Lode Runner • Eurogamer.net

Lode Runner creator Douglas E. Smith passes away at 53

Yet his legacy lives on.

Douglas E. Smith, the creator of the 1983 classic Lode Runner, passed away earlier this week.

Surefooted.

25 years ago, a chap by the name of Douglas E. Smith served up a digital dish that would end up being widely recognised as the very first thinking man's puzzle game. In the years that followed, Smith's Lode Runner has been tweaked, re-tweaked and ported to over 20 different platforms, the latest being Xbox Live Arcade for Lode Runner: 25th Anniversary.

Developers Tozai and Southend Interactive took on the challenge of rebooting the classic, sometimes infuriating, action puzzler with the hopes of bringing gold-rush fever to a new generation of gamers. And for the most part, they have pulled it off with style. Lode Runner clocks in at a whopping 1200 Microsoft Points (GBP 10.20 / EUR 14.40), so it's not the cheapest night in by any stretch, but the sheer amount of challenging gameplay on offer makes it a worthwhile investment.

The idea hasn't changed one iota in all those years. You assume the role of a gold-bar snaffling hero who traverses five worlds scooping up every gold bar he can find. Unlike Spandau Ballet's "Gold" however, you're not indestructible and there's all manner of malevolent monsters riding your arse as you try to deftly swing, climb, fall and grab, lining your copious pockets as you go.