Diggers 2: Extractors

Diggers 2: Extractors is a video game in the puzzle genre developed by Millennium Interactive Ltd. and published by Nova Spring originally released in 1995. It is currently playable on DOS.

A fun sequel to Diggers, an underrated Lemmings clone, Diggers 2: Extractors is to the original what Lemmings: Chronicles is to Lemmings: it adds more levels, more tools, and more challenges.

The overall goal, if you ever need one in a puzzle game, is to link the 25 Hanging Worlds of Zarg. This is accomplished by destroying the shield generators that protect the worlds. Once destroyed, the floating lands will return to the surface of Zarg, and you will move on to the next world.

The name of the game refers to the lemming-like species that populate the worlds. There are 3 species of extractors, each with slightly different abilities: One is the best digger, one is the strongest, and one can teleport without taking damage. There are a number of devices you can buy to help you in your task, such as teleportation poles, explosives and flying platforms. Not only must you gather enough money to buy the tools needed to disable the shield generator, but you must also gather enough fuel to fly to the next hanging world. Fuel and money are obtained by collecting the mineral deposits that are discovered during the excavation of the different worlds, and depositing these minerals in your ship.

The challenge of the game is to figure out what devices are needed on each world. Many devices can be used in different ways, and there is usually more than one way to solve each level. This makes the game considerably more difficult than Lemmings, although the level design is not as convoluted. One nice feature is that, once you've finished a level, you can scroll around the map to see what you missed.

As fun as Extractors is, there are a few caveats to be aware of. First, some artifacts are downright obscure, and the number and diversity of items available make the game very daunting and confusing for novice players. Worse, you can only read tool/item descriptions from the main menu, not within the game itself. The game would have benefited from the approach used in Lemmings, where the first few levels are designed to introduce you to different aspects of the game, one at a time. At least Extractors includes a training area/world where you can play with some devices before proceeding to destroy shield generators, although you'll only learn by trial and error, investing a lot of time in the process.

The bottom line is that if you like games in the style of Lemmings or The Humans for their elegant simplicity, you should skip Extractors. However, if you're a puzzle expert who wants to try a challenging and time-consuming game, and you don't mind an awkward user interface, Extractors is one of the more complex Lemmings games out there.

Recommended, but with some reservations.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.