‘Pitfall!’ Celebrates 30th Anniversary

My first video game system arrived on Christmas Day, 1982: the Atari 2600. It was boxy, angular, had strange switches on it, and swaths of faux wood paneling. And it was brilliant.

I wasted so much of my youth playing bare-bones, pixelated games like 'Asteroids,' 'The Empire Strikes Back,' 'Combat,' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' But my one of my favorite games was 'Pitfall!'

Now it's back!

Originally released in 1982, the premise of 'Pitfall!' was simple: Pitfall Harry, our ersatz Indiana Jones, has to run, jump, and swing through the jungle to collect treasures and avoid alligators, logs, pits, snakes, and scorpions. It was a lot of fun!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the game, Activision has released 'Pitfall!' for iPad, and iPhone. This version of the game is a blast! Based on the 'Temple Run' control scheme, Pitfall Harry never stops running and is controlled through simple, intuitive gestures. It's really easy to pick up and play, but the challenge ramps up quickly. 'Pitfall!' is available now for $0.99 in iTunes.