Mines of Minos

Mines of Minos is an Atari 2600 maze video game developed and published by CommaVid in 1982. The player controls a mining robot in a maze, fighting off alien attackers.[2] A two-player mode, in which the second player can control an alien, is also available.

Mines of Minos
Developer(s)CommaVid
Publisher(s)CommaVid
Programmer(s)Irwin Gaines[1]
Platform(s)Atari 2600
ReleaseOctober 1982
Genre(s)Maze
Mode(s)Single player, two-player simultaneous

Gameplay

The gameplay of Mines of Minos consists of controlling a mining robot trapped in a maze surrounded by hostile aliens.[3] The player's goal is to locate and destroy the alien's command center. The player must navigate the maze and avoid the aliens; colliding with an alien causes the player to lose a life.[4] Unlike a typical video game (where the player starts with multiple lives), the player starts with zero additional lives and can only earn more by collecting robot pieces scattered throughout the maze; collecting enough pieces to form a new "robot body" awards the player with an additional life.[5] The player can drop bombs in locations, requiring strategy to choose the best spot that an alien might walk into. Gaming website The Retorist called this a "change [from] the nature of the standard offense-oriented Atari game". As an additional element of difficulty, the maze gradually fills with water, forcing the player to move on to the next board.[6]

The game may be played in single-player mode, or in a two-player mode where the second player can control an alien.[7]

Release

CommaVid released Mines of Minos in October 1982. The game was only released for the Atari 2600.[8]

Reception

The gameplay was well received. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram called Mines of Minos "an extremely intense game: constant pressure, no rest".[9] They liked the number of mazes it offered to explore, but criticized as being a Pac-Man clone. In a 1983 review, Electronic Fun with Computers & Games wrote that the game's aliens "are stunningly scary due to their excellent resolution".[10]

In a retrospective review, the Video Game Critic praised the game's depth and challenge.[4] The Retroist wrote that Mines of Minos joined the slew of games "being cranked out immediately before the video game crash of 1983".[6]

References
  1. "Mines of Minos". AtariProtos.com. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. Davidson, Drew (2009). Well Played 1.0 Video Games, Value and Meaning. ETC Press. ISBN 9780557069750. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. Greenberg, Perry (August 1983). "HOT SUMMER FUN Home Carts Provide Some Rays of Hope". Video Games. No. 11. Pumpkin Press. p. 64. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. "Mines of Minos". The Video Game Critic. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. Weiss, Brett (20 December 2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786487554. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. "Atari 2600 Mines of Minos Review". Retroist. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  7. "Mines of Minos". AtariOnline.org. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. "Mines of Minos". MobyGames. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  9. Hudson, Lou (19 February 1983). "Video Play". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 62. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  10. Steere, Noel (July 1983). "Mines of Minos". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 9. p. 53. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
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