Not much in the way of hot gaming news came out of CES 2008, though the announcement of Lode Runner coming to XBLA found me awash in nostalgia. I was in high school when the original Lode Runner was released and I just happened to be in charge on the computer science room, which was a fancy way of saying I was responsible for bringing in cool games for my fellow students to play when the teacher wasn't looking. Games I brought included Wings of Fury, Conan, Kabul Spy...and Lode Runner. Lode Runner soon became an addiction like no other game that had come before.

Lode Runner was a platform game that introduced several new gameplay twists in your quest to secure gold bricks dotted across the level. For instance, you could use your shovel to dig and drop through holes as a way to reach otherwise inaccessible locations, and those holes would fill up in a matter of seconds, making the act of navigating a level a fast-paced, problem solving dilemma. Add to this a bunch of enemies in constant pursuit, enemies that could be thwarted by digging holes, and you had a recipe that made for one of the most addicting games of the 80s.

As excellent as the gameplay was, Lode Runner was known for something far cooler: it was one of the first games to ship with a level editor. Suddenly, my creativity had been diverted from the classic Pinball Construction Set to Lode Runner, as I found myself diving in and creating levels that were then played by half the school. Hell, I really didn't enjoy playing the game like other people, but I was obsessed with the level editor and became quite competent with the tools, devising extremely detailed levels that poised a serious challenge for players.

Lode Runner proved to be a huge success for Broderbund and a whole host of sequels followed, though none retained the simplicity of the original that found it so inviting. The franchise continued all the way to 1999, when a 3D version was released for the Nintendo 64. Since then, all has been quiet in Lode Runner land, until CES 2008.

Like all other retro games on XBLA, Lode Runner will feature enhanced graphics and several new multiplayer modes, including Hang On for four players and Journey, made for two. We know the graphics will be 3D, though the presentation remains platform'esque , not deviating too far from the original...just prettier. However, there has been no mention of a level editor shipping with the game and this could prove to be a deal-breaker. While a “download content” button is clearly visible on the main title screen, no one knows exactly what that means, but if history is any indication, then we'll be paying for downloadable content at a later date.

At the very least, Lode Runner for Xbox 360 should ship with a level editor that allows you to share creations with your friends. In a perfect world, MS would set up a repository where people can upload their levels for anyone to download and try, even letting people vote on quality, but MS has always been hesitant to go down this road, much to my dismay. Sony is showing that user-generated content can work, as evidenced by mod making for Unreal Tournament 3 and the forthcoming Little Big Planet, but MS is still lagging behind. Lode Runner offers the perfect opportunity to explore the feasibility of user-generated content, especially for a service that charges its users a monthly fee, whereas PSN is free. Come on Microsoft. Give us what we need.