| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Donkey Konga 2
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Donkey Konga was a wild little rhythm game that came very close to winning our GamerDad Family Game of the Year Award but lost due to a weird little game from outer space. But that doesn't mean we don't love it. In fact, few games get pulled out more at the GamerDad household than "The one with the drums daddy!" as my daughter Maggie would put it. Challenging yet simple, addictive and fun, wild and silly, Donkey Konga is that perfect kind of game that's equally enjoyable to small kids, grown ups, and non-gamers alike. Its bongo playing, how can you go wrong with that?
The answer is... you can't. Nintendo and Namco have now released Donkey Konga 2 and even though it's definitely "more of the same" ﾖ when the same is good, how can you complain? Keep reading. Donkey Konga 2 adds a bunch of new music. Now the first game offered a lot of tunes, everything from children's campfire classics to classic rock. There was something for everyone. Donkey Konga 2 tries to up the hipness quotient and fails miserably. The songs added to DK2 aren't particularly hip or trendy, they're a few years old at best and the sequel offers nothing new parents looking for more children's music to play, for example. Like most rhythm games, Namco has opted to use cover bands rather than the real deal and I still don't understand why. Konami's Dance Dance Revolution has the real tracks, every sports game does too, but games like Karaoke Revolution and Donkey Konga . . . don't. I'll never understand that. We're buying games like this for the music and the gameplay, the music needs to be as good as possible. This music isn't. Oh, and the Donkey Konga 2 theme song is terrible. Nyah! Please note, the preceding gripe is mainly there because the music could have been better. Does it harm the game itself? You'll be too busy slapping the skins to notice or care much. Donkey Konga 2 features slightly better gameplay (more of the songs are genuinely challenging than before), a much better/more intuitive menu layout, and anyone still playing the original should pick up the sequel as a matter of course. Limp song selection or not, there's nothing better than playing a new song the first time through so veterans of the first game owe it to themselves, their friends, and the kids, to pick up the sequel. Note See the score? 4 of 5 might seem pretty high given the review you just read. I stand behind it. If you have more than one bongo controller you're in for a treat. Grab a couple more and this game gets a 5 of 5 review. I'm serious. There's very little out there in gaming that's better than 4-player Donkey Konga. The beats cascade from one player to the next. It's awesome. Buy more controllers. Do it. Before it's too late and you can only find them on eBay for far too much money.  
Donkey Konga is still one of the best kid's games available. If they can drum and follow the symbols as they fly past, they're going to have a lot of fun with this game. They'll also learn timing, better reflexes, and counting ﾖ that's what percussion is all about. Donkey Konga 2 is more of the same, and there are far fewer kid's songs, but that's okay. None of the songs are offensive and despite the blandness mentioned above, the game is challenging, well made, and good for families to play together. Promise me you'll think about getting more Bongo controllers though. Okay? It's a much better game with multiple monkeys.
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "Donkey Kong" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Donkey Konga 2 |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
