Nerdicus NES Review #177 : Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City

Title : Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City

Publisher : Milton Bradley

Developer : Rare

Genre : Action / Puzzle

Players : 1

Release Date : 1990

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $8 - $12

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Surprised yet? Did you catch the name of that Developer? That's right RARE was responsible for this game. Now, I'm not going to say it's bad, because it's not. Well, it is, I lied. Trust me though, there's a lot worse out there for the NES. The thing is, when you think about RARE you pretty much expect some epic gaming. They were after all one of the most unique developers out there in the 90's.

I guess you can call this game one of their forgotten children. You know, the one that you ask someone about, and they avoid the subject.

"How's Digger T Rock doing, Rare? Did he graduate college? Has he started work yet?"

"Oh, Digger? Yeah, he's fine, but I have told you about Donkey Kong and Conker? Did you know that they're making millions!? We're thinking about moving to Florida and retiring thanks to their help."

That's Digger for ya. High hopes, but fell short. And started doing a lot of drugs. It's okay Digger. You tried. I'll blame Milton Bradley. Well, ya ready to dig some holes and find that lost city? Put on your mining helmet. We're going in.

Looks a bit like Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes, don't you think? Am I the only one that see's that? Especially in the gameplay. Oh, damn, is hobbes hiding somewhere?! That's what they need. A Calvin and Hobbes game. And if you don't think that's the best comic strip, then you sir are mistaken.

With a game like DIGGER, what do you think you're doing? Obviously, you're digging and the concept is simple enough. Each level you'll have the opportunity to find as many treasures as possible that are hidden in various parts of the stage. Dig through areas by the use of your handy dandy shovel or other tools like explosives in order to uncover secrets, but watch out you only have a certain amount of time before the doorway to the next room closes. Oh, and don't forget the hordes of monsters that are trying to kill you. I'm talking giant mosquito, dinosaurs, and zombies. The usual critters you encounter when digging big holes.

And what's treasure hunting without puzzles? Poorly designed puzzles unfortunately. Most of them consist of sitting on switches until a pathway opens up, or figuring out how to get through a wall. Yay, entertainment.

There are quite a few levels in this game, but regrettably they look very similar and are quite bland to look at. Plus, it's hard to tell at some points what you can and cant dig through at some points, but pretty much everything is free game. It's like you're swimming in dirt half the time with your dumb shovel.

Don't even get me started on the designs. I really wasn't impressed by the way the monsters looked, much less the main character. Hell, the only thing I thought was clever was when you die, your body rots away. Sort of morbid considering you're just a kid, but it's funny to see you turn into a skeleton with the only thing left of your body is your helmet.

Finding treasure couldn't be more dull. You get hurt from practically everything, and I just felt like rushing through each level just to get to the next damn door to try and finish the game. Screw the treasure, I wanted OUT. I would have been drawn in more if the level design was a tad bit interesting, but no. Tedious and repetitive. You find that a lot in NES games, don't you.

Here, I'll save you the trouble from playing it.

Yay! We did it! Now we don't have to play anymore!

If you find it entertaining to dig through dirt, and die from monsters that appear out of nowhere and are seemingly impossible to kill at times, then hey, maybe you'll find this game fun. I for one, don't know what RARE was thinking with this one, but you can't win 'em all. Surprisingly, some people liked this game. It just didn't work for me.

Level and character designs are flat. Controls are stiff. And the gameplay is repetitive. Two wrongs do not make a right, much less three wrongs. You know what? I'm going back to playing Conkers Bad Fur Day.

Final Score (out of 5) :



Until Next Time, Keep On Gaming!