Not Your Mother's Doctor
Dr. Luigi a game released in 2013 for the Wii U developed by Akira Co (endless ocean, street fighter EX) is a re-imaging of the original NES game Dr. Mario. Dr. Luigi is a simplistic yet possibly addicting puzzle game where the player drops pill capsules in order to match a chain of 4 or more of the same color pills. The gameplay remains largely unchanged from the NES counterpart, but a new way to play is presented in the form of L shaped pill capsules. This is much in the spirit of the game Tetris, and at its core Dr. Luigi and Tetris are extremely similar.
There are a few different ways to play Dr. Luigi including the retro style and the new style. The retro style consist of pills that are only 2 parts and in any combination of 3 colors. The second way to play as previously mentioned features the same color combination except in the L shaped form. Within each style of play there are a few different options including playing a casual go at your own pace mode where the difficulty increases with every game cleared, or the more frantic multiplayer/cpu mode. There is also a flash mode where the goal is to clear virus's that are flashing, and whichever player clears the flashing ones first wins. My preferred way to play has been the casual solve at your own pace modes, as I am generally not very good at these type of puzzle games. Every time I have played against the cpu i have pretty much gotten smoked. There is also a thir dunique mode called virus buster. This mode is controlled entirely on the Wii U touchscreen. The game is slowed way down but offers less room to maneuver and adds an increasing number of capsules to control. The touch controls are a little flaky, but this mode is a pretty nice addition. It is also worth noting that online multiplayer does exist, but after being out for a few years it is a barren wasteland. The game can be addicting and fun to play, but there is something missing from it that keeps me coming back for more. I am simply just not a huge fan of Tetris style puzzle games.
The graphics are on par, as there isn't much going on with them. It looks really nice on the Wii U gamepad screen which is nice. The soundtrack and sound effects are good, with songs returning from Dr. Mario and also a few new tracks. The game is presented well, but again there isn't too much going on. For those looking for a simple and possibly addicting puzzle game I feel Dr. Luigi would suit all of your needs. Being as it just isn't my type of game and there seems to be a lack of unlocks or content I give Dr. Luigi 3 stars out of 5.