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JadeDragon's reviews and playing tips: Palm OS games

LodeRunner: The Legend Returns, by Aaron Ardiri www.ardiri.com $14.99
Reviewed April 2002

LodeRunner is a legend. So many people have played it on their PC or Mac. Heck, I even remember playing it on Unix and getting hooked. Now the legend returns to your Palm! Developed by Aaron Ardiri for PocketExpress, LodeRunner keeps the original look and feel, even the sound effects. So you veteran LodeRunner addicts should feel right at home when you play this game on your Palm. For those of you who are new to this game, LodeRunner is a running puzzle game. You are a miner in the deep realm of the underground. Your goal in this game is to run, as fast as you can, to collect all the gold pieces and get out before the monks get you. As a miner you can dig your way to escape or trap the monks who are on your heals. Once you collect all the gold in a level, a door will appear for you to escape. This Palm version of LodeRunner keeps all 150 original levels and gives you the ability to edit your own levels.

Playing Hints and Tips
Here is what the game developer tells you: the monks fall if there is nothing to stand on; if the monks are on the same level as you, they will move towards you; if the monks are below you, they will move to the closest climbing position and climb up until they reach your height level and stand still; if the monks are above you, they will move to the closest falling position.

Here is what I tell you: keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer. When you can't outrun your enemies, keep them close to you and trap them. Save the keys and bombs you collect in the early levels for later. There will be levels you wish you had spare keys.

LodeRunner screen shot

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics The game keeps the look and feel of the original game, yet re-designed perfectly for Palm display. Movements are smooth as well.
Sound Kept the original sound effects perfectly.
Fun Meter 150 levels of none-stop fun! Who can complain? Only if you're good enough to get to that high level. The great thing about this game is that you can get that high eventually, as long as you keep trying.
Addictivity Hundreds of levels should be enough of an addiction for anybody. I know that I will loose some sleep over it. But for its uniqueness and fun game play, LodeRunner deserves every bit of your time. It has a fairly high replay value as well.


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