It is no surprise that given the chance, any company would release some of their old-school classics with “updated” features on Nintendo’s Dual Screen handheld system. It has happened since launch, not only with classic arcade games but with recent hits as well, from Frogger, to Puyo Pop, Atari’s Retro Classics, and even Namco’s own Mr. Driller and Pac-Man series; it is evident that classic arcade gaming has not died… yet. Even Tetris and Space Invaders are making their way to the DS within the next year, so there is plenty to look forward to for a doze of nostalgia on the DS.

But Namco is not quite done yet, as they recently released a “DS-ified” version of their twenty-year-old arcade classic, Dig Dug for the Nintendo DS. And so we have Dig Dug: Digging Strike, the latest game to use the letters DS for subtitles. While the game design and presentation is evidently archaic, the developers tried to breathe new life into the game by incorporating bosses that need to be drowned to be defeated. Besides this addition, very little else is added to the game which leaves players feeling robbed upon completing the game. It is fun, but only so for an hour… or less.

Quite expectedly, Namco has incorporated a very cheesy and even laughable story to go along with Dig Dug: Digging Strike. Sure these story sequences are a staple to Namco’s Mr. Driller games, but I find them very childish and badly written. Yes, they are charming, of course... The story revolves around Taizo Hori, whose son, Mr. Driller, has been receiving so much publicity that hardly anyone remembers him. It is this jealousy and the attention he craves that make Taizo respond to a call for help aimed for Mr. Driller, and the adventure begins such. Ironically, Mr. Hori still needs the help of his son, so what does this say about his motive?

I initially found myself entertained by the game, digging deep underground, driving stakes deep into the earth below, all while blowing up enemies and collecting power-ups on the way. This entertainment, however, immediately became mundane, and it was no longer how I would complete each stage, but why I was even trying. Sure there is variety in later levels, with different enemies and the slight change in difficulty, but the variation is hardly noticeable and does nothing to assuage the tedium of the game.

In terms of graphics, Dig Dug: Digging Strike both slightly impresses and greatly disappoints. Balance the two out and you know what you have: a sub-par graphical presentation hindered by the decision by Namco to keep the game as close to the original as possible. Sure, the nostalgia is there, but the unique features of the Nintendo DS are never exploited entirely by the title as it only utilizes the two screens to have an above and under ground view of the level. There might not be a clever use of the screens, but how about touch-screen input? Sadly, there hardly is any besides using it to skip through the story sequences. The “3D” graphics of the top screen are nice, yet camera movement is restricted to 90 degree intervals so you are not able to enjoy them as much as could have been possible.

Surely, then, the multiplayer aspect of Digging Strike fares well, right? Unfortunately, this is not so. Multiplayer is extremely limited and gets boring too quickly, so those buying the game hoping that they will spend hours playing against their friends are incorrect in their presumption. It might be interesting for a couple of rounds, racing to collect thirty coins before the other player does, but repeating this ordeal more than three times is nearly impossible. Overall, even wireless multiplayer gaming added nothing to the replay value of Digging Strike.

Fans of Dig Dug should note that the audio presentation is a mixed bag of goodies. There are some really great tracks in the game, like the original classic Dig Dug theme, but I was surprised to hear tracks that sounded almost exactly like those of the NES Mario titles. It was almost as if you were playing the plumber’s classic adventures, and not the latest adventure of Mr. Taizo Hori. These definitely felt out of place and did not make the game any better; in fact, they made it awkward.

I tried to enjoy Dig Dug: Digging Strike time and time again, but the tedium and repetitious nature of the new game design bore me beyond my liking, so I was soon forcing myself to complete each stage and find ways to sink the boss. That is not to say that Digging Strike is a DS disaster; there are plenty of medals, weapon pieces, and power-ups to collect, as well as unique mini-games parodies of old Namco classics to play. However, the added extras serve to elongate the otherwise short adventure of Mr. Taizo Hori, which is, essentially, unnecessary.