''Lode Runner 2'' is a

puzzle-platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

released in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

for

Mac OS Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. It is a sequel to ''

Lode Runner ''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in ...

'' and its remakes. Like the earlier '' Lode Runner's Rescue'', ''Lode Runner 2'' has isometric-perspective 2D graphics. It was developed by Presage Software and distributed by

GT Interactive Atari, Inc. is an American video gaming company based in New York City, and a subsidiary of the Atari SA holding company. It is the main entity serving the commercial Atari brand globally since 2003. The company currently publishes games based o ...

for Microsoft Windows and

MacSoft MacSoft was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993 by Peter Tamte as a subsidiary of WizardWorks, specializing in the production of video game ports from Microsoft Windows to Macintosh operating systems, as well as prod ...

for the Macintosh.

Gameplay

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 A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode.

Development

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. The game was announced in April 1998. ''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''.

Reception

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG. History ''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...

''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".

References

External links

* 1998 video games Classic Mac OS games Cooperative video games GT Interactive games MacSoft games Multiplayer and single-player video games Presage Software games Puzzle-platformers Video games developed in the United States Video games with gender-selectable protagonists Video games with isometric graphics Windows games {{platform-videogame-stub