Players can play as a male or female Lode Runner, named Jake Peril and Jane according to the manual, but the player's default name is Digmo (which is changeable). The goal is to collect gold to advance to the next level, avoiding the Mad Monks along the way. Players are able to move in six different directions on a freeform map (accounting for falling and going up and down ladders). There are separate levels designed for cooperation, as well as deathmatchinmultiplayer mode.
The game uses a distant perspective so as to minimize scrolling. Initially the developers were using a more conventional perspective, but while playing the game they found they were frustrated by their inability to see key elements that were not immediately at hand.[3]
The game was announced in April 1998.[4]Lode Runner creator Doug Smith retained co-ownership of the Lode Runner intellectual property, and served as a consultant and level designer on Lode Runner 2.[3]
Macworld's Michael Gowan wrote that Lode Runner 2 "lacks the original game's most attractive feature: simplicity. The 3-D perspective requires that you move diagonally rather than left and right, which can be confounding".[5]
^"News Briefs". IGN. October 2, 1998. Archived from the original on April 25, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019. "GT Interactive has released Lode Runner 2, a 3D remake of the classic Apple ][ puzzle game released back in 1983..."
