Gut reaction having never played Mr. Driller in my life: this might be a perfect game.
What initially seems almost mind-numbingly simple (there's only one button past the d-pad) reveals its ocean of thrills and depth of thought within 10 minutes of playing. There's such an elegant, beautiful blend of control and chaos here that has your brain working overtime planning combos and positioning while an avalanche is constantly centimeters away from smashing you to dust. The feeling of escaping the mounting insanity above you by the skin of your teeth? Second to none. Sometimes it all gets so crazy that I start laughing like a maniac when I die.
And that's only the classic Mr. Driller mode! Five or so other modes also exist to carefulyl twist and invert the basic mechanics in awe-inspiringly clever ways. Suddenly it is a measured RPG, a tense game of chase, a chaotic roguelike. Playing all of them is to fully explore the potential of even the most simple ideas. The whole world is contained in those little colored blocks, I swear.
AND on top of that, this is Namco when they were at their peak! The menus! The UI! The music and style and design! Literally can't get better!
The whole package just expresses a pure joy and a celebration of play. Distilled video game goodness. A constantly blooming garden of fun.
Also I love holes. So bonus points for that.
What initially seems almost mind-numbingly simple (there's only one button past the d-pad) reveals its ocean of thrills and depth of thought within 10 minutes of playing. There's such an elegant, beautiful blend of control and chaos here that has your brain working overtime planning combos and positioning while an avalanche is constantly centimeters away from smashing you to dust. The feeling of escaping the mounting insanity above you by the skin of your teeth? Second to none. Sometimes it all gets so crazy that I start laughing like a maniac when I die.
And that's only the classic Mr. Driller mode! Five or so other modes also exist to carefulyl twist and invert the basic mechanics in awe-inspiringly clever ways. Suddenly it is a measured RPG, a tense game of chase, a chaotic roguelike. Playing all of them is to fully explore the potential of even the most simple ideas. The whole world is contained in those little colored blocks, I swear.
AND on top of that, this is Namco when they were at their peak! The menus! The UI! The music and style and design! Literally can't get better!
The whole package just expresses a pure joy and a celebration of play. Distilled video game goodness. A constantly blooming garden of fun.
Also I love holes. So bonus points for that.