and Digging
So I’ve been lost in games this past week and not all of them where meant for Time Wasters. This just happens any time I sit down in front of a Harvest Moon game (make your jokes now but I love those games). Still, I found myself getting dragged into Mega Miner for a few hours before farming lured me back like a crack dealer with a free sample, and you know what? I really enjoyed myself.
Mega Miner is one of the best examples of a game I’ve seen in a long while that would have robbed countless kids of their quarters back in the heyday of arcade gaming (you know back when Nate actually liked games). "What makes this game so great?" you may ask.
How about the pure simplicity of the game? You are a miner in a giant drill and you have to mine down as far as possible to collect better ores and minerals to sell. After selling off your minerals, fixing your vehicle, and buying some upgrades you’re ready to go even deeper into the world. And guess what happens to be waiting further down in the world? That’s right, even more valuable minerals and treasures thus creating an almost endless loop of mining, selling, and upgrading. This isn’t a new idea by any means, but the way Mega Miner presents itself still drew me to it.
The graphics for one feel like they were ripped right out of my SNES (wherever it may be, rest its soul) and slapped them into a modern day flash game. The only other example of a game I’ve seen that has done this so well was Terraria, and we all know how much I love Terraria.
(Warning: Side Tracked)
It makes me think of an old joke between my friend Sean and I. When Final Fantasy X came out Square was very showy with their new water effects. We determined that the only way Square could’ve gotten the water to look that good must have been to just type the words "pretty water" over and over again into the code (Remember that this was back in 2001). The joke was long lived and still gets brought up every once in a while today (obviously).
(Back on Track)
Okay so now that I’ve gotten that story out of the way my reference will make much more sense. Mega Miner looks like the developers just typed the words "Super Nintendo" over and over again into the code (Yes, I told that story just for a single reference).
So, with the sound we have about the same situation as we do with the graphics. All the sound effects feel as if they were ripped straight from some old school SNES games. Which in all honesty isn’t that ridiculous of a claim. After all sound effects have been reused and recycled over and over again since the beginning of video games. Want proof? I’m too busy wasting my time here at GiN to actually go do the research for you, so just trust me on this one.
Yet again we have a game that isn’t exactly bringing anything new to the table but instead presents it in a way that is still fun and addicting. So I’ll go ahead and give Mega Miner 4 Giant GiN Gems out of 5!