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Wednesday 20 February, 2008
Gameplay 2:
After another bout with DKC2 I've started to get back in the rhythm of the game. Unfortunately, every time I think I've got it they throw something completely different in. Some of the more recent stalls I've hit were a set of hot air balloons, which you move by walking to the edge of them, and then continuing to try to move (my only remaining question is what finally prompted me to try walking off a balloon into a pit of lava). Next was the giant spider you can ride, which can't jump on enemies (that was a fairly quick discovery). Finally was a parrot whose flight is much like the swimming levels, but if you or the fairly large parrot get touched you lose a monkey (there are two monkeys, and when they both are gone you lose a life).
Though extremely frustrating at times, DKC2 is still an enjoyable game. It does all the things the first one did right, including an entertaining story, interesting bosses, and lots of secrets hidden everywhere. Still, I found myself going back to the first DKC whenever I needed a break.
Design:
The game clearly used DKC as a starting point for the design (and why not, DKC was an amazing game). They added some slight graphics upgrades (including giving Diddy a bellybutton), and many many many new elements to the gameplay. The game has a very strong sense of uniqueness, which is supported by the design of the levels and backgrounds throughout the game. The character is rewarded on a regular basis and each level has a half dozen secrets to discover.
All that being said, there is very little that is original about this game and I've been unable to understand why it's on the classics list instead of the first DKC. Most of the elements of DKC2 are expanded from DKC1, such as a different variety of large animals to ride (a springy snake instead of a frog, a giant spider, and a parrot), and the secrets are now in more varied locations. Dixie's helicopter hovering had been done in Sonic a year earlier. The largest design difference I've found is that DKC2 has a large number of vertical levels that involve climbing and firing from barrels upwards instead of horizontally. Which, while an interesting idea, leads to no end of frustration as these levels tend to be sparsely populated with platforms, meaning a fall can often be a very long one.
It's a good game, but the first one was immensely better.
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