Lode Runner (1984)

Lode Runner is an arcade platformer released in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum 48K. Published by Software Projects Ltd, the game was created by David J. Anderson and Ian Morrison, with inlay and poster art by Roger Tissyman.

The game is designed for a single player. It supports Kempston and Interface 2 joysticks, as well as cursor controls with redefinable keys. The software features Padlock Protection.

The cassette was priced at £9.95. Beyond the ZX Spectrum, the game appeared on Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MSX, NES, Amiga, Atari ST, and VIC-20. Irem Corporation later converted the title into an arcade coin-op.

It holds an average magazine score of 68.50%. Crash awarded it 81%, while Personal Computer Games designated it as a PCG Hit.

The game achieved great popularity in the USSR, leading to numerous local remakes such as Lode Runner 3. There were over 27 TR-DOS versions released by various groups, alongside cassette cracks by individuals like S. Dubowik. Cheat codes appeared in magazines like ZX Pilot, and the game also received several amateur translations into Russian and Ukrainian.