Диг Дуг: Копающий Удар для Nintendo DS

2005 maze video game

Dig Dug: Digging Strike (ディグダグ ディギング ストライク, Digu Dagu Digingu Sutoraiku) is a 2005 maze video game published by Namco for the Nintendo DS. In Europe, the game was published by Atari Europe. It is the fifth entry in the Dig Dug video game series, and the second to be made for a home platform. The game follows series protagonist Taizo Hori, bitter about his son Susumu getting more attention than him—after a chain of tropical islands is threatened by monsters, Taizo sets out to defeat them and reclaim his fame. Gameplay combines mechanics established in the original Dig Dug and its sequel Dig Dug II, centered around sinking a large "boss" character into the ocean by digging under large stakes in the ground. Development of the game was outsourced to independent Japanese studio Bullets, who worked on the Hero Bank series for Sega, and designed by both Yuta Hamaka and Truyuki Shirakawa. It was one of six games published by both Namco Bandai and Atari as part of an exclusive publishing deal in Europe. Digging Strike was met with mixed reviews upon release—critics disliked the game's short length and lack of both replay value and long lasting appeal, although would praise its usage of collectibles and references to other Namco arcade games. Some also praised its gameplay for combining elements found in the first two entries.

Dig Dug: Digging Strike is a maze video game that combines elements from the first two games in the series; Dig Dug (1982) and Dig Dug II (1985). While underground, Taizo will need to fend off different types of enemies. Alongside the return of Pookas and Fygars from the original Dig Dug, new enemy types have also been introduced, such as ghosts that phase through dirt, penguins and miniature octopuses. Designed by Yuta Hamaka and Teruyuki Shirakawa, Digging Strikes concept was borrowed from the unreleased Dig Dug 3, an arcade game in development at Namco in the late 1990s that was later reworked into the original Mr. Driller (1999). The game was part of Namco's continuing attempt in making its Dig Dug and Mr. Driller series part of the company's pillar franchises, an idea hampered by financial constraints and a general lack of interest. Namco published the game in Japan on September 8 and in North America on October 19. Digging Strike was released in Europe on August 25, 2006 and was part of a six game licensing partnership between the newly formed Namco Bandai Games and Atari Europe.

Dig Dug Digging Strike received mixed reviews upon release—common criticisms were towards its short length and lack of long lasting appeal. It holds a 65/100 on aggregator website Metacritic. IGN said that the game was only fun for a few minutes, feeling it was not as creative as Namco's other DS remakes such as Pac Pix and Pac 'N Roll, only recommending the game to die hard fans of the original. Similar responses were echoed by GameSpot and GameSpy, with GameSpot in particular criticizing it for straying too far from its source material. Nintendo World Report was the most critical, saying the game itself is disappointing compared to the first two Dig Dug games and makes the player "wish you were playing those instead", disliking its short length and lack of content. IGN was also critical towards the game's "sloppy" presentation and "bland" in game cutscenes, as well as the game's multiplayer requiring two game cartridges to play. Nintendo World Report criticized its control layout for being difficult to use, while GameSpot disliked the game's lack of touch screen features. Despite its criticisms, reviewers praised the game's mixture of the first two Dig Dug games, collectibles and references to other Namco games. Nintendo World Report said its usage of gameplay from earlier Dig Dug games was an interesting concept, which IGN, GameSpy and 1UP. com agreed with. 1UP in particular was the most positive towards the game, praising its "addictive" gameplay, enemy variety and its usage of concepts from other Dig Dug games, saying that it helps "celebrate" the legacy of the series. IGN, GameSpot and GameSpy all liked the game's usage of callbacks to other Namco video games and large amount of collectible items. While IGN said the game's graphics were unappealing to look at, GameSpy contested this, praising its cartoony art style and anime style cutscenes. Famitsu awarded the game the "Silver Hall of Fame" badge.