Dr. Mario

"The same as the NES version, only portable"

If you've played Dr. Mario for the NES, you've played this as well. Dr. Mario for the Game Boy is the same game. Same rules, same concept, same everything. Of course, that's not at all a bad thing, especially considering that this version is portable, and this happens to be a very good puzzle game. Never played it? Then a recap is in order: you are Mario, and you're a doctor. On screen is a bottle filled with viruses of three colors, white, grey and black. Mario tosses pills into the bottle at regular intervals. Each pill has two parts, colored white, grey or black. Both halves of the pill can be the same color. The object is to line up a combination of four viruses and pills of the same color in a horizontal or vertical line. When you do this, the pills and viruses disappear. Destroy all viruses to move on to the next level. As you get to higher levels, there are more viruses and the pills fall faster. This game is for one or two player, provided a Game Link cable is available. Two players compete to see who can eliminate all viruses from their screen the fastest.

Graphics: 7/10

Average Game Boy graphics. They don't need to be amazing, just good enough to know what you're doing, and they succeed in that respect.

Sound: 7/10

Unimportant to the game, but not bad. It's actually the same set up as the NES version: you have a choice of two tracks, Fever or Chill, or you can turn the music off. The sound effects are nice and simple.

Gameplay: 9/10

One of the top 5 Game Boy games to take on the road to play. Like Tetris, it's easy to pick up and play for a quick game. The control is not a factor, because it's very well done. The game is challenging, but not too hard. One key aspect of the game, and something you'll need to learn to do to be successful, is to watch where the extra pills will fall when the virus they're on is destroyed. In the higher levels, one wrong color pill on a virus can mean the end, so it's important to get used to thinking ahead. The two player mode is great fun, provided you have a friend with a Game Boy and another copy of the game.

Replay: 9/10

If you like puzzlers, this game stays interesting for a while. Great to play on the Game Boy, because it's one of those games that's unaffected by being played on a small screen, unlike fighting games, which tend to lose much of their appeal. The two player mode only extends the life of the game even further. Has the same addicting feel as Tetris (not quite as much, but close).

Overall: 8/10

If you like puzzle games and have a Game Boy, there's no reason not to own this game. It's sure to be one of your most used games if you buy it, so I highly recommend purchasing it if you haven't already.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99