"If my gun can vaporize the ground with ease, why can't I point it at the monks?"

Many, many years ago, when I was just a wee lad, my family had the pleasure of owning a TI-99 4A computer. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. In any case, one of my favorite games on it was a little gem called Star Runner. Years later, I discovered that Star Runner was actually a part of a franchise called Lode Runner. Years later, I discovered that a 3D version was released for the N64. Years later, I bought it. And now, one year later, I give you the review.

Genre - Puzzle (Action)

Story - 5 - Has the story for Lode Runner ever changed? I doubt it. In any case, the Lode Runner seems to like gold and jewels. But so do the monks. The monks are strange zombified like creatures who like gold and not you. There are five planets that have gold and zombies, and you have to get all of it. OK, so there’s probably a bigger story in the instruction manual, but it isn’t present in the game. Does the word “lame” mean anything to you? On the other hand, there’s absolutely no reason to make it any better. Adding the story to the game would be detrimental, as we do not need to waste our time caring about the story in a puzzle game. That would just seem stupid. Just as no one really cares what the story in Dr Mario is, no one should care what it is here.

Graphics - 6 - Pretty simple, unfortunately. Your character’s polygon count seems to be pretty high, or at least looks like it is pretty high. The same can be said for the monks and random other enemies you meet. But polygon’s are not everything, and the textures are also important. And they just don’t look good here. Everything looks too dirty and ugly; the textures are blurry and uninspiring. The whole look leaves something to be desired. Backgrounds are virtually nonexistent. You can see some misty mountains in the distance and all, but it really isn’t all that impressive looking at all. You could probably play the game for a while without noticing that there are, in fact, backgrounds. On the plus side, however, there is no slow down anywhere in the game, or at least none that I’ve noticed. And finally, we come to animations. They aren’t exactly anything spectacular, but, then again, they aren’t meant to be. You have a limited range of actions, so there’s only so much the animations can do. With some of the graphical masterpieces out there, this one will definitely pale in comparison. But it isn’t really necessary for enjoying the game, so why complain?

Sound - 7 - First, let us talk about the music. Unlike some games, this will not blast you away. The music is very, very subdued. However, this is not really a bad thing at all. Much of this game will be spent simply staring at the screen trying to figure out a plan, and you really do not want to be distracted by annoying music. There is not much of a variety, but we don’t mind. After all, you hardly notice the music. Sound effects can adequately be explained as decent. The explosions sound like, well, explosions. The monk laugh when you get captured sounds rather odd, but in a cool sort of way. At least, I think it’s a laugh. In any case, there are only a few sound effects here, and they sound worthwhile. As with the graphics, you are not looking at a technical masterpiece here.

Gameplay - 8 - I find this game to be a very good 3d translation of the classic game. The only thing missing is the ladders, but we can understand that. Considering how many franchises just didn’t seem to work in 3d (Megaman? Castlevania?), this is rather impressive. The goal of the game is to collect all of the gold on each floor and then make it to the escape point without dying. Your only weapons are bombs, which are placed throughout the level, and a gun that, rather than shooting monks, disintegrates the floor in front of you. So you need to evade monks, drills, and other objects while avoiding getting stuck in a whole you created. The emphasis is on puzzle solving rather than action, which is slightly different from the originals. There are 5 planets with 5 levels each, and each level has four floors. In other words, there are 100 different levels here, which is a very good thing. The game controls fairly well, despite being a bit floaty at times. But with a limited range of movement, I don’t mind. Camera control is decent, although you will find a few places where you just cannot see what needs to be seen. Maybe that’s part of the puzzle though. Unfortunately, there are long load times - longer than any other N64 game I’ve played (which admittedly is not a large number, but still...). But in the end, it all boils down to the puzzles. And they are quite fun to do. The gameplay is not for everybody, but it still deserves to be looked at.

Challenge - 9 - This game is pretty darn hard. First of all, there are “one hit kills,” as you are dead if the monk touches you. And, of course, all work you did on the floor is erased when you die. The puzzles can be very hard at times to figure out, but they are all possible with a bit of patience. In fact, you are going to need a lot of patience to play this game. There is a strong emphasis of timing in some puzzles, which can be annoying at times. Fortunately, the game keeps the challenge while still being playable. There are plenty of extra lives in the game, so you do not have to worry too much if you are running low. If anything, if you are having a hard time on a level, you can always see each of the puzzles and then reset the game so as to gain back all the lives you lost. Also, there is an option to restart the floor. Thus, if you are stuck and about to die, you can just restart it without losing a life. That is a great trick that can keep you around for a while. Also, you can enter the 5 levels on each planet in any order, which helps relieve frustration if you are stuck somewhere. This game really takes one back to the old days of games, where life was actually hard. If you are used to the games of today, with unlimited continues and simplistic puzzles, you may not want this one. But if you miss the pressure of trying to beat world 8 of Super Mario without any extra lives, then this is an excellent remedy.

Replay - 7 - There’s a fair amount of replay value. Perhaps replay is not the correct word here - maybe lasting value is better. There are 100 floors, and they should keep you interested all the way up to the end. Each world is different with different play mechanics, which helps to increase the longevity of the game. There are also a ton of bonus levels that you can play as well. Simply put, this is a pretty fun game that does not get old too fast. That does not mean you will be playing it 24 hours a day or anything. The game will not make you have an intense interest in it, and you have no urge to get to the end or anything. It’s just a game that can be played every once in a while, a couple levels at a time. Since it will probably take you a while to finish it under these conditions, you may want to play it again. Unfortunately, although you can replay levels, there’s no point to. All of the gold disappears, which means all you need to do is get to the exit (or pick up any bonuses). Thus, the only way to truly replay levels is to restart, which is quite annoying. I was disappointed when I saw this, but that’s only one aspect of the game. All in all, it will probably stay in your N64 for a fairly long time.

Overall - 7.7 - This certainly is not a game for everybody. But then again, no game really is. Lode Runner 3D is an above average puzzle game, and a nice 3D start for Lode Runner. I’d love to see this franchise continued in 3D, as so much more could be done. The graphics and sound may not be up to par, and there may be plenty of gameplay problems, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives in this case. It may not make anyone’s top 10 list, but who cares? It’s a genre filler, and a good one at that. For any fans of the puzzle genre, or anyone who simply wants a decent level based game, could do well to check this game out. And considering it can probably be found for less than $10, the price is right.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/02, Updated 01/26/02