With the WiiWare release, for 1000 points players can choose two different gameplay options: Dr. Mario and Germ Buster. The Dr. Mario mode contains several different options with classic Dr. Mario gameplay which we will explain now, for the four or so people who are unfamiliar with the franchise. In Dr. Mario players are presented with a field of play, similar to Tetris except littered with viruses. Dr. Mario throws vitamins onto the field of play and the objective is to line these vitamins up with the viruses. Once three or more vitamins of the same colour are lined up with the virus the virus will disappear off the screen, netting the player points and speeding things up.
Dr. Mario is back, cue nostalgic sigh.
Players can play through Dr. Mario by themselves or they can go up against the computer. There is also a flash mode where players can try and clear all of the flashing viruses before the computer does. One of the appeals of Dr. Mario has always been the multiplayer, which has been expanded as well. You can play against a friend locally (only one unfortunately) in a classic battle or in a flash battle, and the game also includes Nintendo WFC support.
First up, the game includes the ability to send a friend a demo version of the game, as long as you have their friend code registered and they are in your region. We had no issues connecting to the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection and best of all, the game allows players to verse people right around the world. There are two gameplay options, classic mode and the flash mode where players have to rush to defeat the flashing viruses. The game does also utilise friend codes, so you can invite your friends. You can also send messages to your opponent, but these are pretty basic messages, such as "go easy on me". Online Dr. Mario is about what you'd expect, it's solid and even though we played against mainly Japanese opponents, we had no network issues at all. It's easy to tell that the online mode is really one of the most appealing features of Dr. Mario & Germ Buster, so we're pleased that it has been implemented well. The game also includes a list of the top ten rankings worldwide, so anyone who doesn't want their confidence crushed will probably want to avoid these rankings for awhile.
Hours can be spent on this game.
The other addition to the game is the Germ Buster option. While Dr. Mario is played with the Wii remote horizontally Germ Buster is played with the Wii Remote's pointer. Germ Buster still contains Dr. Mario gameplay, but it is controlled differently. As vitamins fall, the player can grab them with the A button and move them with the B button and the remote. Because you can move the vitamins with the Wii Remote sometimes several of them will fall down at once. The Germ Buster mode is fun for about ten minutes, until you realise you could just be playing regular, normal Dr. Mario. Ultimately Germ Buster is just a gimmick, the motion control adds barely anything to the game.
The Germ Buster mode, which just isn't all that exciting.
Dr. Mario & Germ Buster is easily the definitive version of Dr. Mario. Whether players enjoy playing for high scores or against other players there is a lot of fun to be had with the game. The Germ Buster mini game isn't quite as enjoyable and most players will probably play that mode once and move on, but overall Dr. Mario & Germ Buster is a solid launch title for WiiWare and suits the service perfectly.
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