Lode Runner 2 is a puzzle-platform game released in 1998 for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. It is a sequel to Lode Runner and its remakes. Like the earlier Lode Runner's Rescue,[2] Lode Runner 2 has isometric-perspective 2D graphics. It was developed by Presage Software and distributed by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and MacSoft for the Macintosh.

Lode Runner 2
Developer(s)Presage Software
Publisher(s)GT Interactive (Windows)
MacSoft (Mac OS)
Designer(s)Andrew Howat
Scott Mathews
Platform(s)Mac OS, Windows
ReleaseOctober 1998 (Mac OS)
October 2, 1998[1] (Windows)
Genre(s)Puzzle-platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay edit

Players can play as a male or female Lode Runner, named Jake Peril and Jane according to the manual, but the player's default name is Digmo (which is changeable). The goal is to collect gold to advance to the next level, avoiding the Mad Monks along the way. Players are able to move in six different directions on a freeform map (accounting for falling and going up and down ladders). There are separate levels designed for cooperation, as well as deathmatch in multiplayer mode.

Development edit

The game uses a distant perspective so as to minimize scrolling. Initially the developers were using a more conventional perspective, but while playing the game they found they were frustrated by their inability to see key elements that were not immediately at hand.[3]

The game was announced in April 1998.[4]Lode Runner creator Doug Smith retained co-ownership of the Lode Runner intellectual property, and served as a consultant and level designer on Lode Runner 2.[3]

Reception edit

Macworld's Michael Gowan wrote that Lode Runner 2 "lacks the original game's most attractive feature: simplicity. The 3-D perspective requires that you move diagonally rather than left and right, which can be confounding".[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "News Briefs". IGN. October 2, 1998. Archived from the original on April 25, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
    "GT Interactive has released Lode Runner 2, a 3D remake of the classic Apple ][ puzzle game released back in 1983..."
  2. ^ "Lode Runner's Rescue". Atari Mania.
  3. ^ a b "NG Alphas: Lode Runner 2". Next Generation. No. 38. Imagine Media. February 1998. pp. 99–100.
  4. ^ Jebens, Harley (April 10, 1998). "Lode Runner 2 Announced". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 7, 2000. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Gowan, Michael (February 1999). "Name Your Game; From Goofy to Gory, Macworld Reviews 48 Ways to Play". Macworld. Archived from the original on August 10, 2001.
  6. ^ Radmacher, Dan (1999). "Lode Runner 2". Inside Mac Games. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

External links edit