GT writes: "Lode Runner is a game that's managed to avoid the retro arcade craze for a while, probably because it began as an early computer game and only later made a rare and brief appearance in arcades. I'm not sure how many old-school gamers are out there who loved what was probably one of the first platform games ever and remember it fondly enough to want to buy this version without a second thought, so I'm going to put all that history aside and simply look at Lode Runner as I would any other arcade game - and as any other arcade game it has its good points and its bad points."
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.
