Dig Dug Deeper:

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No, Dig-Dug Deeper is not the name of a porno movie.  It is the latest classic re-release from Infogrames.

The Dig-Dug coin-op game was originally developed in Japan by Namco, and licensed by Atari for U.S. distribution in 1982.  

The gameplay of the original coin-op game is simple.  Despite it's simplicity, it is incredibly addicting and FUN!  You control Dig Dug.  Your mission is to make your way underground and kill off the invading creatures.  Dig Dug can dig horizontally or vertically through the dirt as he walks.  He moves faster when walking where a tunnel already exists or on the surface.

Your main weapon looks like a bicycle tire pump.  To destroy an enemy, you have to blow them up with air by using your tire pump.  As you dig tunnels underground, you will come across your enemies -- creatures known as "Pookas" and "Fygars."

The "Pookas" are relatively weak, as they only move around the screen in the tunnels, although their touch will kill you.  On the other hand, the "Fygars" have a mean weapon at their disposal:  they have flaming dragon breath, or a blast of fire with big range that is capable of roasting you to death.

The monsters in this game are smart & cunning.  They frequently attack in groups, which makes your life very difficult.  Also, they can briefly change into a “ghost” state.  When they change to "ghost" mode, the enemies can march right through walls, and move to the closest tunnel to chase Dig Dug.

Your tire pump isn’t the only weapon at your disposal.  Peppered around the screen are rocks.  When Dig Dug creates a new tunnel under a rock, the rock falls through the dirt and smashes anything under it.  If your timing is right, and one of your enemies is hot on your tail, you can smash the bad guys by digging a tunnel under a rock, which will fall and crush anything chasing you.  Best of all, you will earn some extra bonus points using this method.

Dig Dug Deeper continues the story from where the arcade game left off.  Following his amazing success destroying all of the monsters on Earth in 1982, Dig Dug found himself extremely bored.  After all, what is a monster-hunter with no monsters to hunt?  Dig-Dug soon decided to take matters into his own hands, and he purchased a cheap rocket with all of his earnings from previous exploits.  On the 12th of October, 1983, Dig-Dug launched himself into space.  Now, nearly 20 years later, he has located a strange solar system that is loaded with his old foes -- the Pookas & the Fygars.

OK, so the story is lame.  

Creature Labs is the group behind this game.  Just like their previous effort for Infogrames (Ms. Pac-Man), there is not one mention of Dig Dug Deeper anywhere on their web site.

Installation of the game, which was pretty straightforward.  There were no problems whatsoever as the game checked for a proper DirectX installation, etc.

Once the installation was done, I selected the resolution for the game, color depth, etc.  Again, no problems here as the game properly detected my Asus GeForce2 GTS card, and I was able to play the game at high resolutions with 32-bit color.

Then, I started the game.  Like their previous Ms. Pac-Man title, there is no animated video or story when you launch the game.  All you see is a simple menu for starting the game, viewing high scores, setting up your options, etc.

Dig-Dug Deeper Click to enlarge

The characters for the game are the same as the original coin-op, but with a few minor additions:

• Pooka: A Pooka is a jolly little orange creature that likes to jump around the underground corridors.  It seems to wear some kind of driving goggles, which is a strange choice for an underground creature.  The Pooka does not have any special weapons, but touching one means instant death.  If it gets bored, it will turn into a ghost, and float around underground looking for some action.  A Pooka requires 4 pumps before exploding.

• Elastic Pooka:  They look very similar to a regular Pooka, except for the blue color.  Elastic Pookas are stronger, and they require 10 pumps to blow them up.

• Fygar:  Just like the original game, the Fygars will wander the tunnels.  Occasionally, they will stop, flap their small wings, and belch flames to the left or to the right.  Dig-Dug will be instantly incinerated if he is caught in the flames.  A Fygar requires 4 pumps before exploding.

• Elite Fygar:  After many years of practice, the purple Elite Fygar can blow flames upward and downward.

• Really Really Angry Fygar:  (I'm not making these names up!)  A red-hot Fygar that can breath flames that bend around corners.

Dig Dug will have to make his way through all of the planets in the solar system, including the City planet, the Volcano Planet, and the Ice planet.  There are six planets in all.

You also have some new weapons at your disposal.  In the original coin-op game, you could tunnel under rocks, which would fall and possibly crush any monsters that were around you.  Those rocks are still there, along with some new weapons:

• Round Boulders:  These are capable of rolling.  Once you get them going, they will roll through a tunnel and crush everything in it's path.

• Exploding Boulders:  Once they are touched, they will shake for a moment and explode killing everything nearby.

• Flaming Boulders:  Once exposed to air, these boulders will send a trail of flame through the tunnels incinerating everything in it's path.

• Gas Pockets:  When one is opened, poison gas will fill the surrounding area, killing everything until the gas dissipates.

• Lava Pockets:  Similar to the gas, but Lava is affected by gravity, and will only flow down.  Lava will incinerate everything in it's path.  Once it cools, it will solidify, and fill in tunnels that you have opened.

There are also bonus items that will fill the mazes including fruit, vegetables, and flowers.  Dig Dug can pick up these items for bonus points.

There are also some power-ups available.  You can earn a temporary power-up by destroying one of the monsters with a natural obstacle such as a boulder or lava.  Power-ups include:

• Run Faster:  Dig Dug increases his speed for a short time

• Extra Long Hose:  Allows you to shoot at monsters from a longer distance.

• Faster Hose:  Each single pump is worth two pumps.  Monsters will be destroyed twice as fast.

• Blaster Hose:  One hit instantly inflates and kills every monster except the Elastic Pooka, which will require two hits.

• Monster-Seeking Hose:  Dig Dug's hose will seek out any monster in the area automatically.

• Hyper Dug:  Dig Dug is granted super powers that allow him to move at hyperspeed, destroying any dirt or monster in his path.

So, how is gameplay?  Well, the game does feel like Dig Dug to a certain degree.  The elements of gameplay are all here, but the game is lacking one major thing: intensity.  The Dig Dug coin-op game can get pretty intense as you make your way into later levels.  It is not uncommon to have two, three, or four enemies hot on your tail at one time, and it takes strategy and skill to eliminate them without getting killed.

The manual for Dig Dug Deeper states that the Pookas & Fygars will become "more cunning" as you progress through the game.  The manual also states that the Pookas "...will hide on top of each other so that when Dig Dug hits one of them with the hose, the other monster can advance towards Dig Dug...."  I sure didn't see that at all.

Dig Dug Deeper is lacking the intensity of the original coin-op.  The enemies in this game don't seem to have any intelligence whatsoever.  In fact, I think that they are just moving randomly.  There were many times during the time I played the game where multiple monsters would start to converge on my position, and then scatter in random directions.  It was extremely rare for me to be attacked by large groups of monsters.

Also, the game is incredibly short.  With the default difficulty settings, I was able to finish the entire game in roughly two hours.  I was blown away with the ease of completing this game, so, the next day, I cranked up the difficulty to HARD and gave it another try.  This time, I finished the game in just over two and a half hours.  I felt that the increase in difficulty didn't make much of a difference in gameplay.

I also noticed some issues with blowing up the monsters.  A number of times while I was playing, I was able to fire my hose through a thin wall and blow up the monster on the other side.  The original coin-op wouldn't allow that, and I don't think this is a changed element of gameplay.  It is probably just a bug that didn't get caught before release.

Sound is a real mixed bag.  There has been some very clever use of sound in this game in a few places.  For example, when blowing up an Elastic Pooka, it is not uncommon to hear a "stretching" noise like you would hear when blowing up a balloon.  I started laughing when I heard it the first few times.

On the downside, other aspects of audio are totally wrong.  In this game, Dig Dug makes a " jackhammer" noise as he digs tunnels.  I found it distracting.  None of the sounds, and almost none of the music from the original coin-op are in this game.

Visually, the game is a mixed bag as well.  The game can be played in multiple resolutions, 16 or 32-bit color-depth, and full screen or windowed.  The graphics are bright and clear.  Dig-Dug and his enemies are effectively animated, although Dig Dug has a huge chin that makes him look like Jay Leno in a space suit.  Colors haven't been used as I would have liked.  The original coin-op had many bright yellow & orange colors, and sadly, color has not been effectively used ion this game.

There are some known problems with the game involving ATI RAGE PRO and RAGE PRO TURBO video cards.  There is also an issue with Windows ME & ESS Maestro audio cards.  Be sure to check the README file on the game CD for a list of fixes if you own these products.

Conclusion:

Dig Dug Deeper isn't a bad game.  It is an average game that could have been much better with some more polish, and smarter monsters.  I think this game could have been a real winner with a bit more work, better use of colors & sounds, and better audio.  Granted, this game is a "budget" title from Infogrames (MSRP $19.99) so it doesn't have a lot of extras like full-motion video, etc.  I don't see that as a bad thing, though.  I just wish more attention could have been paid to the details.

The artificial intelligence (or lack thereof) is a bit disturbing.  Dig Dug Deeper lacks the intensity of the original coin-op game because the monsters aren't as smart & devious.  

I'm glad to see that this game sticks with the original Dig Dug formula for scoring.  So many of the classic re-releases have messed with the classic formula of competing for points and high score by putting too much emphasis on completion of levels or goals.  Midway's new Spy Hunter game for the PlayStation 2 would be a good example of how to ruin a game by changing the focus away from scoring points.

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