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#179 – Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City

Turbo Ultimate Edition
This cover looks like the perfect spot for a jaunty Randy Newman theme.
You have chosen… poorly!

PLAYERS: 1

PUBLISHER: Milton Bradley

DEVELOPER: Rare

GENRE: Platformer

RELEASE DATE: December 1990

Sometimes simplicity is best. Instead of calling this game Digger T. Rock: How Digger Got His Groove Back and Legended the Lost City’s Face In Like a Boss, Rare should have titled it Digger. Bam! The name has the same meaning sans needless subtitle. Seriously, does the subtitle make the game sound any more appealing? It shouldn’t and perhaps that’s the point. This game is on the bad side of mediocre.Your protagonist is a young archaeologist armed only with a shovel and a few knickknacks he finds in the levels/caves he explore, like dynamite, rope ladder, and gems. All of the aforementioned items are useful to furthering one’s progress, but it’s hard to care when exploring the caves themselves is boring and tedious. Who likes shoveling through layers of brick for no reason? Who likes falling two feet and losing half their life (this isn’t Donkey Kong here, c’mon)? Who likes having wave after wave of mosquitoes and moles attack you when all you have is your shovel to bat them away? I can’t tell if Rare wanted to make an action/puzzle hybrid or just a silly game with a silly protagonist. Sadly, it wouldn’t be the last time Rare would indulge in this tripe. The premise – exploring underground caverns in order to find a lost city – is interesting. The execution – young adventurer tries to find a lost city, but can’t make it a few yards without hurting himself – is painful.

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2 replies on “#179 – Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City”

(singing as Randy Neuman) Digger T. Rock, ya gotta find that lost city. Don&#039t ya wanna be famous and rich? Keep on diggin&#039 and diggin&#039 wit yer magical shovel. Stop that mole! Watch out for that hole! Digger you&#039re gonna be history!

I actually really dig this game, pardon the pun, although it seems like it would work even better in an arcade cabinet. I find the puzzle difficulty to be pleasantly challenging. Somehow, level three took me forever to complete, then level four I completed in two tries. Then level five is randomly graveyard themed. I think some sort of overview map ala Wizards and Warriors would have gone a long way in making the levels feel not so disjointed.

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