Magmic Miner 2049er for Blackberry
Rating 6.5/10
Link: http://www.magmic.com/game/Miner2049er
Cost $7.95 (CAN)Magmic has been hyping this retro game for a few months now and they have finally released it. I was looking forward to letting my retro gamer out of the closet. Read below to see what they did right and what could use improvement.
So lets get into the meat of it. The Magmic game provides 2 modes, the first is the classic 1982 miner 2049er retro game, the second is a modern interpretation of the game. Below you will see some screenshots. Since this is arguably 2 different games for the price of one I will keep the descriptions separate.
The Objective:
The purpose of the game is to walk on all the area of the platforms while avoiding the monsters (touching them is death) by jumping or holding onto ladders. The mines are radioactive so you have to get through the stage before the time runs out. There are tools lying around the stage that you can pick up which give you the ability to kill the monsters for a short period. The objective is to walk on every portion of the platform without falling (which also kills you) or touching any of the monsters.
The modern game:
The controls are the same for both. You can choose between using the trackball or the keyboard. For the trackball you move left and right and climb up and down with the trackball. You can use either enter, space, or pushing in the trackball to jump and activate teleports. While playing the modern version of the game the controls lacked the tactile feedback that is necessary for this type of ladder game. Control with the trackball was fickle and I was constantly falling off an platform to my players demise. I tried to give it a chance but after 25 minutes I had to throw in the towel.
Pros of modern game:
- Nice graphics
- Allows the use of the trackball
- Incorporates the retro gameplay
Cons of modern game:
- Controls are annoyingly inaccurate on my blackberry 8800 causing me to have to lose lives constantly when you fall off a platform
- Controls are delayed (I think this may be caused by the sensitivity settings on the trackball)
Conclusion: If Magmic can find a way to increase the sensitivity of the trackball during gameplay to make the game actually enjoyable i would definitely recommend this game. In its current state it is just pure frustration.
Classic Gameplay: (Screenshots below)
Now the classic version of the game is where the true beauty of miner 2049er comes into play. The game is a pure replica of the original on the Blackberry. You can read about the history of miner 2049er here. The game is a joy to play. For some reason in the classic version the controls are more fine tuned. when you move with the trackball your jumps finally register when you press them. There is no lag and the gameplay is quite fun.
Pros of classic version:
- RETRO GAMING!!!
- Controls are effective and the in game controls are enjoyable and easy to pick up
Cons of classic version:
- Graphics leave alot to be desired. Compare the screenshots above
To summarize it all up Magmic has a real hit on their hands if they can cleanup the gameplay of the modern version. They need to incorporate the easy to pickup feel of the classic version in their modern version. It is not unusual for magmic to release a second revision of a game right on the heals of the first if the community provides the feedback. If you enjoyed the original classic game then this is a must buy. If you were hoping to enjoy the improvement over the original then wait until Magmic releases a new update that corrects these issues with trackball sensitivity.
