Dig Dug

One of my favorite classic arcade games. Fun, simple gameplay with a focus on momentum, prioritization of enemies and of course POINTS! The combat is visceral and satisfying with a kinky edge. Enemies explode in gory splendor, or are smashed horrifically beneath falling rocks, if you get more strategic with it. Awesome.

An arcade classic whose legacy has always been undermined compared to Pac-Man and its other Namco brethren. It’s amusing to me that this is how history has played out because I always preferred it to the game with the gluttonous glob of sliced cheese that ranks among the highest echelons of video game icons. Why? I’m not entirely sure, since all of the second-generation arcade games could only hold my attention for so long until I nodded off into space, Dig Dug included (I know, I’m spoiled). Maybe it’s because injecting a pump into your enemies and inflating them to the point where they burst is the most gangster shit I’ve ever seen.

Take that, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, and every other Grand Theft Auto protagonist. Don’t fuck with Dig Dug.

I'm saving my review of Dig Dug for another day (honestly, it's a grower if you commit to play for score), but allow me this: the 7800 is very rarely the system you will want to seek out your arcade ports on. It's somewhat remarkable how ugly this game looks on the 7800... I mean, what was the MSRP on your average Atari adaptation in 1987?

Perfectly playable (as is Rampage, for example), but I would look to "dig in" on this classic take on the 80s maze attack on almost any other system before landing here.

Although it’s a ‘classic’ game, this is my first time playing Dig Dug. The game takes place underground and your aim is to defeat the enemies. As you move, you can carve out tunnels.

Enemies start in existing tunnels and patrol back and forth, but then randomly float towards you. When they reach another tunnel, then they will move towards you but follow the tunnel’s paths.

You can attack them by attaching your pump to them and inflating them with air until they pop. The score you get depends on how deep underground you are, so if you really want to maximise the score, then you can lure them into deeper areas. The dragon enemy breathes fire and you score more points for taking him out horizontally rather than vertically because of the extra risk.

Another way of scoring high is crushing them with rocks instead, especially if you crush multiple enemies in one go. This also makes a fruit appear to collect and gain even more points.

The final enemy will make a run to escape the level. When all enemies are gone, then you move onto the next level. Higher levels have more aggressive enemies; shorter time before they float towards you.

I thought the game was okay and didn’t feel as addictive as games such as Pac-Man.

You traverse tunnels to trap enemies with boulders or pump them full of air. Despite what you might expect, this Arcade game is nowhere as claustrophobic as Mr. Do!, and is actually very easy to play. The true skillset needed in the game is how to rack points by smashing the enemies with rocks, and many players will doubtlessly allured by the challenge, it is just too inviting, and will be the place where players will fail the most(3.5).

The NES version is a fully faithful port and a valid substitute if the arcade game is unavailable(3.0).

As a kid I would play this all time time on the Namco museum collection I had. It was probably my favorite game on the CD and was one of the more straightforward. Dig in the ground, kill the enemies by pumping them full of air, then you automatically advance to the next stage. As the levels go on the stages get bigger with more enemies, more rocks, and the enemies get faster and more aggressive. Its pretty much your definition of a standard arcade game, and yeah it does get very repetitive, the enemies are always the same 2 guys, there isn't much strategy involved, just find enemies spam the attack, and hope to god the other enemies aren't following you close or digging to your location, and hope the rock doesn't accidentally land on your head when you activate it for one of the most satisfying ways to kill enemies in oldschool games. Either way Dig Dug is a little nostalgic for me, and in simplicity its a fun enough arcade game, that maybe hasn't aged super gracefully but can still be played for fun on occasion today.