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From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1999 and is reproduced as originally written, with the original screenshots (click to enlarge). More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.
| Publisher | MacSoft |
|---|---|
| Tested on | PowerMac G3 233 130 RAM (VM on) |
| Gameplay | 2 / 5 apples |
| Graphics & Sound | 4 / 5 apples |
| Interface | 2 / 5 apples |
| Difficulty | 2 / 5 apples |
| Bugs | 5 / 5 apples |
| Overall | 2 / 5 apples |
| Reviewed by | Marty Dodge |
I really wanted to like this game, because I loved its 2 million unit selling predecessor, one of the best games ever for Apple II. The problem is, as is typical with this sort of really late in game sequel , it has so much flash that it loses the spirit of the original game. They even brought Doug Smith, the original creator of Lode Runner, to advise. Obviously he was ignored. In this game you get to play a male or female Lode Runner, decked out in your choice of colors armed with a drilling weapon cleverly disguised a neat looking SMG. Don’t be fooled by the cover, it is the best part of the game.
Gameplay
LR2 has some of the worst gameplay I have encountered in a long time. The game is suppose to be a challenging, instead it is merely annoying. I spent a great deal of time giving LR2 a chance, but I was not moved.
Graphics and Sound/Interface/Difficulty
Graphically the game looks extremely good, if hard to see. The 160 levels, over 5 worlds (Industrial, Jungle, Gear, Mona and Wacky) are amazingly done, if too detailed. It is an impressive game to look at, if not play. The screen is so small that it is hard to tell what is going on at times. For some reason there is no way to adjust the screen size, if you use a large monitor at a fair distance from your eyes, you will find yourself staring at the screen trying to figure out where you are. Another big problem is the fact that the game is in 3D, so the perspectives are all messed up. It would have been nice if there were a rotation option allowing one to look at the screen from a different perspective. The sounds are nothing special and the music gets annoying quickly, so you will find yourself turning it off very soon after you get the game.
The controls are fairly poor and unresponsive, one has to fiddle with keys on the keypad. It takes a while to realize where your character goes when you hit the key (he/she moves NW,SW,SE,NE and up & down.) It might have been better if there were a mouse and joystick option. It takes a great deal of time to master the movement and the reward is by no means sufficient. The game is extremely hard for reasons other than the gameplay. The reason it is so hard because the interface is rubbish and it is hard to see on the screen. Your character is tiny, so much so that it gets lost in the other things on the screen.
Bugs
There are no bugs that I can find, which is nice. Another good thing is its low requirements: PowerPC, 16 RAM and Thousands of colors.
Conclusion
LR2 is short is a very badly executed game. You are able to do play multiplayer (up to 8), which will make a crowded screen even more so. There is also a level editor, which is a nice touch, but the time spent coding it would have better used making the game more enjoyable. LR2 is not a worthy successor to Lode Runner. Presace has managed to take a simple, enjoyable game that was well loved, and turn it into a bloated graphics demonstration. Sad really. Yet another case of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
Find a copy
Lode Runner 2 has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Lode Runner 2 on Amazon.
Instant action is just what it says it is, instant action. You’re thrown into a F-16 mid-flight with a ton of enemy planes in the air for you to shoot down. This adds a level of “brainless fun” to an otherwise very complex simulation.
The learning curve of Falcon 4 is immense, almost as complex as a real pilot, but through the use of options modifiers even a flight sim newbie can be up and flying in a just a few minutes. It’s simple to get up and flying, very difficult to master. When I say it’s difficult to master, I’m not kidding, the Falcon 4 flight manual is an inch thick. Don’t worry about reading an inch thick manual if you want to get flying right away, also included is a Cadet’s Guide which will get you up and flying in just a few minutes. The wide range of difficultly options allows flight sim enthusiasts of all skill levels to enjoy the game.
Next level of realism in Falcon 4 comes from the amazing graphics. If you’re not playing it with a 3D acceleration hardware, it’s not worth it. The 3D accelerated graphics in Falcon 4 are the most realistic 3D I’ve seen yet. Unfortunately, this level of graphics comes with a price in hardware demands. Although MacSoft lists the minimums as a 200 MHz PPC with 32 mb of RAM, the actual minimum is more like their recommended of a 233 MHz 604 or better with 64 mb of RAM and a 3D accelerator. The minimum just doesn’t cut it anymore.
As we get to the “unfortunately”‘s in Falcon 4, we come to the bugs. There are quite a few of them present, and probably more that are lurking underneath. In all fairness, pretty much all of the bugs were present in the PC version and they just got ported over with the rest of the game. There is a patch that is currently being worked on that will fix pretty much all the bugs, once the patch is out Falcon 4 will become a 4.5 out of 5.
In conclusion, Falcon 4 is an awesome game with variable difficulty to allow for all types of players, and freakin’ unbelievable graphics. I would not recommend this title unless you have a 3D accelerator and a fast machine, but if you do, I can’t recommend it enough. Although some bugs do detract from Gameplay, they will be fixed soon. 
I have not been able to test this version of Carmageddon on a LAN, but I suspect that it will be as much fun as it predecessor. As with the first edition of the game, up to 8 can play on a LAN at one time and only the host machine needs to have a CD in it. Full installs must be done on all other machines. It surprised many that there is no Internet or Modem to Modem play with Carma II. I suspect the reason is that there is so much action taking place on the screen that only Cable/ADSL players would be able to play at any sort of reasonable level.
Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now is a great disappointment, but still a great deal of fun to play. As with the first game, expect to see lots of custom cars, pedestrians and tracks popping up all over the internet. I would approach CarmaII with caution if you have either a slow computer or never played Carmageddon. There are no plans for a Mac demo, so you have no way of trying it before you buy. It is best that I finish this review now, before I change my mind and lower my rating. I seem to change my mind hourly, missions in a racing game! Bah! 
