Dating back to 1999, the Mr.
Driller franchise began as a project that was intended to become Dig Dug
3. Now after six releases, Namco has released the seventh Mr. Driller
title in the form of Mr. Driller Online for the Xbox Live Arcade. Having
been absent since 2004 (Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits for the Nintendo DS),
does the series return to glory or does it fade into the backdrop?
The concept for Mr. Driller
is simple to grasp a hold of; you have a drill at your disposal to dig down
through blocks in attempt to have four or more blocks merge together to be
destroyed and grant you a score boost. Keeping an eye out on corresponding block
colors and shapes – as if it were Tetris – players will want to make sure
they aren’t running low on air supply while completing their mission. If they
are low on air supply, players can collect air capsules that will replenish the
player’s health. Another aspect to factor in is avoiding falling blocks that
will come crashing down after merging blocks are destroyed.
For the blocks that are within the
game, players will have to concentrate on four main colored blocks and three
special colored blocks. Three of the four main colored blocks are primary colors
red, blue and green while also including yellow as the fourth. For the three
special colored blocks, Mr. Driller has white blocks that don’t merge
with other colored blocks, the dastardly brown blocks that take away from your
air supply if they are disintegrated and crystal blocks which last for a few
seconds and then disappear.
There are several strategies that
you’ll want to put into your tactical journal while playing. The first is if you
want to bruise your way through the brown blocks that inflict damage to get the
air supply that they usually are put in front of. The best bet is to avoid any
brown block and dig down further to get around them. The second strategy is
taking your time (but not too much as you only have so much air supply) and
figuring out the surrounding consequences for removing the next block.
On top of picking and choosing what
blocks you want to drill through, you’ll also encounter power-ups that are found
in treasure chests. These power-ups will come in a variety of effects such as
shields, speed boosts and air refills. If you were a smart gamer, you’ll make
sure to take advantage of every power-up you get. To use the power-ups you’ll
have to press the X Button, but I advise saving them to the right moment.
Players will also start out with all
the characters unlocked from the beginning of the game. Many of the characters
have benefits and abilities over the other, so picking the right character to
your gameplay style is something you want to factor in. If you constantly are
taking damage from falling blocks, then picking the robot is essential since it
can live through one falling on it.
There are two game modes to play
through: Standard Driller and Quest Driller. Standard Driller has players
playing through several countries as he or she continually digs deeper and
deeper adding up the mileage. The Quest Driller has limitations on the time and
air tanks within the level, along with an attached number of blocks that need to
be destroyed.
While all of this may sound dandy,
it’s more of the same that has been produced in the six previous Mr. Driller
titles. There’s not much evolution here as there was Mr. Driller: Drill Land
on the Gamecube and Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits on the DS. Both of them
were much more in-depth and thorough with delivering a more experienced Mr.
Driller title rather than a casual approach that Mr. Driller Online
provides. But at least there’s online, right?
Online for the most part was very
laggy and barely worked due to several glitches. While there a few modes to play
through, such as Solo Battle against three opponents or Tag Battle to team up
with a partner and finish a level, the online isn’t in tip top shape in terms of
functioning correctly. With online multiplayer a mess, we’ll cross our fingers
that Namco continues to provide fixes to the online experience.
|
Review Scoring Details for Mr. Driller Online |
Gameplay: 6.4
Maintaining the common game modes from previous versions, Mr. Driller
Online has everything you should expect with a Mr. Driller title,
while also avoiding introducing anything new to the series.
Graphics: 5.0
720p high-def but the visuals are around the borders are fuzzy. It doesn’t
take advantage of the Xbox 360 and comes off as if the developers are stretching
the visuals across the screen distorting the resolution.
Sound: 7.0
The soundtrack is superb but I did encounter blips where the music cut out.
Difficulty: Medium
Long-time fans will find it very easy while first-time comers will find it
mildly difficult.
Concept: 5.0
Not breaking any grounds here; online is nice but it’s nothing original.
Multiplayer: 4.0
Tag Battle is interesting with the ability to send air to your partner if
they are running low, but the lag renders the online unentertaining.
Overall: 5.5
Even with the online issues aside, Mr. Driller Online may seem wildly
exciting for new players who have never played the previous iterations. While
longtime fans will find it disappointing that this is primarily aimed at the
casual gamer with avoiding any kind of innovation.
