These days, Electronic Arts is synonymous with loot boxes, microtransactions and bad, overpriced games. That wasn’t always the case: in the early 80s, Electronic Arts had the reputation of having the best games for home computers. Games like Archon, Seven Cities of Gold, One on One and this game: M.U.L.E.

M.U.L.E. was developed in 1983 by Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts. Upon its release, it was an instant success and was praised by the gaming press and community alike. It won numerous awards and is considered one of the best computer games from the Golden Era of computer games. The game still has a large following today and is considered by many fans to be one of the classics of computer game history.

M.U.L.E. is set on the fictional planet Irata and simulates the life of settlers on this planet. Players must collect resources and exchange them for MULEs (Multiple Use Labor Element) to build and expand their economy. MULEs are robots that help the settlers with their work by collecting and processing resources. Players must carefully manage their resources and make the right decisions to optimize their economic system and compete against other players.

M.U.L.E. was also one of the first attempts to develop a game with a distinctive artificial intelligence (A.I.). In M.U.L.E., players can compete against computer-controlled opponents who make decisions based on data and algorithms. The game has also been praised for its unique, innovative game mechanics, which are based on the idea that players must make decisions to obtain resources while trying to outbid their opponents.

M.U.L.E. has had a lasting impact on the computer games industry and is considered a precursor to modern strategy and business simulation games. The game has also shown that computer games can be more than just entertainment and that they can be a useful tool for education and learning. Unlike other economic simulations of the time, M.U.L.E. also relies on graphics and „action“ rather than columns of numbers and text input, which certainly contributed to the game’s success.

Overall, M.U.L.E. is an outstanding computer game that still has many fans today. It is a classic from the golden era of computer games and has had a lasting influence on the computer games industry. It also shows that it is not high-resolution RTX graphics and immersive sound design that make a good computer game. Good gameplay and clever game mechanics turn simple pixel graphics and mediocre sound quality into a cult game for the ages.