Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Arika
Publisher: Nintendo

The most key thing with regards to the visuals of a fast-paced puzzler like this one is to have enough charm and character to make things look interesting, while keeping the presentation simple enough for the player to gauge his situation at a quick glance. Dr. Luigi accomplishes the latter with flying colors, although on the former count it is only adequate, with its somewhat bland and textureless 3d models.

Masaru Tajima's soundtrack is very clever, with melodic and catchy keyboard songs that actually manage to match their humerous titles, such as "Fever" and "Drousy". Sound effects, such as the keyboard chime that plays whenever the pace increases, are simple yet evocative.

The Dr. Mario formula is not only quite old, but hasn't changed much at all since its origin in 1990. Other than the fact that Luigi is now throwing the capsules, there are also a pair of new modes: one which utilizes L-shaped capsules, and another that is played by dragging the blocks on the gamepad screen with the stylus. Despite not having evolved much, the formula is still compelling.

Other puzzle games of yore, such as Pacman, have recently been reinvented and reinvigorated. Such is not particularly the case for the venerable Dr. Mario formula, which is married to a somewhat generic yet not altogether unappealing aesthetic in this particular iteration. It was undoubtedly worth the effort to at least bring the series up to high definition standards, and at that it succeeds quite well.