Mr. Driller W

Players have an oxygen meter that acts as a time limit, and constantly depletes; air is replenished by collecting air capsules, and is depleted further by destroying brown "X" blocks. Driller W was part of Namco Bandai's effort in bringing their classic franchises to digital distribution platforms, due to the concept seeing success with services such as Xbox Live Arcade. The game re-uses many assets from previous games in the series, such as Mr. Driller Drill Land and Mr. Driller Drill Spirits. It was the company's first game for the WiiWare service. W received mixed reviews, being praised for its addictive gameplay and visuals and criticized for its lack of content compared to earlier entries and a lack of an online multiplayer mode.

• Title — Mr. Driller W • Developer — Namco Bandai Games • Publisher — Namco Bandai Games • Series — Mr. Driller • Platforms — WiiWare • Genre — Puzzle • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — In-game screenshot Mr. Driller W is a puzzle video game. It features gameplay reminiscent of the Dig Dug series, being presented in a colorful, 2D style. Players control one of seven characters as they must make their way to the bottom of each level, all of which take place in real-world locations such as Japan, Egypt, and even the moon. The seven characters include Susumu Hori, the main protagonist of the series; Anna Hottenmeyer, a German driller and rival of Susumu; Ataru Hori, Susumu's outcast older brother; Taizo Hori, the protagonist of Dig Dug and the father of Susumu and Ataru; Puchi, Susumu's pet dog; Holinger-Z, a drilling robot; and Usagi, Atari's pet rabbit-like alien who is locked from the start. Each character possesses their own unique abilities; for instance, Holinger-Z can sustain an extra hit, essentially doubling the player's life count. The gameplay revolves around destroying, or "drilling", colorful formations of blocks that litter the playfield. The player has a constantly-depleting oxygen meter, which acts as a time limit; oxygen can be replenished by collecting air capsules found throughout the level, while oxygen is lost by destroying brown-colored "X" blocks.

With digital distribution services for home video game consoles becoming increasingly popular with players towards the late 2000s, Namco Bandai Games sought to begin production of games exclusive to these services for the purpose of feeding into the demand. After seeing success with games such as Pac-Man Championship Edition and their various arcade game conversions for the Xbox 360, the company looked to other digital services to bring their back catalog of games to. Namco Bandai chose to bring over many of their more popular and well-known franchises to these platforms, due to their large brand recognition worldwide. The popularity and success of the Mr. Driller series prompted the creation of a new game in the series for these services, leading to what later became Mr. Driller W. It was in production alongside the DSiWare sequel Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop. The game reuses many assets from previous games in the series, such as Mr. Driller Drill Land and Mr. Driller Drill Spirits. Namco Bandai teased the game in the January 2009 issue of their magazine Side-BN, alongside Xevious Resurrection and Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy. It was further shown off by Famitsu, presented in conjunction with Drill Till You Drop. It was the company's first game announced for the WiiWare service. It was released in Japan on February 25. The game was later released in North America on August 24, and in PAL territories on August 28. The game features support for the GameCube controller and the Wii Classic Controller, and is backwards-compatible with the Wii U.