Crossbow Reviews Dig Dug for the Atari 7800

Crossbow Reviews

7800 Rank: 17th

Genre Rank: (Classic Arcade) 7th

Awards: 5th Best Sound, 4th Best Interpretation

Dig Dig Dig Pros: Solid graphics/ Excellent sound
Cons: Controls are a bit sluggish Dug Dug Dug

Overview: Games which require little thinking but some fast reflexes are really great sometimes. Dig Dug is such a game. You play the role of an underground miner armed with his jet-powered shovel searching for fruit and veggie prizes. Dig Dug has to be careful though to avoid the walking, goggle wearing,

walking balloon dudes known as Pooka and the fire-breathing dragons known as Fygars.

Graphics: The graphics are very colorful and the sprites are nice and detailed. While the game does appear as if the colors clash horribly, they are supposed to as that is how they really were in the arcade. The 7800 version is much blockier looking due to its lower resolution. There are a few things, which I know could have been improved in the graphics. For one, the score numbers are simply too large! Sure it is easy to read but it looks obnoxious. Second the game marks your stages with flowers just like the arcade, however the flowers are also not very well detailed considering how large they are. But the animation is detailed and everything looks, as it should. I was also impressed with the fire effect from the Fygars as it was actually more than just one color and does look like a flame.

Sound: The sound is actually very good. The opening tune when you start a game is present and sounds accurate to the arcade. Even the little tune, which plays as you dig around making the tunnels, is there. Atari included every sound from the arcade in this version. There are sounds for everything in the game. The rocks falling, the Fygars shooting off fire, even the little tones alerting you to a fruit or vegetable prize are present. Honestly I can't find anything missing in the sound of the 7800 version at all. Great job Atari!

Gameplay: Now we are starting to find some flaws. I am not sure if it is the aspect of the game field or something else, but the controls aren't responsive on the 7800 port. I tested this when the same lack of control was present in emulation as well. Basically dig dug seems to move too slowly sometimes and unlike the arcade where snap movements were possible, they simply aren't here. I do have to admit that I am impressed however, that Atari managed to keep all the elements of the original arcade intact. All the fruit and veggie prizes are in the game. Even the level layouts and colors seem to match the arcade.

Interpretation: Dig Dug is a direct port from the Namco arcade version back in 1982. As is per the usual 7800 line up for arcade conversions, Dig Dug is about as close to the arcade as you can get. Enough said on that.

Value: Not sure on this one. New players might get bored quickly since the layouts are the only things, which change in the game. But the simply game play itself does make the game fun to come back to whenever you're in the mood to pump up and blow up some monsters. A two-player mode exists, but it is the standard round robin affair where each player takes turns waiting for the other to die. I suppose a two player simultaneous would have been cool with twice as many monsters and both players trying to scramble for the fruit and veggie prizes simultaneously but that wasn't added.

Overall: Atari did a great job bringing this arcade classic to the Pro System. Everything you loved about the arcade is present here in this version. There are some control issues that diehards may not like but otherwise nothing is missing. It isn't rare by any means so why not grab it next time you see it or somebody offers you one for cheap? After all, if you're a fan of the classic arcade original, you should grab this game as your Dig Dug fix.

Other Reviews:
Video Game Critic: A-
CV's Atari 7800 Panoramic Froo-Froo: 4.0 out of 5.0 (Very Good)
The Atari Times: 6 out of 10
JoseQ's Emuviews: 5.2 out of 10

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