Something I've never appreciated about this game before until now is how it models itself after classic cartoons. Obviously there's stuff like the way the music starts and stops with you moving, and the fact that inflating someone to death feels like something right out of Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes. But also, when I tried hitting an enemy with a falling rock and ended up hitting myself because I was too focused on having the enemy follow me, I felt like Wile E Coyote in that moment. There are lot's of little interactions I had with the Pookas and Fygar that felt very Road Runner esque, and the setting even resembles a desert. And of course the music that plays when you clear a level sounds exactly like the kind of music that plays as an iris centers on the main character's face at the end of a cartoon. It all fairly obvious when you put it all together, but I never noticed until now. I'm always impressed with how many different genres and influences were all over the classic Namco arcade line-up.

I've played this one before but this time I really spent some time on it. I felt like I did pretty good but I don't know maybe I'm terrible. I guess that's part of good game design though. I felt accomplished and successful after only maybe 15 minutes and still wanted to get better. It can get pretty hectic after multiple enemies start appearing in the same tunnel as you so you have to try to utilize those rocks to wipe them out at once instead of the trusty pump and pop method. If you see it give it a try though it isn't a standard arcade game.

Gran parte de que esta caja de arena funcione es gracias a la inteligencia artificial. Se trata de un tipo de IA, común en los 80, perdida (no se si para siempre) en algún punto de la historia. A cada nivel notas cómo sube la dificultad a través del comportamiento de los enemigos. Percibes su agresividad aumentando de forma sutil pero evidente. Antes, un Pooka que no te alcanzaba al girar, ahora se te anticipa y te arrincona sin que te des cuenta. Exprime la virtud de ser a tiempo real, con variables analógicas de las que se reflejan en los márgenes, imposibles de replicar en una adaptación por turnos. Contrario al tipo de acción que se destila hoy en día en juegos de "estilo retro", de patrones a los que hay que responder de forma concreta, que bien podrían adaptarse a acción por turnos sin perder nada en el camino. La IA en Dig Dug es atrevida, te lanza bolas curvas, pero es a su vez predecible con la experiencia. Nada fácil de poner en texto, simplemente una respuesta natural que desarrollas a base de convivir con estas criaturas. Comienzas a comprender cómo se comportan ante ciertas situaciones y lo aplicas en el contexto inmediato y siempre variable que proporciona la mecánica de cavar tus propios senderos. Con el paso de las partidas te ves trazando calles trampa o bucles donde marear a un enemigo y ganar espacio y, cuando te sientes con confianza, te vuelves más ambicioso en tus planes a medio plazo. Buscas que te sigan en fila india la mayor cantidad de monstruos para dejar caer esa roca que has estado reservando desde el comienzo del nivel. Es planificación sobre la marcha y es improvisación. Es riesgo-recompensa gracias a la forma fluida de puntuar. Es sencillez en presentación y sofisticación oculta. Es honestidad al presentar toda la información en pantalla y pillería al esconder las leyes invisibles que rigen el comportamiento de los enemigos. Es esencia pura del arcade.

An arcade classic whose legacy has always been undermined compared to Pac-Man and its other Namco brethren. It’s amusing to me that this is how history has played out because I always preferred it to the game with the gluttonous glob of sliced cheese that ranks among the highest echelons of video game icons. Why? I’m not entirely sure, since all of the second-generation arcade games could only hold my attention for so long until I nodded off into space, Dig Dug included (I know, I’m spoiled). Maybe it’s because injecting a pump into your enemies and inflating them to the point where they burst is the most gangster shit I’ve ever seen.

Take that, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, and every other Grand Theft Auto protagonist. Don’t fuck with Dig Dug.

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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com

The BEST Namco arcade game HANDS DOWN.

I have to use a lot of caps just to emphasize how GOOD this game is!

Blowing up the red dudes and digging is a BLAST.

Do NOT mess with us Dig Dug super fans by saying this game is bad, IT’S NOT!

(Greg Heffley level writing with all the Caps)

Probably my all-time favorite classic arcade game

Dig Dug was one of those arcade games I can’t resist playing if I am at an arcade. Like most of these classic arcade games I first played it on a plug and play in the early 2000s and immediately got hooked. For those of you who have never played basically this is kinda like a side scrolling maze arcade game where you play as a protagonist with a harpoon gun who digs tunnels into the ground and creates mazes. A fun and unique concept where the player creates the map essentially to eliminate the enemies. The enemies consist of Dragons and these monkey looking things called Pookas. The harpoon gun thing inflates the enemies into ballons, and they burst and the only other way to kill enemies is by strategically crushing them with rocks by dinging under them at the right time. The objective is to kill all of the enemies and the enemies usually become solid in tunnels but can also turn into ghosts and fly though the ground. The last few enemies usually try to escape the stage and whether they do or not the next stage is loaded. That’s basically the gameplay loop for DigDug its simple but feels very unique for its time compared to a lot of the other arcade games that existed. I believe this game is actually beatable and not infinite stages, but I’ve never seen most people get past the first 20 or so stages and I’m pretty sure there are a couple hundred so like most games from that time it gets really hard but out of a lot of the older arcades I actually can usually sweep through a decent number of stages. The music and FX of Dig Dug were always some of my favorite and graphically its nothing too incredible with the screen mostly just being dirt but its still a great classic game that’s pretty balanced and is all about strategically moving around the map and not getting yourself corned. I love old arcade games, but this is one I think I recommend the most because of its fun and unique nature.
10/10