I was sittin' here, on my computer, when I decided I wanted to do a review after adding that nich little banner on my site,(More on La-Mulana in another review, trust me) so I just chose to do that good ol' Game Boy Advance game, Drill Dozer.
Drill Dozer was a game made by Game Freak--Wait a moment, that reminds me, according to my sources, the forums of Starmen.net, Game Freak was reformed from Ape, the makers of EarthBound-- known best for making the Pokemon series. While I myself have not played any of those games, I hear they're pretty good, and are a lot of gamers guilty pleasures. So anyway, back on track again, They decided to make a platformer, one with a almost completely unheard of premise, piloting a small mecha with a large pair of drills, the titular Drill Dozer. The game barely sold at all, and it's almost unheard of among most gamers.
And surprisingly for a lot o' guys that usually make RPGs, it is good, awesome even. I mean, it's not my favorite game ever(Pretty high on my list, though), but there's a lot of genius in this game, and that's something I can almost always recognize. I mean, if I ever want a good time on my DS's 2'nd slot, I just pop it in, or Metriod Zero Mission, but that's unrelated.
SO ANYWAY, about the game. You play as a little pink-haired girl named Jill, pictured breaking through a wall in her Drill Dozer. Her Father is the leader of the Red Dozers, a group of thieves. Recently, a rival group of theives, the Skullkers stole the main character's red gem, her deceased mother's prized possesion, and put her father in critical condition, makingher the temporary boss. The game came with a little comic book that explains a little of the events right before the game, not really essential to grasp the rather simple story.
The gameplay, much like games of old, revolves around one concept. And it works pretty great. The drills can be upgraded twice over the course of each level, as Gearmo, the Red Dozer's resident mechanic, fixes it up at the end of each level, which removes the two gears you collect for some reason.(You think the guy would save 'em...) Speaking of the Red Dozers, the only living members we're only shown are the main character's Father(Doug), Crutch, and Gearmo. Crutch and Gearmo regularly call in to give advice and things such as that.
When you collect a gear, you are allowed to shift up while drilling. The highest gear being able to go on forever, while the other two are limited and otherwise less powerful. The system works well.
The music in this game really isn't something I would remember, but one track in particular stands out, but I'll let you find that out yourself, trash and treasure 'n' all those sayings about opinions. Blahdie blah blah.
Dril Dozer has a very high replay value, with harder drill bits being able to be bought from a old friend of Crutchs, to drill through harder blocks and get to new pathways, and many treasures that can be found that might require them. You can also buy secret areas, which put the skills the game teachs you to the test. There's also a somewhat secret area that is almost impossible to figure out what to do on there without the internet.
All in all, a great game, if you like platformers, origanal ideas, or just want to see a company venture to a territory they rarely trot, get this game. The internet is a good place to get it, pick it up if you see it anywhere for a nice price.
Hyrule out.
I need a camera that turns off the flash... and a mind that turns off the ramble function.
