Super Motherload Review

Digging the mystery. 

As man looks towards the stars to begin lucrative mining operations in space at a faster rate than you might think, game designers here on Earth have crafted a product that has you doing just that. Super Motherload, from fledgling developer XGen Studios, sends us delving deep into the Martian surface to find precious minerals and gems to exchange for cold, hard cash. Indeed, the entire experience is predicated on a simple and repetitious – yet fairly engaging – premise, one that could prove to be addictive if not for Super Motherload’s unfortunate frustrations and maddening ending.

Can you dig it?

After selecting your character, you’re given a mining rover that can be used to dig ever deeper into Mars’ randomly generated red soil. It’s at this point that – from the very beginning -- you see virtually everything Super Motherload has to offer, from graphics to gameplay. And that’s okay, because on a mechanical level, it does what it does very well, even if it looks old and, on the periphery, quite unimpressive. Controlling your rover is simple, with movement mapped to either the directional pad or left analog stick, and digging is as simple as moving in the direction you want to excavate. The X button is used to float and fly back to areas above you, making sure you’re never stranded in the bowels of the planet.
As you dig, you’ll encounter metals and precious gems of all kinds, from cheap silver and gold to pricey diamonds and rubies, which makes you want to keep digging, since
the further down you get, the more common valuable rocks become. Bringing these back to service checkpoints, of which there are several as you move your way deeper and deeper, allows you to exchange your findings for money, which can then be used to upgrade your rover’s capabilities in fairly granular ways. You can increase your fuel capacity, better your drill bit, strengthen your armor, and much, much more. In this sense, Super Motherload has all of the trappings of something addictive, especially when you combine it with its rudimentary story – complete with passable voice acting – and pleasing soundtrack.

Unfortunately, though, Super Motherload becomes monotonous before very long. While there’s something intriguing about the experience -- something that caters to the OCD gamer in me that wants to dig up every last mineral and upgrade every little thing – it’s decidedly a one-trick pony. Digging down until your fuel is depleted, having to go back to the last station to refuel and deposit your findings, and then doing it all over again isn’t only the core of Super Motherload. It is Super Motherload.
Things do get changed up a bit when you take into account your rover’s upgradeable smelter, which lets you combine minerals and gems to create more expensive items, explosives, and more. Likewise, finally passing through harder, more impervious soil types, rocks, and other materials that require better drill bits and bombs is strangely rewarding. But even with multiple characters’ rovers to upgrade, a few different endings to experience, and even local multiplayer to jump into, Super Motherload does very little to outright recommend it.

Time to upgrade.

And then there’s the last boss battle. Oh, that completely deflating last boss battle! For some reason, an arcade-style digging game culminates with a final encounter that borders on the infuriating. A six-to-eight hour campaign that revolves around doing the same thing over and over again suddenly decides it wants you to fight, and fight hard. And without spoiling anything, let’s just say that if you fail this battle, you’ll have to be prepared to delve thousands of digital feet back to the beginning of the battle while replenishing your supply of weapons and the money necessary to restore your craft to tiptop shape.
For the little bursts of fun I had with Super Motherload, its last 10 minutes – which I had to play a dozen times before I completed it -- left a bad taste in my mouth.