Miner 2049er

Miner 2049er was created by Bill Hogue of Big Five Software. It was a breakthrough game for the time not only because it featured 10 screens of challenging puzzles and arcade quality graphics and sound but also because of the innovative marketing campaign by ICG (International Computer Group) that saw it licensed to just about every system around at the time.

The Atari 400/800/1200 version became the template version that all the others were modelled on. Due to the programming skills of Bill Hogue and the advanced audio visual hardware of the Atari home computers, it is generally regarded as the best version very closely followed by the Commodore 64. Miner 2049er remains a popular cartridge for collectors and have seen complete packages sell for around $100US on ebay.

The Atari 2600 version was released by Tigervision as two volumes, each containing three stages. Volume 1 contains The Slides, The Teleporters, and The Cannon. Volume 2 contains The Lift, The Pulverizers, and The Radioactive Waste.

The story
Bounty Bob is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He is on a mission to search through all of Nuclear Ned's abandoned uranium mines for the treacherous Yukon Yohan. Bob must claim each section of each mine by running over it. There are a wide variety of futuristic obstacles that he must deal with such as matter transporters, hydraulic scaffolds and jet-speed floaters as well as avoiding the radioactive creatures that have been left behind.

Primary Controls
Move Bounty Bob throughout each stage with your system's joystick. Pushing left or right makes Bounty Bob run to the left or to the right. Pushing up or down makes Bounty Bob climb or descend ladders. Pushing the fire button makes Bounty Bob jump straight up. Pushing the fire button in conjunction with the left or right directions makes Bounty Bob jump in the specified direction.

Secondary Controls
Certain objects in the game can be operated. To operate the teleporters on stage 3 and 7, you must push the number that corresponds with the teleporter that you would like to teleport to. On a computer, this will mean pushing the 1, 2, 3, or 4 on the keyboard. On the Atari 5200, this means pushing the numbers on the joystick keypad. For any other system that does not make use of keys, the teleporter is replaced with a lift that is raised or lowered by pushing the joystick up or down. On stage 8, the lift is turned on and off by pressing the space bar on computers, or the # key on the Atari 5200.

Bounty Bob
As Bounty Bob, your goal is to inspect every section of each mine in search of the evil "Yukon Yohan" while avoiding the various mutant organisms that inhabit the mine. As Bounty Bob walks over a section of flooring, it fills with color. To complete the level, every section of flooring must be colored. Along the way, Bob will encounter many objects left behind by past miners. By collecting these, bonus points are achieved and the mutant organisms smile and turn green. While in this state, Bob can collect them and earn extra points. Touching the mutants in their normal unhappy state is lethal, as is touching any flashing substance. Bounty Bob can not withstand a fall greater than 1.5 times his half. And if the timer at the top of the screen reach zero, Bounty Bob runs out of oxygen. One extra life is granted at 10,000 points.

Mutants
Mutant Organisms occur in a variety of colors and roam the interior of the mine. They occupy a particular piece of platform and pace back and forth. They never venture beyond their territory, although two mutants' territories can overlap. When Bounty Bob collects an item, the mutants turn green happy for a brief moment and can be collected for points and to remove them from the stage. When they flash pink, beware as their happiness is about to wear off.