Digging for Gold in 3D

Developed by Big Bang, published by Infogrames, and finessed by Lode Runner Creator, Doug Smith, Lode Runner 3-D for the N64 is due out April 1.

The graphics may be different, but the concept is the same: Dig through blocks to find gold, avoid the monks, and find your way out. The puzzles are set in a 3D world, and you control the camera, so you can look at the twisting tracks of blocks from any angle. It still behooves you to think out a possible solution before you begin moving - many of the later puzzles are intricate, and even some of the early ones are challenging.

Unlike the original, Lode Runner 3-D has no ladders to aid you in getting from one level to the next, but it does have lifts - a steam lift, for example, or a helix lift - that take you from one part of the puzzle to another. And now, when you blast your gun and break through a block, you are pushed back by the force of the blast - making it easier to set up your next shot, as well as forcing you to check out what's behind you before you start digging. The game also has bombs that allow you to blow up blocks from the side, and there's a powerful drill, an icemaking machine (to make blocks when you need them), and steady flames that heat blocks (and set off the bombs atop them). In all, there are 18 building elements (as opposed to the original's ten) used in various combinations to make your search for gold a challenge.

Five separate worlds make up the game (along with a sixth bonus one); in each world there's a hub center where you can access any of the four stages in the world. You can access previous stages without re-starting, which is something you'll need to do Only when you have all five can you progress to the stages of the next world.

Within each stage, there are a number of levels and a handful of bonus levels, for a grand total of 136. About 70 percent of the levels have monks; the rest simply pit you against the level itself.

Unfortunately, Lode Runner 3-D doesn't have a level editor, and the original game isn't hidden on the cart, but with about 100 hours of gameplay promised, you should have plenty to keep you busy. Watch for it this spring.