Dig Dug strikes stateside DS

Dig Dug Digging Strike, an update of the 1982 coin-op classic Dig Dug, will be crossing the Pacific for a North American release this fall, Namco announced. The DS game stars the original's Dig Dug character and features updated gameplay that takes advantage of the dual screens on Nintendo's handheld.

Players of Dig Dug Digging Strike control Dig Dug, a small guy who is particularly skilled at, well, digging. The object of the game is to dig a series of tunnels that will connect fault lines underground, thereby breaking apart the island above and trapping boss monsters below. Dig Dug is armed with a collection of weapons, such as rocks, lava, and quicksand, to defeat the baddies blocking his tunnel plans.

In the DS version, players will explore the island aboveground on the top screen, and after they find a suitable fault line, play moves to the handheld's bottom screen. While details on multiplayer are slim, Dig Dug Digging Strike will let two players head underground together via the DS's wireless connection.