Donkey Kong's return to console glory in 1994 is definitely a gem!
Back in 1994, Rareware breathed new life into Nintendo’s arcade game antagonist Donkey Kong with revolutionary pre-rendered graphics and created Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Despite the pretty looks, it is a solid side-scrolling platformer with great controls, organic level design and a superb soundtrack.
One of the less mediocre games to come from Data East.
A few months back, Monkey Paws Games began a 6-week campaign to bring several import games to the US. Among them was Wolf Fang, released this past February on PSN. Originally released by Data East in 1991 as the arcade sequel to Vapor Trail (Kugah in Japan), Wolf Fang is a game that heavily borrows from the many shoot ‘em ups that came before it. If you’ve ever played a shooter that involved Vulcan spread shots, miniature helper drones, and anime-inspired character designs, then this game will be very familiar territory for you. On their own, the gameplay elements could be written off as merely generic. But together they form a surprisingly respectable game.
Donkey Kong's finally back, and so is the Tour de 64
Hot off the heels of Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 was Rareware's second platform adventure on the Nintendo 64. Requiring use of the Expansion Pak accessory, the game promised to not only ape Super Mario 64, but provide a bigger, prettier adventure. With five characters, huge worlds, and hundreds of collectables, there's a lot packed into this little cartridge, but that also unfortunately becomes its downfall. This would typically be the point where some crack would be inserted about driving the player bananas, but this article is 100% guaranteed to be free of all monkey-related puns. Honest.
The Kongs Return once again.
My feelings about Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are a bit strange. After playing it, I’m looking forward to the final product. However, while the game retains the charm and tight gameplay of Returns, it didn’t seem to bring anything new to the table. The demo I played didn’t include Dixie Kong, so I was left with Donkey and Diddy, which might’ve been part of the problem.
Can I be excused? My brain is full.
The big kickoff to every QuakeCon is a keynote featuring id co-founder and all-around genius John Carmack. This year was no different, featuring Carmack’s musings on topics ranging all across the spectrum of programming and game development. Carmack got started after a few bits of news from id’s Creative Director Tim Willits and Bethesda’s VP of Marketing Pete Hines.