of patience from him at the same time.

All in all, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition for GameCube is a fine installment to the series. However, it remains a very basic platformer whose ideas lack originality and, in many ways, feel a little out of date.