Only if you like the series...

Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits is the most recent in a long line of puzzle games bearing the "Mr. Driller" moniker. While it doesn't make good use of the DS's unique input capabilities, nor is it at all fresh or innovative, fans of the Mr. Driller format will be satisfied by this aesthetically polished release from Namco.

Like nearly all block-based puzzle games, Mr. Driller can be though of in terms of Tetris. Mr. Driller is like Tetris in reverse. You start off with a screen full of multicolored blocks. You are a cute little anime-looking guy with a drill standing on top of this stack of blocks. You can stand on top of a block and press the "A" button to drill down, making the block disappear. Additionally, any blocks of the same color touching said block will disappear. The game "Collapse" on shockwave.com and the PopCap game "Big Money" operate on similar grounds. The goal is to drill down to a certain depth. To add an element of time pressure, you have an "Air Gauge" which decreases gradually during the course of your drilling, which can be replenished by obtaining the air capsules spread about the stack of blocks (usually in hard to reach places). Once you get down in to the level, your main dangers are being crushed by blocks falling from above you, running out of air, and being stuck by the solid blocks (these require 3 drills to break, and reduce your air once destroyed, kinda like how the special moves in Double Dragon could save your skin but also decreased your life meter). That's pretty much all you need to know about Mr. Driller in general, now let's focus on the specifics of Drill Spirits.

Nearly all of the gameplay value in Drill Spirits comes from the main story mode. Story mode consists of a set of levels, each with a successively higher (or lower, really) goal depth. After each stage is complete, a new driller character is unlocked. Each driller character has unique attributes which make gameplay slightly different. Some have quicker drill speeds (kinda like how Toad digs faster in Mario 2), some can withstand one crushing without losing a life (VERY helpful for beginners), and some can jump to a height of two blocks, allowing for more access around the levels. The different characters help keep story mode fresh, especially since the levels themselves are essentially all the same, differing only in depth and visual appearance. The other gameplay modes include time attack (no description needed) and attack mode, wherein there is a boss hovering over a standard Mr. Driller level, which can be fired upon using ammo that you obtain just as you obtain air capsules in standard mode. This mode is fun for a lark, but is far from the core of the game's value.

One interesting aspect of Drill Spirits is the addition of powerups, which make the game a little more forgiving for beginners. After a certain total drill depth has been obtained, users can visit a "store" which allows them to purchase upgrades such as more lives and increased air capacity. It's hard to imagine being able to complete the later levels of story mode without these handy bonuses, so they're a great addition to the game.

The biggest problem with Mr. Driller is that it leans to far away from skill, a devastating flaw for a puzzle game. Upon a few plays, I found that the best "strategy" is to simply drill straight down as fast as you can, sliding left or right when absolutely necessary, paying no mind to the big chains of blocks that may have been created by the falling blocks above me. I get the feeling that the intention of the game designers is to reward careful planning and strategic drilling, but it's simply to difficult to derive an effective strategy, and too fast moving to experiment with. The lack of strategy really isn't a big deal for games which provide satisfying action, but for puzzle games such as Drill Spirits, it is a major hinderance.

Furthermore, the touch screen capabilities of the DS are useless here. The game does allow you to touch the bottom screen with the stylus to drill, but this is too inaccurate and cumbersome for the quick pace of Drill Spirits. The D-pad and the A button are the only choice for those seeking to accomplish anything in this game.

Visually, the game is very appealing. The DS's sharp screen(s) provide crisp bright anime-style graphics. Unfortunately the audio is not on the same level, consisting of throwaway sound effects and atrociously sugary voice acting. Not to mention the terrible translation, which renders the inter-level dialouge exchanges moot (although I have a feeling they didn't mean much even in the Japanese version).

Although I have indicated my own low opinion of Mr. Driller's gameplay above, the fact remains that it is a very popular puzzle franchise. So I infer that there must be people out there who enjoy this flavor of puzzling. For those, I expect that Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits is a great value because of its nice bonus features and visual presentation. For those who prefer a slower, headier puzzling experience, I think Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits, and the Mr. Driller games in general, may be unsatisfying.