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Thursday 21 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY
I finally got to the best part of the game: Krazy Kremland. This world has all of the most memorable and innovative levels. The ones before it in Gangplank, Crocodile Cauldron, and Krem Quay became sort of redundant (true Krem Quay is pirate ship ruins, but still…). In Krazy Kremland you have areas like the hornet hole, where you get to climb up sticky walls and view an inside world of the evil Zingers. A lot of games have you enter the enemy’s territory, where you must stealthily move through the level to reach a save point. However, in happy DK Country, the Zingers let you climb their hive an get honey all in your little monkey fur!
I still consider Target Terror the best and most unique level of the game. You have to ride this sketchy-looking rollercoaster with a huge skull on the front. The background of the level includes fireworks and scenes of a carnival, while you must jump off the tracks at precise times to avoid obstructions and hit the arrows to make them green (or sometimes avoid hitting the arrows). By turning the arrows green, it allows your coaster cart to pass through doors that were somehow placed on the tracks. Diddy and Trixie get very expressive in this level, covering their eyes and widening their mouths in glee, surprise, or fright…whatever a monkey would feel on a rickety rollercoaster.
This world also includes the toughest – and my least favorite – level, which is Bramble Scramble. I am crazy unstable using Squawkers (and that may be due to my emulator and using keyboard controls) and always hit the damn bramble walls.
Donkey Kong Country games are always a blast to play. They don’t take 90 hours to defeat, they aren’t too repetitive, and DK2 includes a lot more mini games and bonus levels (such as the Lost World). These positive additions also improve in Donkey Kong Country 3: Trixie’s Double Trouble.
GAME DESIGN
DK2 added quite a few innovative new features in comparison to the original Donkey Kong Country. One of these additions is a more varied and complex reward system. There are much more bonus levels that give you coins for completing them; the end of each level is a targeting system where you choose a reward; and you can transform into animals in addition to riding them. The Kongs’ animal buddies are used more prominently in this game and are essential to completing certain levels – they are no longer preserved for bonus levels. For example, in the bramble and some beehive levels, you must use squawkers to move up. In some underwater levels, you must use Enguarde.
The reward system’s usage is also unique in the game’s design. In order to save your progress at Kong College, you must pay tokens. Also, Cranky gives you useful tips – for a fee, of course. If you want to find the Lost World and add more levels to the game, you have to pay Klubba. Nothing sure is cheap in DK2!
The only main concern I had while playing DK2 was control usage. This seems to be a regular complaint for me, so maybe it is a personal issue. Still, I died a ridiculous amount of times over-estimating a jump or underestimating a barrel toss. I mostly blame this on my lack of gamepad controller. I used an emulator and therefore used my keyboard for character movement: definitely not something I recommend. This was my only issue, and it’s mainly one of personal preference and lack of coordination? I kept jumping instead of picking up a barrel, or vice versa.
Playing DK2 now, it definitely fosters a certain pattern of social interaction: nostalgia, reflection, and memorable video game moments. My age group grew up with Donkey Kong Country and most of my friends played them at one point. When we talk about the game, it’s usually ways in which we’ve improved as gamers, how difficult a certain boss was when we were 10, or how we used to be better and are now just rusty. Playing games from the classic list is always pleasurable because it forces you to consider how you’ve culturally grown and how your interests and preferences in video game genres have changed.
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