Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Chances are if you've heard of this game, you've thought to yourself, "Self, how does one play an action/platform game with bongo drums?" Though I've already described the technical aspect of how it is done, there is still the matter of doing it. It is unintuitive, as you have just implied in conversing with yourself, and in addition requires powers of coordination untapped by most non-rhythm games. Though the big ape is taking it somewhat easy on me even in its final throes, I can tell that I'm poor at it. Don't lie to me Donkey Kong. I am on to your little game.

Though there are no less than 16 kingdoms, each with its own boss, there are really only four bosses. One is a monkey, with whom DK exchanges fisticuffs, here it is all about the dodges and jabs. Another is a boar, who enjoys tossing melons at you, but is unable to see his own demise in your ability to kick them back. A third is a flying roc, carrying a black egg below it, which I assume contains its heart because breaking it spells certain doom for the bird. And the fourth form of boss is a mechanical elephant whose trunk has a penchant for being clogged by explosive pineapples. They are re-ordered in successive kingdom groups, and each iteration comes with slightly more difficult variations, but suffice it to say that the boss encounters are not much of the game's breadth.

Conversely, the stages are extremely diverse. At one point I fancied that they would be out of ideas, and then I found myself grabbing a bird's tailfeathers as I directed it up through a clocktower. I'm not sure where they keep their clocktowers in the Donkey Kong jungle, but apparently it is not a very safe place.

As I hinted paragraphs ago, controlling it is becoming a little trying as I approach the title's event horizon, but it is still much fun. And though I forgot to mention it before, the presentation is spectacular; contextual sound effects along with the drumming mechanic make the whole affair sound great, and it looks just awesome, from the flowing water to the hair on DK's arms and the hyperactive ninja monkeys that flit about in the rain.

Progress: 34 crests