Mr Driller Drill Spirits

[chuddy_2001uk]

Typical! Everytime a new console is launched, hundreds of coloured blocks seem to come and spoil our excitement by flooding our world. Luckily a small little fellow named Mr Driller always seems to appear to save the day - and the launch of the DS is no exception to this. Mr Driller : Drill Spirits is the DS addition to the Mr Driller series that has featured on GBA, PS2, GC and Dreamcast to mention but a few, but what makes this version stand out from the rest?



Graphics


Graphically, Mr Driller can best be described as pretty. It by no means makes anywhere near full use of the DS' capabilities and at first glance looks exactly identical to.. well every other version .. but MD:DS is colourful, bright and ever so crisp. The game looks like a cartoon throughout with the graphics having smooth edges and cutely styled characters. It looks a lot nicer than the GBA version of Mr Driller, as we'd hope, and the presentation of the game is pretty superb throughout. Cut scenes and stories are told through animated, cartoon style graphics with a story in text (and sound) put along side it. This animation and presentation works very well in this style and is pleasing on your eyes.

In game is pretty much 2D with the gameplay spanning the whole height of the two screens. The way the game flows from the bottom to the top screen is pretty cool and this makes the game look a whole lot better. However, Mr Driller himself is always on the bottom screen as this is for touch screen use, and so at times the top screens seems quite useless. Still, it does look very cool and it will brighten up your day with its quirky and happy animations and simple, colourful graphics.


Sound


The sound seems pretty similar to the GBA version. The music throughout is extremly catchy and will get into your head for the whole day. It's a good sort of catchy though, and I found it suited the gameplay very well - it kept me (almost) relaxed even in the most difficult situations of the game! There are also a good selection of sound effects and voice samples and these are also fitting to the game. The sound effects are simple but sound good on the DS' stereo speakers, and the voice samples are very clear and high quality. It is a shame though that these are only really heard on the menu screens and in cut-scenes/intro as some small voice samples in game could have been a worthy addition. Maybe a voice sample or noise when Mr Driller was getting scared for example... currently he only really makes noises when he is low on oxygen, and you would think he'd make less noise then in order to save air. Oh well!



Gameplay


Any 2D game that has been launched on nearly all of the current 3D consoles must have something else going for it. Mr Driller is all about the gameplay - it is simple to pick up but difficult to put down. Well, that is the theory anyway. The idea of Mr Driller is to 'drill' your way from the surface of the level right down to the bottom by drilling a block at a time - but as you drill under a block it will begin to fall down. Blocks range in colour and if you drill under one so that it falls onto another of the same colour, then they will both dissapear, causing another big fall. This can mean massive block falls and if you get caught up in it, then you'll lose a life. This means you have to have lightning quick reflexs to drill through the blocks while avoiding the ones falling from above. You can drill in all 4 directions and move left and right and not only do you have to worry about being crushed, but if your air level gets low then you have to collect some of the handily scattered air capsules throughout the level. Should you let Mr Driller's air level drop to 0 then he dies... and you'll lose a life. Believe me, the gameplay is so simple to pick up - even my Mum was able to have a crack at the game, (Admitably, she died very quickly though.) and it's an awful lot of fun. The fast paced gameplay and the constant dangers mean you'll have to be alert to beat the levels on offer, but it also means that the game becomes very addictive.


The game offers 4 modes of gameplay, each of which are based greatly around the basic gameplay style explained above. Mission mode is the standard mode of play where you have a choice of courses, each ranging in difficulty, and you aim is to drill right to the bottom of the level. It becomes very difficult and with only 3 lives, very frustrating, but it is still addictive and you'll be coming back to this mode quite often to try and beat the harder levels. Time attack mode is self explanatory - you drill down through the level to try and beat the fastest time. The other, and most fun single player mode is the Pressure mode. This mode sees a large drill following down through the level (usualy seen on the top screen) and you have to escape it's grasp. As Mr Driller, you collect power capsules to charge up your fireball and eventually fire it at the large drill. It's fun, tense and it is the mode that you're proberbly going to get the most play time out of. There is also a multiplayer race mode, where you can race up to 5 mates to the bottom of the levels. However each of your mates require a copy of this game to play - which is a disapointment really. Single cart play would have helped a lot.


You control Mr Driller with the D-pad initially, but this version of the game included touch screen control as an option. This is one example of how not to use this feature as it feels unresponsive, clunky and seems as if it has been thrown in for no reason other than to make use of it. It is simply not needed and not used well, which is a real shame. The only other use of the touch screen is for the menu screens. The dual screens are used effectively to display a much longer view of the level you are digging through. While Mr Driller always appears on the lower screen, the top screen shows you where you have come from, and also what blocks are about to fall. It looks pretty cool and I liked this feature.


Lifespan


Although the game is addictive for the first few hours, the lack of any real varying gameplay and modes really begins to show. You will eventually get bored of drilling through the levels, although the multiplayer race mode is a fun addition. The levels are very difficult and took me a very long time to complete but once you do beat them, there really is little else to see. There isn't any mini-games to unlock or any really useful content to unlock and so playing for any longer seems pointless and quite tedious. I suppose if you do get really hooked on this game, and we all know puzzle games do really hook many people, then the time attack mode could have you coming back to beat your best times - but with the lack of diversity in the levels, even the biggest fan will soon tire of the gameplay.



Summary


Mr Driller : Drill Spirits is another solid addition to the series. It's so very colourful and bright and the presentation is a joy to look at - Sound and music is also good. The use of the dual screens to view the level is a good idea and I found this worked well. The game itself gets an instant grip on you, forcing you to play on, because of its simple to play but difficult to master style. However when the game begins to lose this grip then you really will struggle to find reasons for this to be put back in your DS. The touch screen functions were a waste and the multiplayer mode would have benefitted greatly from a single cart option. If you have the GBA version of this game then there is really nothing new to see here. If you are new to the series though and enjoy a fun, but short lived strategy game then this should tide you over for a while. It's not the launch title we were hoping for but it does it's job.



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Graphics - 7/10

Lovely bright and colourful presentation with nicely animated 2D sprites. Doesn't push the DS at all though.


Sound - 8/10

Catchy music, happy sound effects and voice sample. Perfectly fitting for this game.


Gameplay - 7/10

Addictive, easy to play and a good new pressure mode, but action remains pretty much the same throughout.


Lifespan - 6/10

The major downfall. Not enough game modes or options and the game soon becomes tedious and .. well.. boring. Multiplayer is fun though.



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Another below-par launch title that again is let down by lack of features, innovation and replay value. It's certainly a lot of fun while it lasts but it lacks a special something. Mr distinctly-average Driller.