New Play Control: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Review

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is the latest title in the New Play Control series for the Nintendo Wii, bringing a GameCube classic back for a new generation of gamers, and numerous other people who didn’t get it with its original release. How do the new controls and additions fair? Well you’ll just have to read on to find out.

The first thing I want to semi-briefly go over is the gameplay itself, as I would think many people are unaware of how the mechanics work. The game is set up into 12 worlds, plus bonus ones, with each world housing two platforming levels and one boss encounter. In these two main levels, the object is to grab as many bananas as you can, which will be used as your health during the boss fight, and by the end, determine the number of crests you get.

In the original, you had to control with the bongos, which was pretty fun, but now, they have been replaced with the remote and nunchuk, making things a bit easier and losing some of that unique and energetic feeling. Now, you can move with the analog stick, jump with A, and shake the remote to clap and create a directed shockwave. Because you can now move more easily and with more precision, the designers added in some extra enemies and obstacles to balance out the difficulty. Another change was with the health system. Before, you lost bananas every time you were hit, but now, you have three hearts and retain all of your bananas.

These main levels are set up like standard platforming levels, but there is a twist. Instead of simply going from one end of the level to the other, you have more of a goal, which is to collect bananas. You’re probably thinking, “yeah…like coins…same thing,” but it’s a little different. In other games, coins are something you CAN go for if you want, but here, your entire focus is on getting bananas, and getting them in style. There is a unique combo system in the game, where your combo grows larger as you perform tricks and acrobatics, and it is lost when you touch the ground. So, you’ll want to swing, jump, flip, bounce, and more to create a massive bonus for yourself for every banana you pick up. Performing some of these moves is as easy as jumping, but stringing along an 8, 9, or even 4 or 5 combo is very tricky and requires a lot of practice. You can probably go on YouTube and see some incredible videos of people going through an entire level without touching the ground once, but it takes massive skill and ability to do such. You will have to play through levels multiple times before you can figure out how to get these combos and rack up the banana count.

One incentive for getting bananas, aside from making boss battles easier, is to get crests. These are awarded at the end of the each world depending on how many bananas you obtained and retained after the boss. You used to be able to get four crests per world in the original, but now, you can only get three, which is an interesting change. I think it was done to make the game a bit easier, as the platinum crest required 1200 bananas, whereas you only need 1000 now to get all three crests. To aid in this a bit, after you beat each world, you get a handy video tip to show you how to pull off some specific combo in an area in the world, which is always very cool, enlightening, and impressive.

With most of the bosses, and some enemies, you have to find a weakness to knock them out and then you have to wail on them to lower their health. This is done by quickly flicking between your remote and nunchuk, which can wear you out after awhile. Most of the bosses are pretty easy though, with attacks that are easily dodgeable, so it’s not too terribly hard to beat each one without taking any damage.

The new controls don’t really add anything to the game, and in fact, take some away. The only thing this title really does is give gamers a chance to play the game who didn’t pick it up when it was original released, either because they didn’t think they would like it or because they were turned off by the bongos/price. The new controls feel a lot different than using the bongos, and you must even direct your sound waves, as opposed to having them completely encompass DK. The controls work, but they don’t feel quite as natural as the bongos.

It’s pretty much the same game we played years ago, except with worse controls. Don’t get me wrong, the controls work, but they aren’t as fun as the bongos. The game has been altered a bit, adding in more enemies and changing around a few things, including the health bar, but it’s basically the same game. There are two completely new levels, but one isn’t anything special, and the other is a boss rush mode, which can provide some entertainment. If you’ve played it before, I wouldn’t bother, but if you haven’t, then it’s definitely worth checking out.

Overall Score: 7/10

Posted with cooperation from Gamers Platform

New Play Control: Pikmin Review

Another title recently released under the "New Play Control" banner is the original Pikmin. Like Mario Power Tennis, nothing new has really been added, in terms of content, so don't expect any new levels or pikmin or anything. The only thing changed here are the controls, and for Pikmin, it's definitely a good thing.


Note: This isn’t a full review of the game, as it is a few years old, so I will be focusing on the changes, mostly with controls, instead of all of the game features.

The controls here are very simple. A is used to throw, B to call all of the Pikmin together, Z rotates the camera, and you point to aim where you will call or throw your Pikmin friends. These controls feel really good, making the overall experience more enjoyable, as you won’t get frustrated with a clumsy dual-analog scheme. Although nothing new has been added content-wise, Pikmin is still a fun game, even though the 30-day time limit remains present.

If you’ve played Pikmin before, then I would definitely pass, but if you haven’t, then you should definitely pick it up. It’s a great game, a simplified RTS, and with the new controls, it feels better than ever. At a respectable price of $29.99, you can get this fun game with the simplified, more accurate controls. I can’t wait for Pikmin 2; gonna be awesome.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Posted in cooperation with GamersPlatform

New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis Review

Nintendo has begun to introduce a new line of games for the Nintendo Wii, entitled "New Play Control". These games were previously released on the GameCube, but have been updated for the Wii to take advantage of its unique control capabilities, including the IR pointer and accelerometers.

Thus far, Nintendo has released Mario Power Tennis and the original Pikmin, with announced future titles of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Pikmin 2. Today, we’re going to be looking at Mario Power Tennis and I’ll give you low-down and let you know if these new controls make it worth the re-release.

Note: This isn’t a full review of the game, as it is a few years old, so I will be focusing on the changes, mostly with controls, instead of all of the game features.

The controls in this title are a bit interesting, but relatively simple to get a hand of. Instead of pressing a different combination of buttons for a certain shot, like chip, drop, lob, etc, you have a different swing. You can hit a neutral ball by swinging horizontally, or you can slam it by swinging downwards. You can also swing diagonally to put topspin on the ball, or go downwards for a drop shot. These motions take a little bit of getting used to, and you’ll miss the precision of just pressing a button or two for the exact shot you want, but the motion controls add a bit of depth to the game. However, don’t expect to pick them up instantly. You’ll have to play through a couple of sets before you feel comfortable with the controls, but once you are, you can pull off the shot you want 85-90% of the time. Lob shots are particularly different to get, as you have to move the Wii Remote straight up and it won’t always register, so this can get frustrating, but overall, the controls work well.

Another issue I sort of had with the game was placement. It doesn’t seem like moving the control stick effected the direction of the ball, like it would in other games, so I think it’s more based on the timing of your hit, as well as if you swung the Wii Remote backhand or forehand. However, it’s not as precise as Wii Sports Tennis was, where it really mattered how your character was positioned and how you swung the Remote. Overall, the controls were satisfactory and fun to play with once you got a handle on them. It’s unfortunate though, that you can’t plug in a GameCube controller and play; the constant swinging is a bit tiresome and it just would have been nice to have the ability to play a more traditional way.

Mario Power Tennis still has all the fun it did back on the GameCube, with around 20 playable characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, over 10 courses to play on, 6 regular tournaments plus 3 gimmick ones, over 8 mini-games, and the ability to unlock all sorts of bonuses, including star players. There is a ton of fun to be had with this title, so if you haven’t played the original, I would suggest picking this one up. To me, there is just something ridiculously enjoyable with Mario sport titles; not sure what it is. However, if you do already own the GameCube version, then I’m not sure I could suggest getting it for the Wii. The only addition is the control setup, so you’ll be playing through the same thing, but tennis is tennis. You may want to just hold out for EA’s Grand Slam Tennis, which will utilize the upcoming Wii MotionPlus device for a true tennis experience.

Overall Score: 6/10

Posted in cooperation with GamersPlatform

Nintendo delivers

Well, if Sony is going to have their day, I guess Nintendo thought it was a good time to get us acquainted with their year in gaming. There's quite a lot of news from this press release, but I'd like to just focus on the Nintendo published titles.

Wii
Excitebots: Trick Racing - releasing April 20th; this is a continuation of the Excitebike and Excite Truck series, this game focuses on the use of the Wii Wheel

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat - releasing May 4th; latest in the New Play Control! series.

Punch-Out!! - releasing May 18th; the return of the classic NES title.

Pikmin - releasing March 9th, first of the New Play Control! series.

Mario Power Tennis - releasing March 9th, also in the New Play Control! series.

DS
Rhythm Heaven - releasing April 5th (same day as DSi); a rhythm game from the makers of WarioWare.

Personal Trainer: Walking - releases May 25th; comes with two pedometers that wirelessly connect to Nintendo DS, also supports Miis, a first for the handheld.

The Legendary Starfy - releasing June 8th; FINALLY! After a brief appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (as Stafy), Starfy finally makes its North American debut. As of right now I don't know if this is the Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Daiiru Kaizokudan game released in Japan last year, Densetsu no Stafy 4 released in 2006, or something entirely different. All I will say is that it would be nice to play the older titles, but this is certainly welcome. Update: it is Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Daiiru Kaizokudan.

Games and dates via Nintendo Press Room
Boxart for Punch-Out!!, Pikmin, and Mario Power Tennis now on Flickr