| Jungle Hunt is a legendary game. One of those type of games that true gamers will always be able to closely remember, for better or worse. I can't even remember how old I was when I played Jungle Hunt on my Atari 2600. I'd probably say I was around 7 or 8 years old. That's about ten years ago, isn't it? My, how times have changed. Of course, there has to be something that makes the game stand out amongst the many other Atari games I owned. I cannot truly say what that is, however. A curse by the dreaded witchdoctor? Or perhaps the thrilling boss music stuck in my mind and I just couldn't get it out. Either way, it's time we pay a little tribute to this gem. True gamers around the world will rejoice, and people who just don't know will be enlightened. How? Well, if not for the game itself, the evil witchdoctor's magic will work a thread of fascination upon mere mortals! The premise of Jungle Hunt is simple. You are a little guy who seems to be risking your life for either some woman, or a long haired blonde man. Either way, your character, who remains nameless because the Atari 2600 can't handle more than 3 letters of text, will be referred to in this article as "Jungey."
There isn't much else I can say about Jungey. His clothing is rather unique to a video game of the time. That is, Jungey was one of the few Atari heroes who actually had clothes. His fashionware features the cool hat, a white and stylish shirt, and alarmingly short shorts. The shorts are not just short, they are skin-tight. Not even one pixel larger than his legs! I don't know, maybe this is good for hunting in Jungles, but this is not something that I would imagine being seen in on reality television shows based in Jungles such as this one. | 
This will be your fate if you don't like this game. |
Along the way to Jungey's goal, he must encounter three basic challenges:- Jumping between Vines
- Swimming in a River with crocodiles or alligators or whatever they are. They sort of look like wide versions of the lizards in Dig Dug.
- Avoiding boulders that defy gravity by rolling endlessly on level ground.
Level 1, the vine jumping level, is a great way to start the game, especially because when it begins, it sets in that great sense of lostness, because when you look around, you cannot see anything at all except a solid green background. Since we can't rely on a third dimension, we need to look to the left of the starting vine. You'll see another vine which you must jump to. It can be a fast vine, or a slow vine. The thing I can't understand from this, however, is what makes the vines swing. There is apparently no force pushing them. What a place of mystery this Jungle is! Miss a vine, and you will face your ultimate demise by falling into the foliage below. Luckily, you get quite a few lives to continue the game. 
More exciting that Survivor! | Here is a typical view of the vine level. It always looks like this through the whole level, sadly. Bonus: recording of game's theme music!
After quite a bit of vine jumping, you will eventually go to the next level. I think they made some other version of the game where the vine level actually went somewhere, but I was too young to remember. I think it was some sort of shrine or something. |
Level 2 of Jungle Hunt is the river swimming level. When you enter the level, you are immediately in the water, swimming. Once again, the fact that it is not shown exactly how you got there proves that the old days of game designing was not about realism, it was about fun.
The point of the swimming level is to get to a certain point of the river, where you are magically transported to the third level. It sounds easy, but no. You are not the only occupant of this raging river, my friend! Accompanying you in the wrong direction are the crocodiles I mentioned above. They travel slowly in the opposite direction of yourself, and move vertically up and down in a very crocodile-like fashion. One touch of these green monsters and you will immediately die. And I do mean immediately. In less than a nanosecond Jungey will suddenly become a lifeless body floating back to surface level. | As you can see by the screenshot to the right, Jungey decides to ditch his shirt for his swimming adventure. I guess less clothing = great protection versus crocodiles. Luckily, Jungey is not powerless against his foes. By pressing the only button the Atari controller has, Jungey will punch with his right arm really hard. While his arm is extended in the punch, running into a shark will cause it to dissapear, and you get some points. However, chances are you will be instantly killed when you attempt this. To kill a crocodile, your timing must be extremely precise, so I recommend just swimming around them, it's much easier that way. | 
Still more exciting than Survivor |
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