Atari CX-2600 manual PITFALL!TM 1 Player, Pitfall!TM Basics, Hazards Of Pitfall!TM, Time

PITFALL!(TM) (1 PLAYER)

Picture this! You are deep in the recesses of a forbidden jungle—an unforgiving place few explorers ever survive. But you've got courage, because you're with Pitfall Harry, the world famous jungle explorer and fortune hunter extraordinaire. The lure of hidden treasure draws you and Harry deeper and deeper into the bush. But, being a great explorer, you wouldn't think of starting such a difficult journey without reading this manual first—very carefully.

Pitfall!(TM) Basics

The object of Pitfall!(TM) is to guide Harry through a maze of jungle scenes, jumping over or avoiding many deadly dangers, and helping Harry grab the most treasures in the shortest possible time.

There are 255 jungle scenes through which Harry can travel. Each scene covered underground is equivalent to three on the surface. Pitfall! is a circular maze, which means that, if Harry safely goes through all 255 different scenes, he will come back to the starting point. In the course of that journey, Harry will also encounter all 32 treasures.

The Hazards Of Pitfall!(TM)

Pitfall Harry's Jungle Adventure is fraught with danger. Some hazards will slow him down and rob you of points, while others will stop him cold in his tracks. The "lesser" hazards are the open holes in the ground and rolling logs (See "Scoring"). The catastrophic hazards are the scorpions, fires, cobra rattlers, crocodiles, swamps, quicksand and tar pits. These obstacles will not cost you points, BUT they will cost one of Harry's 3 lives.

Getting The Feel Of Pitfall!(TM)

You cannot excel at Pitfall!(TM) without acquiring a variety of skills. The most important is "jumping." You'll need to use both the red button AND Joystick at the same time in order to make Harry jump up to a swinging vine. Jumping is also important when you leap atop crocodile heads while crossing the swamp OR when you hurdle over logs, holes, scorpions, fires and snakes. Special care should be taken when you jump scorpions; the margin for error is less.

To practice your skills, try running to the right. Learn to jump the rolling logs and the holes in the ground first, then tackle the tougher skills of swinging on the vine and jumping over the crocodile pits. Whenever Harry is lost, you'll get another chance to try the hazard again, since the "replacement" Harry appears on the left side of the screen.

Time

You have 20 minutes to complete each adventure. Harry has 3 lives in each game (See "The Hazards of Pitfall!") Game is over when Harry is "lost" for the third time or when time runs out.

Controls

--To run left or right...move joystick left or right.

--To jump over dangers...press the red button while running to the right or the left.

--To climb up or down ladders...push Joystick up to climb, pull down to descend.

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