Pitfall takes a plunge on the Wii with PS2 graphics? (update)

Pitfall’s popularity plummeted from being a multimillion selling game on the Atari 2600 and a household name to a retro memory. Activision has tried to evolve Pitfall into a 3D platformer, but the transition hasn’t been stellar. The latest version, Pitfall: The Big Adventure, is coming out this fall in North Americaand so far it’s only for the Wii. The hook is players use the Wii remote to mimic swinging over crocodiles. I’m not sure how revolutionary this will be and if the announcement is even packaged with the proper screenshots.

The three images attached with the press release that every site seems to be displaying have filenames like “Pitfall_Lost_Expedition2.jpg”. It just so happens that the last game in the Pitfall series was called Pitfall: Lost Expedition and Edge of Reality, the developers of Pitfall: The Big Adventure, worked on it too.

In the top right hand corner of our screenshot you can see a PlayStation 2 comparison screen. Pitfall Harry looks almost identical, which could mean these screenshots were sent over in error and may not be a representation of Pitfall: The Big Adventure. Another fair possibility is Edge of Reality is reusing some of their previous work. Or maybe we’re looking at another Wii-make.

Update: I received e-mail confirmation that these screenshots are in fact from Pitfall: The Big Adventure despite the file names. Edge of Reality must be using their old assets or are working on a Wii-make because Pitfall: The Big Adventure looks too much like the previous game.

Images courtesy of Activision.