Puzzle fans are in for a treat if they decide to pick up Mr. Driller Online. It was a fun title to dig into on the Dreamcast, Playstation, and every version since, and is still fun today as a quick pickup-n-play puzzle title for the Xbox LIVE Arcade. This version has some major flaws though and we’ll get into that in a moment.

The concept is simple – merge Dig Dug with Tetris, spin on high for five minutes and serve. In this case, you also age it for eight years prior to serving. The goal of this modern Dig Dug is to drill down to 100 meters while gaining as many points as possible and avoiding a collapse on your head. Prior to beginning your subterranean adventure, you’ll choose your character from a variety of choices. The character choices offer differences in drill speed, air consumption (or supply), a dog that can move upwards two spaces at a time (instead one), and a robot built to take one hit (collapse) without dying. The characters aren’t really all that different, but give the player some choices in how they’ll approach the dig.

During play you’ll find power ups in treasure chests that you’ll come across. They range from shields and speed shoes to air replenishments as well as a couple extra you’ll just have to find. These power ups are available for use by hitting the X button and can be used at any time. But use them wisely as you never know when you’ll get yourself stuck in a corner, or in this case – under a falling rock. The standard gameplay hasn’t changed over the years. Much like Tetris, if you’ve played any of the previous versions, you already know what you’re getting into. But with game variations that place restrictions like stage time or limited air supply, the game gives you plenty of reasons to play through more than once.

The sound and graphics aren’t anything special, but meet the typical par set by most Xbox LIVE Arcade titles. Simple music with blips and bings for sound effects do a surprisingly fine job of complimenting the gameplay. Maybe it’s because of the classic and simple gameplay that I really didn’t mind the simplistic sounds. The colorful stages and backdrops also look nice, but not great. Again though, they do just fine.

Now for the negative; the multiplayer gets a fail. This was supposed to be the biggest addition to this classic game’s update. It does have “Online” in the title after all. The problem is it’s broken. And don’t think this is a rare situation. I’m writing this portion four days after trying to play online when I began this review. For reference - You can usually do a XBLA review the same day you play the game. Giving it four days is ridiculous. Unlike many though, I wanted to give this game a chance before passing judgment. The sad thing is that it only seems to have gotten worse. What’s gotten worse you ask? The entire online experience seems to run on some network from an alternate universe where LAG is king. If you want to buy this game for some multiplayer fun, you’ll be sorely disappointed that it is as broken as it could possibly be. Whoever did the QA on this game must have just assumed no one cared about online. Despite my praise of this title above, after four days of frustration trying to play this game online, I’m sick of it. This broken mode ruined the entire game for me.

Overall, avoid this game until it gets fixed. What I wrote about the single-player experience still applies, but if you dare try and play Mr. Driller Online … ONLINE, you’ll be wishing you had your 800 points back instantly. Play the demo and then boot up Poker Smash if you want a puzzle game that’s fun and actually works. I’ll update this review if and when this game gets fixed. But don’t expect the score to change. If you put out a broken game, expect a broken score.

= Colorful and fun look, but dated

- Could have been so much fun online with no lag

+ Responsive and accurate controls offline

- Terrible lag and controls online

Final Score: 4.0 

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