REVIEW: Miner/Mine Battle
"In one accident, Nanny enter into the evil spirit world. After experiencing all sorts of difficulties, nanny found the tim channel to get back to the modern society at last. However there are 25 toll gates in the channel and there are variousevil who are defending in each toll-gate. In order to come back, Nanny used the modern weapon todefeat the various kinds of evil......"
Whizzy into aside, Miner (or Mine Battle as the title screen calls it) takes a rather more low-fi approach to its graphics than perhaps any other GameKing title. In order to display enough of the maze to avoid cheap death frustration, huge sacrifices have needed to be made to the sprites themselves. Your character, Nanny, appears in the game as little more than a bipedal grape, enemies are equally tiny and bland. Sound is functional and the odd esoteric music (excluding the stolen Super Mario-esque Game Over ditty) gives off a slightly ethereal vibe to the action.
The aim in each level is the same: drop bombs to destroy all the bad guys and explode your way through the corridors of the maze while a timer ticks ominously down to the right of the screen, then find the hidden exit to escape before the time runs out. Given the identikit nature of the mazes, the latter can sometimes be more challenging than the former and gameplay is generally slow and plodding. The lack of power-ups (there is only one – the ability to drop two bombs at once) keeps the game grounded firmly in the mundane.
The aim in each level is the same: drop bombs to destroy all the bad guys and explode your way through the corridors of the maze while a timer ticks ominously down to the right of the screen, then find the hidden exit to escape before the time runs out. Given the identikit nature of the mazes, the latter can sometimes be more challenging than the former and gameplay is generally slow and plodding. The lack of power-ups (there is only one – the ability to drop two bombs at once) keeps the game grounded firmly in the mundane.
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The levels themselves are thankfully plentiful although, oddly, they appear to be randomised and, irritatingly, death will see you have to start a stage all over again with a new randomised maze.
Miner/Mine Battle is a rather generic entry into the GameKing canon and easily the least impressive of the 3 built in games. While its poor graphics are a sacrifice made to improve the maze visibility for the player, the lack of interesting power-ups means that most players won’t wish to spend too long wandering its labyrinths before and the cause of most Game Overs will ultimately be boredom.
Score 5/10
Miner/Mine Battle is a rather generic entry into the GameKing canon and easily the least impressive of the 3 built in games. While its poor graphics are a sacrifice made to improve the maze visibility for the player, the lack of interesting power-ups means that most players won’t wish to spend too long wandering its labyrinths before and the cause of most Game Overs will ultimately be boredom.
Score 5/10
