Dig Dug II, 1985 Namco

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Published on August 14, 2015 7:29:20 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HcoqyqtAzw

Game:

Dig Dug II (1985)

Duration: 11:18

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13

Sorry, but I won't be working on the "20 From The 1970s" series for a while, as the game I intend to review next in the series is unavailable in the emulator DICE and in 'not working' status in MAME, so we're instead going to look at the first sequel to DIG DUG (and the only arcade sequel starring Dig Dug as the main protagonist-- the Mr. Driller series stars his son), DIG DUG II! This was only released in Japan but it shows up on a number of "Namco classics" types of collection series on various platforms. Deservedly so, since this is a rather well-done sequel. This time around the action is in an "over top" kind of viewpoint, the action takes place ABOVE ground, and Dig Dug now has a DRILL-- this is put into black holes in the ground and used to create fault lines; these can connect from one edge of land to another to break off a chunk of the island, sending the enemies (Pookas and Fygars, returning from the first game) to a watery demise. Of course, if you don't pull back towards land, are too far away from the fault line on the side of the falling land, or are at an angle from the mainland, you will join them in the water-logged afterlife! Dig Dug's trusty pump is back and is used in exactly the same manner as in the first game-- and your skills of pumping fast from the first game will be VERY useful here; not all the black holes are set up perfectly to break off chunks of land. On early rounds you can get big points by taking out big groups of enemies with a good drill placement (hold down the drill button and press up/down/left/right with the joystick to create fault line in one of those directions), but not on later levels-- and by then, the enemies will have sped up a bit anyway! If you dawdle a bit with a few enemies left or less, they might attempt to commit suicide by jumping in the water! If you can reach level 10, you have an opportunity to REALLY inflate your score (pun intended): simply drill some well-placed faults as the enemies are frozen for a few seconds (the only round in the game where the enemies do this) and you'll get 10s of thousands of points! This is a worthy sequel with a whole new approach to interesting gameplay strategies.. though I"m still partial to the original. A very good NES port was released with one new addition-- break off a small chunk of land to make a fish jump up, and it's worth points if you pump it!

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