Donkey Kong Country Returns, and is just as good, if not better than ever before!
It goes without saying that DKCR looks and sounds great. The graphics are bright and beautifully textured. There are some levels where lighting is altered and you will only be able to see the Kongs as silhouettes. That is just one of the creative touches that keep this game fresh. The music is great. The classic DK theme has never sounded better, and these new tunes fit in perfectly.
In terms of gameplay, DKCR does not reinvent the wheel. It does, however, put some shiny new bells and whistles on the bicycle. Some levels are destructable (not necessarily by you, either). Others offer a foreground and background that you will need to travel back and forth between. Still others turn into auto-scrollers that will force you to make split-second decisions to reach the end alive. And I'm not talking about the requisite mine cart levels, though those do make a frustratingly triumphant return.
What really makes DKCR a fantastic game is the amount of content packed into this game. The diligent gamer will spend hours upon hours trying to unlock everything that is locked away. Each level in the game contains four to nine puzzle pieces that unlock concept art for viewing. Collecting the K-O-N-G letters in each level within a world will open up a bonus level that will absolutely frustrate the heck out of you. Once you beat all the bonus levels, that will grant you access to the Golden Temple. And your reward for beating that? Now you can replay each level in mirror mode for even more challenge! Add in that there are time trials to complete for each level, and there is more than enough content to make Kranky Kong, well, cranky.
The game is surprisingly hard if you want to complete it rather than just breeze through as quickly as possible. Of course, you can always use the Super Guide if you need to be shown how to beat a level. But you don't have to do that do you? You're like me, you want the satisfaction of knowing you did it all on your own. And I promise, this game is going to make you feel very accomplished.