Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game that's easy to reccomend to anyone who likes video games.
DKCR is a 2D platformer at heart-- you'll be doing things like jumping from one platform to another, swinging on vines, climbing on walls, shooting yourself out of barrels and much more. There are two control styles; one has you using the Wii remote and nunchuk, while the other makes you hold the Wii remote sideways like an NES controller. The latter is undoubtedly the better option. In addition to the standard jumping and climbing, you'll need to use the motion capabilities of the Wii remote to pull off DK's special moves. Moving the remote up and down while DK is standing still will make DK slam the ground with his hands, holding down on the D-pad while moving the remote will make DK blow out flames and a quick flick of the remote while DK is moving will cause him to swiftly roll forward. The controls work well, except for the forward roll because it's unresponsive at times.
The level design steals the show in DKCR. There is constant variety throughout the game and nearly every level is a blast. My favorite ones involve Indiana-Jones-style chase scenes where you're running from things like giant boulders, swarms of bats, pirates that shoot cannonballs and more. Many levels feature DK in a mine cart on rails; these are consistently exciting because you're always on the move and you have to be careful of flying enemies and environments that deteriorate on the fly. A few of the late levels rely a bit too much on crumbling platforms, which makes those levels too predictable.
The goal in most levels is to simply reach the end of it. With the exception of boss fights, each level has a number of collectable puzzle pieces and four floating letters that spell out K-O-N-G. You're given good incentive to go after these things because they can unlock secret levels, concept art and music. There are also time attack challenges, which challenge you to complete the level as fast as possible. Depending on how long it takes you, you can earn bronze, silver or gold medals for each level (which will subsequently unlock even more things for you). There are a total of eight worlds in DKCR-- and each world has a number of levels in it. DKCR is a game that has a lot of content to plow through-- it's rare to see that in the platforming genre.
As you play through the levels, you'll find banana coins; these can be used to purchase items between levels. There's a parrot that helps you find puzzle pieces, a heart that increases your maximum health, a yellow potion that makes you invincible and a key that grants you access to levels that would otherwise be blocked off (each world has one level that needs a key to be accessed-- the rest are unlocked by beating previous levels). You'll need the help of these items for some of the tougher boss fights and for finding some well hidden puzzle pieces.
The graphics in DKCR are some of the best on the Wii. DK's animations are universally sharp-- especially the way he transitions from climbing a vertical wall to hanging from a ceiling. The environments are nicely varied and each of them look lovely; these settings include a forest, factory, underground mines, beaches and more. Once in a while you'll play through a level where you'll see everything displayed as a silhouette; which is a nice visual touch.
The original score in DKCR is one of the best of 2010, in my opinion. You'll hear a number of original songs and classic DK songs remixed with instruments like flutes, trumpets, percussion and more. The game does well to give island-esque music during the beach levels and fast paced music during the intense chase scenes. The sound effects do the job just fine and DK's cries are crisp sounding.
DKCR is a game that's easy to reccomend to anyone who likes video games because it offers tons of content, challenge, variety and fun. While it does have some noticeable warts, those are easily overlooked by the game's strengths. Nintendo has nailed it with DKCR and it's one of my favorite games of the year. Thanks for reading.