E3 2010: Donkey Kong Country Returns Hands-On
By:
Thomas Arnold
|
June 15, 2010, 6:08 pm

Nintendo's press conference had a lot of surprises for gamers that know their characters and their games, and one of the biggest was the revival of the Donkey Kong Country series in Retro's Donkey Kong Country Returns. Having given it a whirl, I must say it's a bit different than I remember the SNES game feeling, and I'm not sure it's for the better.

The inclusion of the motion controls make the game a little less tight, and there were occasionally a few things I ended up doing that I hadn't meant to. Some of the moves, like blowing air or beating on the ground, didn't seem particularly intuitive, although they were easy to perform when I wanted to. Coupled with the game's difficulty (which I'm actually happy with), I found myself dying a few more times than necessary. One move that I had a problem with was the roll, which you perform by running and shaking the wiimote. This can be used to speed you up and you can jump at the end, launching you into the air. It seemed like a neat mechanic, but was underused. 

I will say, the game keeps up the graphical expertise of the original, and has bright, vibrant backgrounds. The style isn't the same, but it's detailed and nice to look at. There were also a lot of alternate routes I could take through the level I played, and with ample reward for spending an extra minute thinking about the extra platform I had almost skipped by. There were also background sections you could hop to using barrel cannons, either to get past a section of the level that was impassable, or to access a new challenge. While these added some fun things to do, they weren't always easy to find, nor did they particularly stand out from the background.
 

 
Donkey Kong is joined by Diddy, who can add an extra two hits and a brief hover move with his jetpack, or supply the game with a co-operative mode. I didn't get a chance to play co-op, but was a little disappointed with the underuse of DK's monkey pal. I ended up forgetting he was there, which was too bad. I'd be excited to see if he has any more abilities or ways to interact with the single player in the final version.

Having said all of that, I enjoyed the game, and what I saw of it, I just would prefer a few changes to be made before I see it in stores. I, like the rest of our staff, loved the Donkey Kong Country series and hold any new installment to a high standard. Rest assured, we'll be keeping an eye on this one as it nears release later this year.
 
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