It's one of the best games for "on-the-go" on the DS right now. Highly addictive.
User Rating: 7.4 | Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits DS
Namco's Mr. Driller series throws back to the developer's golden age of arcade gaming, where Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and Galaga were born. Perhaps the greatest aspect of these old arcade games was their simple, yet addictive and challenging game design--easy to learn, difficult to master. Mr. Driller does a great job of capturing that same "old-school" arcade feeling in our modern era of gaming. This version of Mr. Driller has some fun and compelling additions, but the core gameplay hasn't changed. The goal is to dig through colored blocks that link very much in a "Puyo Pop" way, disappearing when four or more of the same color combine. You also need to keep track of your air supply by picking up strategically placed air capsules along the way. The deeper you dig, the faster the game becomes, ramping the challenge up quickly. As far as I can tell, here are the new additions to Mr. Driller Drill Spirits: 1. 4 new playable characters 2. Each character has his or her own unique abilities now 3. More levels (different depths) 4. Pressure Driller Mode 5. Driller Store The first game only let you play as, well, Mr. Driller (Susumu was his name). The second one introduced a female rival, Anna (who interestingly had a deeper voice than Mr. Driller). However when I played Mr. Driller 2, I did not remember any gameplay differences between the two characters. Now, each character has a special ability (except it seems for Susumu). Puchi, the dog, can climb up two blocks compared to the others' ability to climb up one block. Hollinger-Z, the robot, survives the initial squashing (pretty powerful). Others move faster or drill faster. The characters have to be unlocked in the Mission Driller mode. It's a good way to motivate you to play through the whole Mission Driller mode, which simply consists of different depths that you must dig to. Mr. Driller had 2 levels to choose from, Mr. Driller 2 had 3 levels, but this one has seven, including an infinite challenge that's unlocked after beating Mission Driller mode. If you're having trouble getting through the missions (the game gets pretty hard at those deeper depths), you can go to the Driller Store and buy some items, like extra lives, surviving a squashing, or adding extra air to the capsules. These are a neat addition and they ease frustration :) Pressure Driller mode is pretty bizarre. This giant drill is bearing down on you as you dig through. It sends all kinds of obstacles and trickery in your way, like turning colored blocks into bricks or causing some blocks to disappear beneath your feet. There are additional capsules in Pressure Driller mode called POW capsules. You can store up to three at a time. You use these capsules to fire up at the giant drill. The drill's weak point is a flower that comes out of it at different spots (sometimes the middle, left, or right). Yeah...it's pretty Japanese-style weirdness (but nothing as bizarre as Katamari Damacy, the other recent PS2 offering from Namco). It's use of the DS features is pretty much nil. It is nice being able to see more of the drilling area, especially to track air capsules that have been left behind. You can use the touch screen in the menus, and that works fine. In the game the stylus can be used, but "oh man it sucks". Graphically the colors look a little washed out. The voice is pretty cheesy and the dialogue is totally non-sequitor between characters (they meet when you complete levels in Mission Driller). However, the dialogue will make you laugh--a plus. Overall, this is probably one of the best and most "portable-friendly" games for the DS right now. Great little game on the bus, plane, or during college lectures. 
