Review :: Digger HD

Creat Studios have been one of the most prolific developers on the PlayStation Network. Not all of their games have been met with such high acclaim, but on the whole they’ve been pretty A1 with their releases. Digger HD is one of their two most recent releases (yes, we’re heavily backlogged).

For those who don’t know, the original Digger was released for the PC in 1983 and now the folks at Creat have given it a revamp. Fans of the original, don’t fear. Despite it being brought into the HD-era and with a couple of new game modes added, Digger HD still retains everything that the original has. If you want, you can even play the 1983 version in ‘Vintage’ mode.

You play as the Digger. You move around the environment (pretty much) as you wish, picking up jewels, dosh and power-up’s as you go. All the while avoiding an array of enemies, all of whom want to stop you in your tracks. Thankfully, you can shoot them. Well, one at a time. It’s best just to steer clear.

The main bulk of the single-player is contained within the ‘Arcade’ mode. With sixty levels, set in three different environments you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck. If sixty levels doesn’t sound like much (come on, really?) then you’ll be happy to know that this game isn’t easy. It’s not exactly Uncharted on ‘Crushing’, but it’ll take you a while to get through it. You can even play through with a friend if you like in co-op. Something that certainly adds to the fun of it all.

Alongside ‘Arcade’ you’ve got ‘Survival’ mode. The idea here is that you have to beat as many levels as possible without dying. I said ‘Arcade’ wasn’t the easiest mode in the world, Survival is super hard. Well, it was for me anyway. Maybe i’m just really crap at it, but i’m sure I’m not this bad. You can play this mode with a friend too. You might not want to though, for friendship’s sake.

Finally we’ve got the aforementioned ‘Vintage’ mode. Here you can play the original Digger from 1983. There’s not much more I can say about this, the game has been out for twenty six years, for god’s sake! Still, if you want to play this version then it’s there and it’s quite a nice gesture from the team at Creat.

The gameplay is great and still retains it’s ‘classic’ nature. The music is pretty fantastic, actually. It started out with me keeping the sound down. Eventually I grew to love it and actually want the main theme as my ringtone (make it happen!).

This review wouldn’t is not, however, a complete outpouring of praise. Despite there being sixty levels, the environment doesn’t change too much and this can become a tad annoying. Other than that, there’s nothing really to grumble about.

Digger HD is a great revamp of a classic, and throughout my play time I couldn’t help but think of other golden oldies I’d like revamped. For those who liked the original game, you’re going to love this, and, even if you hadn’t played the game before, I think you should. This is one of the best PSN games of 2009.

8.5/10

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