Pitfall! (iOS) review: in search of gold, prepare to spend

You run, but you also ride minecarts and drive motorcycles-though the core movement barely changes. The overall adventure is far more exciting and bombastic than Temple Run, with the incessant brassy action film score making every run feel like the climax of a Spielberg film.

The goal is to reach checkpoints that break up the path. Each section of the run is unique, like the aforementioned mines and motorcycle sections, a volcanic cave, a swamp (with the iconic Pitfall! alligator), a ruined-pocked rain forest. Seeing what's next is a strong motivator for continuing from one leg to the next.

You will almost certainly get to see more of what Pitfall! has to offer if you're willing drop a few dollars after the 99 cent purchase price. Starting from a checkpoint requires a token, of which the player is given a very limited number. The conceit is for the player to buy them, either directly with real world cash or virtually, by sluggishly earning in-game currency-a excruciating task made slightly faster by paying $1.99 to double the amount of money earned each round.

Pitfall! isn't a game that gets harder as you play; it just gets more expensive. Without paying the IAP, you will be replaying the same early parts of the run over and over. The repetition making the game's flaws more obvious. Seeing the same setting so many times, you notice the rough polygonal edges, the glitchy character animations, that the touch controls can be a little unreliable. A cheap death is doubly annoying when it has come after a 10-minute round that could have been one-minute if you just had the ability to start at a checkpoint without a token.