Previous Next

Mineshaft by Nick Wilson and Julian Todd is a very nice implementation of this old favourite. Incidentally Durell seem to be following up an idea started by the video companies in colour coding their cassette boxes and tape. A warning appears on both card insert and screen about the possibility of your program being a forgery. Rest assured your reviewer has checked it out and his is for real!

The idea of the game is to guide your hero (he looks like an ordinary member of the public who has accidentally fallen down the shaft) around the ledges, crumbling paths and moving belts of 20 different rooms. One the way you collect lumps of coal and bonus points.

Extra earnings are gained for mastering the disintegrating sludge and getting out of the room with the air supply still fairly full. It is possible to flip to the next room by using Escape if you are getting stuck.

Mineshaft graphics and sound are pretty good although you always have the superior versions for other computers in the back of your mind. The best news is that Mineshaft is very playable, with a good feel at the keyboard, fast response and smooth action.

There isn't quite as much going on per screen compared with a Blagger or Son of, nor are the graphics as detailed. Playability is ultra important with a game like this and is where Mineshaft scores over its rivals.