Diggers 2: Extractors

Diggers 2: Extractors is the sequel to the Lemmings style puzzle and strategy game combination, Diggers. It improves the original, overall, by adding more levels, more useable tools, and more puzzles for the gamer’s enjoyment. It is a side-scrolling real-time game that was released in the middle nineties by Vic Tokai. Millennium Interactive, Limited accomplished the programming of this little known clone.
The game play is based around a species of creature known as the Extractor. There are three sub-species of Extractors that populate the world of Zarg and each of them has abilities that make them useful.

One can dig better than all of the other Extractors, and one is amazingly strong. The third has the unique ability to teleport without taking any damage at all, whereas the damage inflicted on other Extractors varies. The goal the Extractors have in this sequel is to unite the twenty-five Hanging Worlds of Zarg. Each world is protected by a shield generator, and once this is destroyed, the world will float from the underground to the surface of Zarg, leaving the Extractors free to move on to the next world. When all twenty-five worlds are at the surface of the planet, they can unite.
There is a number of tools the user may purchase to help the Extractors in their mission to unite the worlds. Several include explosives, flying platforms, and teleport poles. As the Extractors dig into the subterranean worlds, they collect mineral deposits that can be used as money with which to purchase these items necessary for disabling each shield generator. The money can also be used to purchase fuel, a set amount of which will be necessary to relocate the Extractors to the next world. The key to success is determining what tool (or tools) is necessary to solve each level and allocating resources appropriately. There is usually more than one way to solve each level in Diggers 2: Extractors.
The user issues orders to his Extractors and moves from puzzle world to puzzle world. The game play is very much like Lemmings in this way, and it is fun and challenging. The user interface could have done with some work, since many key features and explanations are only available from the main menu, as opposed to in-game help. The graphics are also cutesy, but not overly detailed. Still, as puzzle and strategy games go, the game play itself makes up for other minor shortcomings, and Diggers 2: Extractors offers a great challenge to gamers. It is recommended for download.