Drill Dozer

July 28, 2006

Despite the incredible success of the Nintendo DS, the GBA is still very much a dominant platform and as such new games are coming out every week. [i]Drill Dozer[/i] is one of the more recent titles to be put out for GBA.

In [i]Drill Dozer[/i] you play Jill who is the spunky daughter of the head of the Red Dozers, a band of thieves. The story kicks off with the Skullker gang attacking your father and putting him in critical condition in an effort to steal the precious red diamond. You must lead the Red Dozers through level after level of destruction to recover the red diamond.

The Drill Dozer is your main weapon and vehicle in your fight against the Skullkers. Your drill dozer is capable of drilling in any of the four cardinal directions to advance through levels (up, down, left, and right). The level design is the real obstacle here as you have to strategically get around various parts of the level in a very specific order.

As your make your way through the levels keep your eyes peeled for various items to collect. Your Drill Dozer has 3 gears that it is capable of drilling at. To upgrade to the 2nd and 3rd gear you need to find the additional gears and upgrade your Dozer. In addition to the gears you can also collect chips from enemies and destroyed items to buy upgrades at the shop. At the shop you can purchase collect special equipment that allows you to fly or operate your Drill Dozer underwater as well as maps to unlock bonus areas.

[i]Drill Dozer[/i] is quite a shallow game, but provides a decent level of entertainment for those quick gaming sessions on the go. The cartridge is a little large, due to the included rumble pak, and will stick out even further on your DS Lite than standard GBA games which may be a deal breaker for some people. I found [i]Drill Dozer[/i] to be enjoyable, but not something I can confidently recommend you to run out and buy with your last $30. Save [i]Drill Dozer[/i] for a rental or borrow it from a friend, because for $30 there are much better games to be had.

Score: 2/5

Questions? Check out our review guide.