New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for Nintendo Wii (Video Review)

How many of you remember in the 1990’s when Nintendo had Donkey Kong available on the Super Nintendo System? Or, better yet, how about in the 1980′s when it was on an arcade system? Man, how the technology and graphics have grown!

I cannot tell you how many HOURS I spent playing Donkey Kong as a teenager and in my early 20’s on the NES. Addict, I guess you can say. I was beyond excited when I heard that Wii had Donkey Kong available. We just started playing it, so we are still learning the maneuvering around in Wii, but the graphics are fun and so detailed!

I had to laugh at hubby when he was attempting to jump in the trees to get the bananas down and jump up on a box. He was over here jumping, himself. This game is different, neat and a lot of fun because you use both of your hands. In each hand, you have a Nunchuk. Interactive? For sure! Fun? Oh, yes!

New Play Control! Donkey Kong™ Jungle Beat™

Format: Wii™
Launch Date: May 4, 2009
ESRB: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence
Game Type: Action Platformer
Players: 1
Developer: Nintendo

The highly rated Nintendo GameCube™ game, created by the same team that developed Super Mario Galaxy™, returns with enhanced motion controls and new surprises.

• The Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers put Donkey Kong’s actions right in players’ hands. Players use buttons and motion controls to move through the game. When it comes time to box with bosses, players punch with both hands.
• As Donkey Kong, players brave a jungle adventure by swinging, soaring, swimming and using acrobatic moves. But the goal isn’t to run through levels as quickly as possible – the real skill lies in stringing moves together to travel like a daredevil, touching the ground as little as possible.
• The game’s imaginative worlds now have many areas partially redesigned to take full advantage of the new Wii controls. Newcomers will enjoy its fantastic jungles, dazzling caverns and wondrous seas, while fans of the original will discover fresh thrills as they take on the challenge of the new controls.

Game storyline: Donkey Kong sets out to prove he’s king of the jungle and beyond. He rampages through lava caves, savage seas and crazy locales like a ninja-chimp fortress. Only when Donkey Kong defeats all the kings of his world – by boxing with apes, rabid warthogs, ballistic elephants and giant birds – can he call himself king.

Players who traveled the lands of the original Donkey Kong Jungle Beat will notice some changes to the kingdoms, such as additional enemies and obstacles, plus features like Skull Stones, Shock Spheres and classic Cannon Barrels. In addition, new monkey friends appear on many levels. Helper Monkeys give hints about how to survive the kingdoms and score more bananas, while Checkpoint Monkeys let players restart from midway through a level with their checkpoint banana total intact. The game also includes two surprises at the end: a boss-rush against all the Kongs and a victory feast for Donkey Kong once he has become the king of everything.

How to progress through the game: Players run, jump, swim, battle, swing on vines and collect bananas as they explore beautiful side-scrolling environments that span volcano caves, snowy peaks and fantastic skyscapes. Players also must hitch rides on parrots and killer whales, bounce off pinball-like obstacles and battle tons of bizarre enemies. Players collect bananas as they go, but the real trick lies in building up combo multipliers. This is done by linking different mid-air moves like vine swings, backflips and wall springs to avoid returning to the ground. If players sustain a combo in mid-air, all bananas collected during the combo are multiplied by that combo, which leads to much higher banana scores.

Characters: Donkey Kong, little monkey pals and ridable animal friends, like the wildebeest Hoofer and killer whale Orco. Dozens of outlandish enemies, like bloated Bumblebuzzes, speedy Ninjapes and the runaway-train-like Iguanagons.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Players control Donkey Kong’s running, jumping and banana grabbing by using the control stick and buttons. Motion controls turn a player’s hands into Donkey Kong’s hands – moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk gives the realistic feeling of grabbing vines, boxing or unleashing a powerful sound-wave clap.