from the same developers that brought us pokemon comes drill dozer, a game in which you play a girl strapped into a mech with drills for arms. certainly offbeat, and lots of fun. the mechanics of the game are quite simple, more like dk king of swing (a game that i loved). you use the left and right shoulder buttons on the gba to control the drill's rotation. the drill works with three gears, which scatter throughout each level at the beginning of a mission. holding the shoulder button, you power up the drill, and when the right icon shows up, hold it again to shift up. the gameplay is simple but addictive. the art style and color pallette are gorgeous, and the 2d sidescrolling approach is as sharp as any metroid game.

everyone i know that played drill dozer agreed that it was a magnificent game. it's certainly worth adding to your gba library. bravo to the developers for making a game that i love. i never really liked pokemon. here's hoping for drill dozer ds!

verdict: 8.5/10; buy it and don't plan on putting it down any time soon.