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==''Emerald Mine''== |
==''Emerald Mine''== |
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The first game of the series, ''Emerald Mine'', the player must collect a minimum count of gems in a labyrinth and reach the then-opened gate. There are also further elements, like the dynamite which may be exploded at a chosen place, and the doors, for whose passing the matching key must be collected. Hence, it is an extended ''[[Boulder Dash]]'' clone. Solving a level grants access to the next one, and there is a separate highscore list for each level. In the two player game, both players play in the same labyrinth screen, and every four levels there is a level especially designed for player cooperation. The game consists of 80 one-player levels, of which 60 are also used in the two-player mode, and of 20 extra levels for the two-player mode. |
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''Emerald Mine'' was released in 1987 for the Amiga and converted in 1988 for the [[Commodore 64]]. |
''Emerald Mine'' was released in 1987 for the Amiga and converted in 1988 for the [[Commodore 64]]. |
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Revision as of 15:11, 24 October 2018
 | This article about video games may require cleanup. |  |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling tile-based puzzle game |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Kingsoft |
| Publisher(s) | Kingsoft |
| First release | Emerald Mine 1987 |
| Latest release | Emerald Mines CD 1994 |
Emerald Mine is a video game series by Kingsoft for the Personal Computer. The series follows mines filled with various gems.
Emerald Mine
The first game of the series, Emerald Mine, the player must collect a minimum count of gems in a labyrinth and reach the then-opened gate. There are also further elements, like the dynamite which may be exploded at a chosen place, and the doors, for whose passing the matching key must be collected. Hence, it is an extended Boulder Dash clone. Solving a level grants access to the next one, and there is a separate highscore list for each level. In the two player game, both players play in the same labyrinth screen, and every four levels there is a level especially designed for player cooperation. The game consists of 80 one-player levels, of which 60 are also used in the two-player mode, and of 20 extra levels for the two-player mode.
Emerald Mine was released in 1987 for the Amiga and converted in 1988 for the Commodore 64.
Reviews
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| ASM | 10/12[1] |
| Happy Computer | 77%[2] |
| Amiga Joker | Yesterday 85% - Today 72%[3] |
"If you liked well-programmed, tricky games, then Emerald Mine would be exactly the right thing for you."
Ottfried Schmidt awarding an ASM-Hit in ASM issue 11/1987[1]
"Whoever liked the Boulder Dash game mechanics, will also succumb to the charms of Emerald Mine, especially as several new ideas were added."
"Emerald Mine doesn’t only offer substantially more levels, but also arranges quicker achievements."
Heinrich Lenhardt in Happy Computer special issue 21[2]
"[On the games given below,] an outstanding graphics and excellent sound will be offered."
"Despite Emerald Mine being surprisingly low-priced, it offers a lot of playing fun by the many levels and the funny sounds. It is especially interesting to tackle the game with two joysticks and players, who can then try the difficult tasks simultaneously on the screen."
Uncredited author in Amiga (magazine) 1/1988[4]
"I'm addicted. My children love Emerald Mine. Even my jaded friends are hooked. If you want a game you will not quickly tire of, dig in."
Louis Wallace in Amiga World sept. 1988[5]
"It's the playing fun that counts [...]"
"Nobody offers such a good control and inventively designed levels [...]"
Richard Löwenstein in the Classic of the month review in Amiga Joker 1/1992[3]
Emerald Mine 2
In 1988, Kingsoft published Emerald Mine 2 with 100 new levels. A level editor was included which triggered the creation of several thousand levels by players.[6]
Review
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Power Play | 8/10[7] |
"[…] since the new levels of Emerald Mine II are equally well-thought and tricky as on the first part."
"Those, whom the 100 treasure chambers are not sufficient, can create new ones with the editor, which by the way can be operated easy as pie."
Martin Gaksch in Power Play issue 6/1988[7]
Emerald Mine 3 Professional
In 1990, Kingsoft published a selection of levels created by players.
Reviews
"[The third part] has been cobbled too unlovingly. No question, the game mechanics and elements are still fine invented, but they should have removed the dust layer lying on it."
Martin Gaksch in Power Play issue 9/1990[8]
"There's no change on graphics and sound […], all technical details like animation and scrolling appear substantially dated. Nevertheless, persistent Emerald Mine fans will be served quite well, and newcomers could have no preference of the previous history."
Carsten Borgmeier in Amiga Joker issue 10/1990[9]
Emerald Mines
In 1994, Almathera published a collection of 14160 levels (177 series of 80) on CD. Since there was hardly any nonvolatile memory in the basic configuration of the Amiga CD32 and thus the game progress could not be saved, the game mode had to be changed for every eighth level of a series to be selectable.
Reviews
"This Boulder Dash clone doesn't come up with spectacular graphics, but the addicting game principle and over 10,000 levels should guarantee playing fun for months."
Uncredited author in Amiga Games issue 11/1994[10]
"The game elements are in such an abundance and variants that variety is presented truely in the whole lot. [… But since it is imbalanced] it is more a CD for fans [...]"
Max Magenauer in Amiga Joker issue 2/1995[11]
Miscellaneous
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2018) |
Emerald Mine became well known on the Amiga, because it was the first versatile labyrinth collection game, and had excellent presentation for its time. The Dutch Emerald Mine Club had been founded, which also carried out extensions of the Emerald Mine program. The open source game Emerald Mine for X11 is a port of this extended Emerald Mine to Unix, Windows, and DOS. It is completely compatible with the original Emerald Mine. It includes an archive of over 50,000 playable levels. The freeware game Rocks'n'Diamonds has a similar archive of levels, and includes an obsolete copy of Emerald Mine for X11 to play them.
See also
References
- ^ a b Emerald Mine Testbericht in ASM Ausgabe 11/1987, p. 17, ISSN 0933-1867 here
- ^ a b Emerald Mine review in Happy Computer Sonderheft 21, 1987, p. 88, ISSN 0931-5829 here
- ^ a b Klassiker: Emerald Mine in Amiga Joker issue 1/1992, p. 87, Joker Verlag, Haar, here
- ^ Emerald Mine short review in Amiga (magazine) issue 1/1988, pp. 26, 28, ISSN 0933-8713, here
- ^ Emerald Mine Review in Amiga World issue sept. 1988, p. 74, ISSN 0883-2390, here
- ^ Emerald Mines short review in Amiga World issue dec. 1994, p. 57, ISSN 0883-2390 here
- ^ a b Emerald Mine II review in Power Play issue 6/1988, p. 42, ISSN 0937-9754 here
- ^ a b Emerald Mine 3 Professional review in Power Play issue 9/1990, p. 41, ISSN 0937-9754 here
- ^ a b Emerald Mine 3 Professional review in Amiga Joker issue 10/1990, p. 62, Joker Verlag, Haar, here
- ^ a b Emerald Mines short review in Amiga Games issue 11/1994, p. 40, ISSN 0946-6339, Download here
- ^ a b Emerald Mines review in Amiga Joker issue 2/1995, p. 77, Joker Verlag, Haar, hier
External links
- Emerald Mine at MobyGames
- Emerald Mines collection.
- Emerald Mine games on the Hall of Light for the Amiga.
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