Gaming off the Beaten Path

Lode Runner 3D This week its back to the Nintendo 64 for yet another game I have no recollection of ever purchasing in another genre that we haven’t touched yet.  We have our first puzzle game and its a surprisingly good one. First, a little bit about the Lode Runner series.  It goes all the way back to 1983, when the original game was released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, VIC 20, Commodore 64 and PC.  It would soon find itself ported to the NES, making it one of the first third party games for the system.  The concept was simple: gather gold, avoid monsters, break blocks and reach the exit.  It was primitive and simple, but simple. It also featured a level editor, a major novelty at the time.   The game went on to spawn about 1.2 trillion sequels and spinoffs, mostly for the PC.  Most console games in the series were Japan exclusive, with this version appearing on the N64 in 1999.  The core premise is still the same, but its (obviously) in