PALGN writes: "Lode Runner first popped into existence back in 1983 and is still, 26 years later, one of the most addictive, pulse-pounding and controller snapping platformers around. The basic gameplay sees the player guiding a little man around a series of platforms and ladders, picking up nuggets of gold that have been scattered around the level. Once every nugget has been collected, an exit opens up and the player can escape to the next level. Every level has at least one enemy who relentlessly homes in on the player, and if the player is caught, a life is lost. The player, however, has the ability to blast away at fragile parts of the platforms. The resulting holes can trap the enemy for a few seconds or let the player drop through to a lower platform."
Before Super Mario Maker, there was this 1983 personal computer classic.
I remember playing this on the VIC-20. Fun game but I never did finish it though.
A great game. There was a cool remake by Sierra in 1994 for Windows and Macs (also released on PS1 and Saturn) which had nicely detailed animation and environmental sounds. I remember being sucked into that one for hours as a kid, creating fiendish levels my friends didn't want to play.
NLife:
"Broderbund's Lode Runner is a challenging puzzler that, unfortunately, hasn't aged particularly gracefully. Originally released in 1983 on computers like the Apple II and the Commodore 64, Lode Runner feels dated, even for an NES game. It's easy to see the reason Lode Runner was released on so many different platforms over the years — there's a wealth of gameplay with clever level design and a level editor — but there's nothing here that offers anything that today's gamers haven't seen before. Games like Spelunky have expanded greatly on Lode Runner's gameplay; as such, this is only recommended for gamers who want to take a trip back in time to see what we've learned from the classics."
Douglas E. Smith, creator of Lode Runner, has regrettably passed away.
