Wanting Stories about Miner 2049er

[+wongojack]

Miner 2049er is a game that fell in a gap for me as a kid. Born in '76, I wasn't making my own purchasing decisions in '82 and by the time I played it many years later, it did not impress me. However, after reading the entry on the game in The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987 and playing it on the Coleco flashback, I've come to appreciate its unique challenge and the way it seemed to transcend arcade games of the same time (like Space Panic for example) in length and depth. Does anyone have a story about this game like "I bought it on its release day!" or "It's my favorite game ever?" It was also surprising to me to find how many loving games fall into the "Miner" family with the popularity of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy in the UK perhaps even outstripping the interest in the original game (and its sequel Bounty Bob Strikes Back). The 2 more recent games even got officially licensed releases on XBox Live Indie Games.

 

Anyway, just hoping for some discussion on what appears to be a really great game. What did it mean to you when it came out? Were you blown away that a game could have 10 (or 11) screens? Did it open your mind to the fact that home gaming could perhaps eclipse the arcade? Gimme some details!

[BydoEmpire]

I never had the game back in the day, although I certainly remember the ads for it. I finally got it for my 5200 maybe 6-7 years ago and really enjoy it. It took a while for me to get past some of the later stages, and I think it has a great balance of accessibility, challenge and being difficult-with-frustration. Not my favorite game or even platformer, but I still think it's really good.

 

I would never have considered it to "eclipse the arcade" though. Space Panic was a 1980 arcade game - not really a fair comparison.

[high voltage]

It was one of the first multi platform releases, covering 2600, 5220, Coleco, A8 and many more.

Read EG Aug 83 (Digital Press under libraries, magazines) for more information.

[+save2600]

I've always liked this game. A lot. Multi-screen platformers ala Donkey Kong have always ranked among my favorites and always thought of Miner as some kind of a cross between Pac-Man and DK. Had it for the TI BITD and probably the C64 and A8 as well.

 

Discovered there was a port (and its sequel) for the 2600, but they're awfully sluggish. Much more playable now thanks to the speed up hack. Been playing it on the Colecovision Flashback too - and it's fun!

[darthkur]

It's one of my favorite early era platformers. I got to play it a few times back in the 80's on my step father's C64. Sadly I didn't get to experience it again until I started to seriously collect everything within the past 10 years. It's a game that is drastically different on each platform it's been ported to. The Colecovision version is super fast while the 2600 is diametrically opposite along with being ridiculously difficult to jump over enemies. The Apple ][ version has similarities with the CV one as do the Vic-20 and Super Cassette Vision, at least as far as odd jump mechanics. So far my favorite ones are the Atari 5200/800 and C64 ones. They're all fun in their own way.

[+wongojack]

I never had the game back in the day, although I certainly remember the ads for it. I finally got it for my 5200 maybe 6-7 years ago and really enjoy it. It took a while for me to get past some of the later stages, and I think it has a great balance of accessibility, challenge and being difficult-with-frustration. Not my favorite game or even platformer, but I still think it's really good.

 

I would never have considered it to "eclipse the arcade" though. Space Panic was a 1980 arcade game - not really a fair comparison.

 

Cools stories guys. I had a c64, and I did enjoy playing Jumpman which I think looks and sounds better, but that game really seems to hate me on certain stages. Someone above commented on Miner being frustrating (is that what you meant?). Do you think it is more or less frustrating that Jumpman?

[cimerians]

 

Cools stories guys. I had a c64, and I did enjoy playing Jumpman which I think looks and sounds better, but that game really seems to hate me on certain stages. Someone above commented on Miner being frustrating (is that what you meant?). Do you think it is more or less frustrating that Jumpman?

 

My parents bought me the CV version of the game back around 84' and I was slightly disappointed by the controls. Later on I tried it on a C64 and it was much better but I enjoyed it a lot on both the CV and C64. I asked for it because I read many high praises about the game in the EG issue High Voltage mentions.

 

I think Jumpman is more frustrating because of the flying bullet(s). There are some levels later on where they just come out of nowhere (multiple ones) and really piss you off.

 

Miner gets really hard on later levels due to the timer and small platforms etc.

 

Another game that I liked even more than Jumpman and Miner is a C64 game called Ultimate Wizard. It was basically a Jumpman clone but with lots of switches and other interactive things on the playfield and better controls with no annoying bullet. It also had a construction set where you can make your own levels. Me and some of my friends back then played it a whole lot.

 

 

[+wongojack]

 

My parents bought me the CV version of the game back around 84' and I was slightly disappointed by the controls. Later on I tried it on a C64 and it was much better but I enjoyed it a lot on both the CV and C64. I asked for it because I read many high praises about the game in the EG issue High Voltage mentions.

 

I think Jumpman is more frustrating because of the flying bullet(s). There are some levels later on where they just come out of nowhere (multiple ones) and really piss you off.

 

Miner gets really hard on later levels due to the timer and small platforms etc.

 

Another game that I liked even more than Jumpman and Miner is a C64 game called Ultimate Wizard. It was basically a Jumpman clone but with lots of switches and other interactive things on the playfield and better controls with no annoying bullet. It also had a construction set where you can make your own levels. Me and some of my friends back then played it a whole lot.

 

 

 

Sweet! I will have to try Ultimate Wizard now.

[Cynicaster]

Back in the 80s, our next door neighbours would ask us to go over to their house in the summer time to feed their cats when they were on vacation.

 

They had a C64, which, at the time, seemed extremely amazing in terms of its gaming possibilities compared to what we had (2600), so my brother and I would go over there to "feed the cats" and play their C64 for hours. They only had a small handful of games, but our hands-down fave was Miner 2049er.

 

It really is a great game. I recently played it in emulation, and it was amazing to see it again. The game holds up today, but the one thing that holds it back from being among the best (IMO), is the fact that it really is just an exercise in memorization.

[high voltage]

Wow so many good platformers way back, Jumpman, Jumpman Jr, Wizard, Ultimate Wizard, Miner 2049er, Bounty Bob, Hard Hat Mack, Cohen's Towers, Lode Runner, Bruce Lee, Spelunker, Montezuma's Revenge, Whistler's Brother, Electrician, Bristles, Canyon Climber, Jet Boot Jack, Mario Bros

[+cvga]

I wanted Miner 2049er incredibly bad after reading great reviews about it. I only had an Atari 2600 at the time and I knew I wouldn't be getting all of the screens but I wanted it more than any other game at the time. When I finally got it, I was disappointed because it played so slowly. I never really played it much on the 2600. I later played it on the Colecovision and Commodore 64. It's much better on those platforms but I've never really been able to get into it like I thought I would. On the otherhand, I absolutely loved Jumpman.

[R.Bear]

It was the only game that I could ever play on an Atari 800XL that I once inherited as it was the only cartridge game that came with it, and the system had bad RAM so it could not boot into BASIC.

 

I was pretty young at the time and didn't really understand what to do to repair it, so that machine only ever got used for Miner-2049er.

[Cynicaster]

I wanted Miner 2049er incredibly bad after reading great reviews about it. I only had an Atari 2600 at the time and I knew I wouldn't be getting all of the screens but I wanted it more than any other game at the time.

Yeah, my brother and I were really excited to get our hands on a copy of Miner for the 2600, but after playing the C64 version extensively, we were just not able to enjoy the 2600 version.

 

A while back I was playing the Atari 5200 and Colecovision versions via emulation, and I thought they were both pretty good.