One of the better
revival titles. Lode Runner: The Legend Returns is more or less a
graphical revamp of
Lode Runner. However, the real
strength of this particular
remake is how faithful to the original it is. If you take away the
graphics and the
new toys, the game works
exactly the same as the old Lode Runner you remember from your
Apple II days. The Lode Runner runs, drills in front of him, climbs
ladders, clambors over
ropes, grabs
gold, and dodges
monks. And it all works
exactly how you remember it.
There's a few new toys, though. Bombs to blow away ground you can't get your drill gun around. Superbombs to blow away anything else. Jackhammers to get rid of that pesky indestructable land. Each adds to the game somehow, rather than detract from it, a rarity in remakes.
Add into the mix extremely smooth animation (Funny, too... right down to the monks losing balance and wildly flailing their arms before falling into a hole), a two-player mode (Which was expanded upon in Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monk's Revenge), and an easy-to-use and very nifty level editor, and you have a remake that sets the standard for remakes. A true classic.