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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Feb 14, 2017 12:43 am

Just the other day we published a review of Emerald Mine, a very clever and well-designed arcade action puzzler that was made on, and for, the Amiga. After publishing the review (and playing the game even further) we decided to adjust our original score from 5 hearts to 4. The reason is because, while the game deserves high praise, it feels slightly off-balance from level to level at times. The difficulty differences between some levels is so abrupt at times that it doesn't ring true to a perfect 5 score. It's still a 4, which is excellent, but not pure perfection in our minds.

Interestingly, in the January 1989 issue of AmigaWorld, the editors seemed to admit as much in a feature article called An Amiga Starter Kit. The point of the multi-page article was to tell new Amiga owners what essential software they should buy to help those looking for the biggest and most efficient bang for their collective bucks. To AmigaWorld's credit, it was a nice "reboot" article concept of sorts for those who had just taken the plunge, as the platform and technology was indeed mature by this point, but the hardware and software landscape must have seemed daunting.

The editors went through several software categories starting with word processors, where they ultimately landed with Word Perfect ($395) before suggesting more budget-minded options like KindWords ($100) and ProWrite ($125). They continued on with databases, spreadsheets, and financial software. After that was a section called "On the right side" which was aimed at creative folk. Of course, they immediately recommended DeluxePaint II.

The final section, however, was called "Time Off for Good Behavior." It was all about games. Must-have games. They offered - right off the bat (pun intended) - Earl Weaver Baseball (EWB). They suggested that it could be played as an arcade game, but also as a deep baseball simulation depending on how you went about it.

Now, yes, it's a very North American-centric choice, but that was their primary readership. Canada had two MLB baseball teams at the time after all, not to mention how much talent came from Spanish-speaking North and Central American countries. But more interestingly, Earl Weaver Baseball was being solicited to new Amiga owners before any other game!

For arcade action, they also suggested Marble Madness and (finally) Emerald Mine for "fast action that never grows old". They also threw a bone towards Faery Tale Adventure and the Bard's Tale series, before finishing with Flight Simulator II, F/A-18 Interceptor, Cinemaware's Three Stooges and Rocket Ranger.

However for the price, and the depth, the editors seemed to realize that Earl Weaver Baseball offered more entertainment for the money than what they ranked just two months earlier (3rd place out of 40, where Emerald Mine had been ranked #1). To offer EWB first and foremost seems telling, to us at least. And while Emerald Mine was still in the list, it wasn't touted as the #1 title to the degree it had been. It was just another mention, next to other great classics.

Emerald Mine does remain, however, a serious contender in the realm of classic games for the Amiga. But perhaps slightly less than el numero uno. And maybe a tiny bit more, once the adrenaline wears off a bit.

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Shot97
Detroit, MI, USA

Posted Tue Feb 14, 2017 2:59 pm

In 1996 Computer Gaming World listed Earl Weaver Baseball in their 100 hall of fame computer games. They said it was STILL the best baseball simulation of all time. It's a game I remember my father playing endlessly, and one that I sunk massive amounts of time into once he gave the Amiga to me. I still have some of mine and his saves from that game, as well as massive amounts of printed stats. On the surface it seems so simple, dig deep and it's a massive example of the types of games generally dismissed or ignored on the internet today, but the best sellers of an era for an entire country of nerds, not children. Nerds with money to spend... It's right under everyone's noses, but they can't see it, how important the American market was to the "Amiga World".

I downloaded Emerald Mine and plan to give it a go soon. Looks like a lot of fun. But when all is said and done, it's both a cultural thing and what you're used to thing. I can't imagine putting games like Emerald Mine, Zool, Super Frog in an all time best of list. I don't care how they took advantage of the machine, because they didn't take advantage of the man behind the machine. Which is why I'd put games like Pool of Radiance or Eye of the Beholder above those. Even straight ports I might list higher than some of those platformers or arcade games. It was about something deeper with the hobbyist users of that era, it remains about something deeper with this child of an adult hobbyist user. I'm not sure if the younger people who did not have that adult influence will ever appreciate such intricate and deep games, but I do know it's sad, because history they are forever altering.

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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:15 pm

I had never even heard of Emerald Mine until I was stunned to read about it in the November, 1988, issue of AmigaWorld (AW) last week.

After finishing Eye of the Beholder 2, which was one of the most intense yet rewarding games I've played in years, I really needed something a bit more basic and low brow. Emerald Mine sounded like just the ticket for me. Something worthy of an arcade excursion.

I mean, AW was a U.S.-based mag located in California, so I was surprised and intrigued to hear about this "gem" (cough cough) that had never even crossed my radar. And then to find this fairly large fan-base was out there, which had used level editors to design, create and share their own levels. It really did sound like a very cool thing. Boulderdash is great. And Emerald Mine is like that on steroids.

I needed a mental break and it did well for me. Is it graphically amazing? Hell no. But the game mechanics are pretty strong, I have to say. There's something to be said for its simplicity. Hell, at one point I swapped my favorite joystick out with a different one, just so I could get the perfect movement to button action. (Level 7 shalt kill you, brotha.) And don't get me wrong - Emerald Mine can make you think really hard, but in a very focused way to solve each level like a stand-alone puzzle. Like Lemmings, I suppose.

It's nice to have on a disk and play some time when you've got 15 minutes to burn. EOTB2 made me feel like I needed at least 20-30 mins per sitting just to do it justice. I need to get a couple more "quickie" games under my belt before I jump into another Big Game. I've got several to choose from right now. Honestly, the hardest part will be picking something.

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Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:02 pm

I always liked Emerald Mine as it is like Boulder Dash one of my all time favorite 64 games. I also like the RPG series but these games were awesome and I like all types of games on Amiga. I especially like the level editors that many of these type of games came with. I found that satisfying.





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