Hello, and welcome to Arcade Flyer Art Saturday at its new prime time! You can look forward to seeing it at this same time each week from here on out. This week's offering is the arcade version of Broderbund's PC classic, Lode Runner.

Broderbund came out with the Lode Runner arcade machine in 1984 as a direct response to the popularity of their PC version of the game. This was particularly notable since at the time, most games started as arcade games before eventually being ported to home consoles and computers. The home version of the game was also one of the first to include a level editor.

The gameplay consisted of running your little man through a series of mazes while collecting gold coins (sound familiar?). The mazes were made up of bricks and dirt and could be navigated using various ladders and ropes or by blasting holes through the walls with your blaster. As you can probably guess, your progress is impeded by a retinue of various monsters that change from level to level. Once all gold coins are recovered, an escape ladder lowers allowing the player to climb to victory and the next maze level. But don't lollygag! Each level is timed and if you don't get up that ladder before the timer runs out, it's game over.

Microsoft just sent us this batch of fresh pics for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade make-over of classic side-scroller Lode Runner being reworked at the hands of developer Tozai. I had my reservations when I first heard about this remake, but I'm kinda digging the new look of the game.

VC Update: Take A Lode Off