Donkey Kong Country Returns

[Julian]

Ok, played this for like 15min tonight, will definitely play more tomorrow.

The wiimote controls are actually not bad at all, you use the wiimote sideways, and use it like a normal controller (why didnt they just LET us use a normal controller? whatever)

The only motion control is a light shake of moving your hands up and down, and doesn't seem too bad at all.

The other tiny nitpicks are still there, but they're just that: small nitpicks, which really don't take all that much away from this game, because it's really amazing so far.

10/10

[Kaylia]

I'm not sure what to think yet. While the first half of the game was great, the second half is kinda boring. The stage are visually less interesting, and they aren't using as many fun 3d gimmick (pirate boat, tidal wave...etc). There is still some nice platforming moment, but not many stages made me go "whoa".


Secondly, unlike Mario Bros wii, I found the wiimote control incredibly awkward. It's not unplayable, but the spin isn't as reliable as it should be (especially in the hardest portion of the game). Also, blowing stuff away to find puzzle pieces is really annoying. It slow down the gameplay considerably and serve no purpose (its not fun). I probably wouldn't mind it if there wasnt a dandelion every 5 feets, but the way it is setup make me rage.

The difficulty at least was refreshing. The game is definitively not easy by nintendo standard..hell, it's even quite cruel at time (especially the bonus stage). Puzzle pieces and time trials are a nice addition as well. It's not much, but I can't say no to replay value.

In overall, I think it's 9/10. It's definitively a fun platformer for anyone who like the genre. My biggest gripe is that it didn't make me re-live the nostalgia at all. Where is DK2 and DK3 iconic music? Where are the crocodiles? Where is the realistic environment that I enjoyed on snes (DKCR's environment is more cartoony than it's predecessor)? Why can't we have a fun world map like we did in dk3? Why are the bonus minigame so fucking boring? Actually, where the fuck are the bonus barrel? Why is there so little diversity within a world?

I thought one of the clever things about DKC was how barrels always signified a secret/bonus. Now they seem to just be random. Also when playing multiplayer it seems like it is impossible to die.

I'm not sure who you're playing with, but I find multiplayer much harder than single player (unless you have a crapload of life stored). Sure, you can zombie your way through a stage occasionally, but losing Diddy's power and dealing with the onscreen mess will hurt you more usually.

[Rokku]

Yeah, my wife and I stopped playing multiplayer, because for some reason it's vaguely reminiscent of NSMB Wii - in that it seems to be more counter-productive than anything else. My wife has had a couple real serious rage moments while playing, and the game has a pretty solid difficulty throughout from what I've played of it. I'd honestly say anyone looking for a good Wii game should pick this up.

[MisterBob]

I actually liked the game more as it progressed. The factory world (world 7) was incredible. Really cool levels (Music Madness, 7-k, etc), and awesome music to go with them.

[Kaylia]

Fuck gold medals and mirror mode. The unresponsive control (roll mostly) is making me rage. I'm not sure if I will have enough endurance to go through the remaining 6 world.

If you want to add a time trial mode to your game, make it so I don't have to reload every stage twice when I dies...I don't understand how stuff like this make it to the final version of the game. No casual player is going to play enough to beat it, and no completionist will want anything but gold (and will restart from the beginning everytime).

[MisterBob]

There's actually a medal better than gold, haha. Good luck

[Kaylia]

There's actually a medal better than gold, haha. Good luck

I hate you for telling me this. My life was better before.

[edit]
checking youtube video and damn, it doesnt look easy.

[Yuri-G]

love this game. was debating whether I should get it or not since I just bought Dark Dawn as well, and I try to keep my gaming budget low these days. but it was totally worth it. played for a while last night and kept telling myself "just one more level" when I knew I should be getting to bed... and then booted it up again this morning. it's been a long time since I've gotten up early enough to be able to play a game before I dash out the door for work.

I'd prefer a few changes - an option to map motion controls to buttons, 1-player Diddy - but overall it's excellent. the level design is great and surprisingly devious; it wasn't until world 2 (Beach) that I finally beat a level completely (all puzzle pieces and KONG letters) on the first try. and though I'm only on world 2, the difficulty level is already higher than any platformer in recent memory, especially if you lose Diddy...

[Nekonaruto]

Bought the game today and played it for 4 hours, finished the first two worlds and I must say ... IT'S AWESOME! The only gripe I have is the controls...the Wiimote shaking is sooooo annoying. But nevertheless, two thumbs up.

[vrumpt]

finally got around to clearing Golden Temple, god damn that level was great. Not sure if i feel like going back and clearing the rest of the puzzle peices, time trails and mirror mode. Maybe if something awesome unlocks when its all done. I'm half hoping Retro slipped old DKC game(s) onto this, like Metroid was in Metroid Prime

[MisterBob]

Nah, plenty of people have completed everything (Mirror Mode, perfect time trials, etc), you just get some more artwork.

[Yuri-G]

the Wiimote shaking is sooooo annoying. But nevertheless, two thumbs up.

yeah at first I was like "what are people bitching about" but then, I think it was the cannon level in the Beach world, trying to break some crates as fast as I could while cannonballs were launching at me, I was like.. they were right, fuck this.

[Yuri-G]

also, just reached area 5 and the level design is really starting to pick up. the one with a rollercoaster below and a grip patch above was awesome, and 5-1's rope vine swinging has me going

[Towowo]

For those interested in Classic Controller support:
http://www.pixlbit.com/news?action=s...ArticleId=1037