![]() There were times when I wasn’t looking at the screen, and I heard sound effects that made me think I had ghosts in my damn house! It didn’t match up to anything that was happening on the screen! And then I turned off the system and started making clay pots with Patrick Swayze. The sound effects are equally horrid and often sound over-modulated and scratchy. The same damn music rolls over from stage to stage, plays while the song is on pause, plays after you die, plays until your children bury you in the family plot 50 years from now, and then it just keeps playing. ![]() What’s worse is the song is never ending. The music is this sort of slow futuristic trance music (actually, it is quite appropriate for the setting), but it’s downright depressing and doesn’t add any urgency or emotion to the game whatsoever. Not only are the controls (and camera) a weak point in Lode Runner 3-D, but the music and sound effects are downright abysmal. “Those We Don’t Speak Of” from The Village?!?! You press C-Left to rotate the camera left to move the camera, but as soon as you let go of the button, it snaps back to the original camera angle you hated in the first place! Talk about stupid! Maybe you want a new viewpoint, permanently. The semi-isometric viewpoint really masks some potential hazards, and you don’t realize it until you die! Fortunately, the C buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller allow for some camera control, but it just feels awkward and annoying. One of the biggest challenges of controlling your Lode Runner is trying to use the camera angles properly. The controls work just fine, but they do take a few levels to sort of get used to and figure out exactly what you’re doing. ![]() Sounds fun right? But unfortunately it’s not. These puzzles are generally all about sequencing, and often incorporate proper sequencing WITH perfect speed. Each level contains a sort of puzzle that you must solve all while collecting gold, cards, diamonds, avoiding guards, and staying alive. Lode Runner 3-D is not at all what you want it to be. You also blow up part of the ground to open up new paths for yourself, but be careful not to get trapped in the hole yourself! So, you go around this oddball set of stages, blow up ground blocks, use teleporting pads to get to new platforms, collect gold, dodge the guards, and then transfer to the next world. You can use this gun to blow up certain blocks located underfoot and trap guards, but only to the left or right (just like in the original). Replacing the “shovel” from the original Lode Runner is now a laser gun. You can go left and right whenever you please, but you also don’t have the ability to jump. The walking paths are entirely linear and 2-D, leaving you with the ability to change directions only when another path is available, such as at an intersection. This element becomes quite a nuisance after a while, but it’s part of the gameplay, so we wash down our bitter pill and we move on.Įssentially, Lode Runner 3-D plays and functions like a two-dimensional game, but it looks three dimensional, much like Bug! on the Sega Saturn. There are five worlds overall, each world has five stages, and each stage has four levels, making up a total of 100 levels! In order to advance from one world to the next, you are required to collect five cards from the previous world. There seems to be a heavy space theme, focusing on collecting gold from levels within stages within worlds. There is an evil emperor who has stolen all of your gold, and it is up to you to find the gold and stop the emperor. In Lode Runner 3-D, the premise is nearly identical to the original, but this time there is a new story. When we view the title of Lode Runner 3-D, it’s safe to assume that it’s a 3-D version of the original game, probably with enhanced game play mechanics, sound, graphics, and more. Lode Runner reminds me of some other similar-styled games out there, such as Heiankyo Alienand Flicky. This Lode Runner has the ability to dig holes in an effort to trap the guards, as well as the ability to climb ladders and such. Once all of the gold is collected, he can make his way to the exit door. This original Lode Runner game is a sort of platforming puzzler in which our eponymous hero can run and jump around a stage collecting gold while avoiding guards. Only 1 year later, Lode Runner would make its way onto the home television via the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Lode Runner series debuted in the home computer scene on machines such as, but not limited to, Apple, Atari, Commodore 64, Macintosh, VIC-20, and Sega home computers in the very early 80s. Notice how those guards look like the hero from the original Bomber Man game? That’s b/c Hudson Soft was responsible for the NES release.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |