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N.O.V.A 2 Preview

Philip Federico
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0
N.O.V.A 2 Preview

 

Today I sat down with what could possibly be Gameloft’s finest game of 2010 – NOVA 2.  Tapping the NOVA 2 icon on the iPhone 4 and watching the jaw dropping high definition intro movie totally had my attention and had me eager to get sucked into the action and save the universe this time from the clutches of an alien race called the Volterites.  To give you a brief rundown of the story NOVA 2 takes place 6 years after the events depicted in NOVA.  Humanity has been thrown into a civil war fought on one side by the central government of the Terran Orbitals and the Human Alien Alliance.  Our hero Kal Wardin has once again retired and is now loving life living on the desert planet of Scorpius, among the villagers of that colony.  As you know war never spares even the most peaceful of places and poor old Kal is called back to fight once again.
 
I have to say that straight off the bat NOVA 2 has to be one of the most visually stunning FPS I have seen on the Apple iPhone.   The amount of detail that has gone into the level designs, character models and environments is outstanding.  Gameloft have really hit the nail right on the head taking full advantage of the iPhones retina display.
 
After a dramatic video intro, the first level has you crash landing on an unknown beach.  Here you’re taken through a quick tutorial and can select the type of control system that best suits your play style.  Even though I wasn’t used to it – I would totally recommend using the Gyrometric control system.  Once you get the hang of aiming with it, taking down those pesky aliens will be walk in the park.  Well not necessarily, aiming is one thing but ultimately you’re going to have to use wit and skill to outsmart what looks like much improved AI enemies.

Speaking of AI the first real threat in the game appears pretty much as soon as take a few steps onto the beach.  Known as a Volterite Psycher, this monstrosity uses an invisibility cloak and has the ability to pick up and throw large objects your way using its psychic telekinetic abilities.  But don’t worry Captain Kal Wardin has a few tricks up his sleeve to combat this deadly foe and any other enemy that comes his way.  Returning is his electromagnetic freeze pulse that will allow you to freeze enemies in their tracks, temporarily allowing you to plow into them with a barrage of bullets.  Kal also has 2 new special powers, one is neat new melee attack you can select by switching between the electromagnetic pulse attack that allows you to use some sort of disc style blade. On regular enemies like the Red Fury Troopers one slice of this deadly looking weapon will end their pitiful existence.  The second is a Slow time power – when activated the whole world around you is slowed down and you can get stuck into whoever’s been caught in the time freeze.

There are some ultra-cool weapons at your disposal in the game, switching to GOD mode I was able to unlock and test them all out.  Some of the Alien style weaponry was a complete BLAST to use, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the names of each of the guns but they all handled very well especially the Plasma Gun, Lightening Gun and the Rail Gun (sorry not going to tell you what they do – no spoilers)  The standard weapons are back like the assault rifle, you now have dual pistols as your lower end weapon, the snipers looks and feels the same as it did in the first one, an awesome automatic shotgun, a grenade launcher, a gun that looks very similar to the “Hammer Of Dawn” and a heat seeking rocket launcher  that was very useful when taking down huge robotic mechas hell bent on blowing you into smithereens and YES this all happens within the first 5-10 mins of the first level !!  I could only imagine what other action packed mayhem we can expect from the eleven other levels ahead (Campaign has twelve levels taking you to several orbitals = planets with various settings)

NOVA 2 will also have multiplayer (which I wasn’t able to test out) from what I was advised the game supports up to 10 players online compared to only 4 with the original NOVA.  Along with a new ranking and PERK system, there are five different modes:  Capture the flag, deathmatch and team deathmatch, Freeze Tag and Instagib.  There will also be Exclusive multiplayer rewards that automatically unlock for veteran players who have played the first N.O.V.A.  They are:  The BAGS ( Bass Ass Gold Suit), starting with an advanced ranking that will automatically unlock advanced weapons and a special achievement.  So if you want these cool rewards go out and download N.O.V.A right now from the iTunes store and get up to date with the story before N.O.V.A 2 comes out.
 
NOVA 2 looks and feels like nothing I have ever seen before on the Apple iPhone.  With upgraded controls, graphically enhanced visuals, intelligent AI, an amazing array of new weapons.. PLUS did I mention you can also drive vehicles!! well now I did (damn I wanted to keep that a surprize) oh well that cat is also out of the bag as well Kal will be able ride motorbikes, mecha’s also shoot from a running jeep.   If you craving a new FPS to take with you everywhere you go then NOVA 2 will be the game for you.
 
Expect deployment into the Orbital iTunes store in December hopefully before Christmas !!

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit – Xbox 360 review

Ian Crane
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3
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit – Xbox 360 review


Developer(s) Criterion Games
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Craig Sullivan (creative director) Henry LaBounta (senior art director)
Producer(s) Matt Webster
Designer(s) Matt Follett
Series Need for Speed
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii,Xbox 360, iPhone
Release date(s) NA 16 November 2010 EU 19 November 2010 AUS 18 November 2010

Cops and Robbers is a pretty basic premise for a game, or in this case Cops and Racers, but it is one that Criterion games have taken to heart, forgetting past mistakes of the Need for Speed series and taking it back to basics, in a series of increasingly stressful races that demand that need for speed. It is also Criterions first foray into real life existing cars over arcade simulations so for the fans is Hot Pursuit a burnout, or is it paradise?

GAMEPLAY

To be fair, the game is a lot of fun. It may be arcadey, not all together realistic, but the execution is stripped back and very very tight. Not wanting to tread on any toes, or at least stray to far from what made the first Need for Speed so great almost 10 years ago, they have ignored almost all updates to the series prior and focused instead on a list of meta achievements and stats designed to one-up friends and evoke competition.

Starting the game up, the world map of Seacrest County is immediately similar to their previous title Burnout Paradise and it is not until picking cars that you realise, there is just a bit more detail here- sort of. Criterion have stepped out and inserted real-world cars into an unreal situation. There is a slew of luxury cars to play with from Porches and Lamborghini through to Aston Martin and concept cars or roadsters. The police variation are just as good, with a little less customisation, preferring a new paint job of existing models and some that are completely fictional.

The world map is pretty straight forward: Either start races as a “Racer” or compete to chase them down as the Police. There are three or four different types of courses, either ‘time trials’ where you have to escape in a certain time or catch someone within the limit, Hot Pursuits which allow weapons and have a ‘one v many” approach and the obligatory racers of many cars all trying to come first.

That just about sums it up- quite literally, which is surprising when you consider the depth to play on offer. There are two Career modes and for either the racer or the Cop you level up through 20, grinding ever closer to the Most Wanted level and unlocking harder races and better vehicles along the way. Although simple, with no vehicle customisation beyond some colour, no interaction on the map and some recycled music and maps, it is the weapons and autolog feature that make it worth while.

Autolog online

The Autolog is where the game exists, in this constantly updating and always persistent middle ground of online connection but offline racing. Every single race or action in the game is mapped against anyone of your friends who also have the game, and it becomes a consistent a real incentive to keep trying to beat their scores. Rather than just a leaderboard though, the game will actually throw out recommendations and rather than fictional racers to beat in made up race there is always your real world friends on hand. Each player has a wall, and through it you can msg other people of your friends, talk smack and generally let everyone know when you just beat their score by .01 seconds. There are photo options too, but require a camera and do not work with Kinects built in one.

Weapons in the game consist of spikes, radar jams, helicopters and turbo boosts or roadblocks, and despite the rather simple nature of the racing it can become rather strategic at the higher end to figure out when to use an EMP or a well placed spike trap, or combine a Helicopter together with said EMP to send a car sliding into an oncoming row of spikes.

Although Criterion have made a fun game, even more so online with 6 v 6 cops and Racers, which just degenerates into a mass of roadblocks and reverse driving, some issues remain that stop it from being the next big thing: Burnout Paradise really redefined arcade racing, and was so well supported and pure with a lot of content, 3D maps and a massive number of add ons and detail down to the type of races and cars used. While separating itself from the competition, Need for Speed is just a little too simple. There is no car customisation for what the series had become known for, very little music, maps recycle and everything- is automated. Almost every race will unlock a new vehicle, but there is no choice over when or what, you never have to buy cars and online is exploited with lower level players having much slower cars than anyone else in their race. On top there is a only a small variety of race types, that do get ever more complex, but are really just training for online shenanigans. The result is a double edge sword. Hot Pursuit is tight enough that it is easy to pick up and play and never takes itself too seriously. But despite all the achievements and friendly competition, the meat is in hot pursuit weapon take downs with time trials and races, rather boring.

GRAPHICS

For a game coming out, at the end of 2010 for a series that some people thought had no chance of redemption, Hot Pursuit never tries too hard to overstep itself or even step up to other games from this generation, instead it works and that is good enough for now (until the next one). Perhaps also, in said racing games there is a push back toward minimalist real-world racers over the gangster pimp my ride clones that were pushed out over the last 5 years.

Maps are clean and function either during the day or the night, and although there is morning and evening rides, it can be hard to tell the difference. Rain and thunder act as environmental obstacles and work well, with cars that are responsive to the weather effects.

Criterion play a fine balancing game between what is real or not though, with the underlying theme that Cops are arresting Racers for Speeding- not likely, when the Racer is a crumpled pile of mess, spinning out down the hill.

Yes, in the original seminal racer, Police would actually pull racers over to arrest them and you would see it, now each are as bad as each other preferring the ram me off the road approach. Also, if someone can tell me why a Racer roadblock is comprised of cop cars (when called in), just ruins that illusion a little bit.

On the flip side of these small infractions, the Cars are exceptional and generally stand out from the environment. Instantly recognisable each one at least tries to respond to it’s true to form speed and handling, with some rather detailed descriptions and prices matched to the year the car was launched.

Based on the rather small map of Seacrest County, some areas have snow some desert and some the standard forest and country. The maps are memorable only because they tend to repeat and are all together uninspired. Draw distance also is odd with a strong blur in the background that just blends into mountains or trees that lack colour and depth. All in all the world is serviceable and yet the shiny nice cars stand out against plain backgrounds and shortcuts which are not actually shortcuts and may lose you time (a nice strategy actually that makes you learn the maps).

SOUND

If the gameplay is stripped back and the graphics are good enough, then the music, needs improving. Only some races specifically have the option to play songs while all the Hot Pursuits have the same repeating “thrill” music that sounds like it was made for a movie car chase, but never quite hits that high. It’s a nice touch adding some suspense and danger to the situation but is at odds to the racing beats, only half of which were recognisable. Good music for cruising though it consists of a mix of soft rock, dance,pop, club and alt music, a far cry from the thumping bass ghetto and hip hop swearing tunes from previous games.

There is simply not enough of it and again, the set list can not be mixed,shuffled or looked at even in the menus or otherwise. Criterion while simplifying the game have removed key choices for the player that allow a more personal experience.

VALUE

The value of the game comes in how many other friends have the game also. Don’t expect split screen off-line either- this is an online experience as close to a Racing MMO as possible. Hot pursuit is a rent, that can be ground through quickly, but has high replay value and a lot of fun. The is no underestimating the thrill of trying to smash down racers as a cop, while the traps and roadblocks offer some tactical choice about when and how much to deploy them.

Sadly as final mistep, unless you have bought the game with a code to get online, renting may produce the problem of not being able to play due to the fact that despite having an XBOX Gold membership you need a code to log into the autolog feature. The game offers 2 days free but then times out which is rather disgusting considering. This means you can rent it, but not play online anyway (unless you are lucky enough to have the code stolen). It is not a code on the booklet and is frustrating that a separate login and cost is associated to play EA games online now.

CONCLUSION

Need for Speed is a return to form for the series, introducing younger players to what made the first game great, so many years ago. Despite some teething issues, which really shouldn’t occur in this day, even if it is a franchise re-boot, the gameplay is solid and a lot of fun. The need for speed is back- and the pursuit is hot.

8-5-capsules-out-of-10

Valkyria Chronicles 3 opening unveiled by Sega

Travis Bruno
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1
Valkyria Chronicles 3 opening unveiled by Sega

With the third installment of Valkyria Chronicles to be released on January 27th for Japan, Sega has decided to release the opening movie for the game and from the looks of it, rather than begin before a war and have conflict break out shortly after, the war is already happening.

In the intro movie we see many members of the Gallian squad called “The Nameless.” We also see action happening immediately and troops marching into battle along with showing off many of the main characters including Reila whom you can see above. Also the movie features a song from Japanese singer May Nakabayashi otherwise known as May’n who has done countless anime openings and endings in the past, though this appears to be a new song from her.

No word yet of a Western release date for the third installment of the game, the second of which on the PSP but with the past two parts of the game already released in the West it is looking good for a third release.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime announced for Spring 2011

Travis Bruno
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3

Feel like busting some ghosts? Well if you have grown tired of Ghostbusters: The Video Game then you are in luck because Atari announced today to USA Today that they will be bringing up a downloadable Ghostbusters game to follow up on 2009’s full retail release. The game itself has been announced for Spring of 2011 and will be available for download on the XBLA, PSN, and PC.

Being developed by Wanako players will be given a top down action game that they can play with a total of four players either at home with them or online. There will be massive boss battles supposedly and characters will be able to drive the Ecto-3 which was a small let down in the last game when you found out that you could not. Bad news is that the original voice actors will not be returning to voice their characters, so that means no Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, or even Harold Ramis and what will Ghostbusters be without them?

Tofu Boy to be added to Super Meat Boy PC in response to PETA

Travis Bruno
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2

There are plenty of ways to respond to PETA taking your creation and turning it into a marketing ploy against meat itself. Another way to react is to take the parody and run with it by putting the character into your own game and changing him around to suit your fancy. That is what Team Meat has done with their next PC Patch for Super Meat Boy.

Players will be able to play as Tofu Boy if they type in the phrase “petaphile” at the character selection screen. That way they can play as a “bit malnourished” Tofu Boy instead of the standard Meat Boy, but it is quite obviously that they have taken their own twist with the character as you can see above. If I was made of tofu too I would ask the same exact thing.

Harms Way to be free next week on XLBA

Travis Bruno
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1

Remember last year how Dash of Destruction came out for free on the XLBA courtesy of Doritos and their Unlock Xbox promotion? Well this time around there is a more advanced game that will be coming courtesy of this project and it is called Harms Way. Harms way looks to mix Burnout and Call of Duty and provide an experience where driving skills are necessary but so are your gunning skills.

Justin Carpenter, creator of the game, has worked alongside Bongfish for a year developing the game and it is set to be released next week completely free. There is a trailer below for the game and when you do give it a download next week make sure that you go to Unlock Xbox so you can vote for the game itself. But regardless of that hey, a free game is a free game. Although it is worth mentioning that Dash of Destruction is no longer available on the XBLA so it does mean that this game could also be only momentarily free.

Sega Casts New Thor Video Game with Talent Straight From The Movie…

Dustin Spencer
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1

As many of you may or may not know, 2011 marks the next big movie for Marvel, Thor: God of Thunder. Well, like most comic book heroes that get the movie treatment, Thor is also going to be getting a video game due out to coincide with the movie’s release. Sega have officially announced today on their blog that they have signed Chris Hemsworth to voice the title role and Tom Hiddleston to voice Loki in the upcoming action adventure Thor: God of Thunder. Both actors will be playing the same parts in the movie and this is a bit of good news for those who like to have the real voice actors included in Movie/Video Game Crossovers.

“Bringing in Chris and Tom to star in Thor: God of Thunder gives us AAA talent that will create a truly cinematic interactive experience,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA Europe and SEGA of America. “Mighty Thor and the trickster Loki will face off with real emotion while giving fans visual and vocal continuity between the video game and film adaptations of the Marvel franchise.”

Thor: God of Thunder will take players through an original, epic-scale third-person action adventure for which Matt Fraction, the Eisner Award-winning writer and lead Thor comic book author, served as story consultant. In the game, Thor battles through the numerous worlds of Norse mythology to save Asgard. Players will wield the iconic Mjölnir, Thor’s legendary hammer, to fight enemies of an immense scale while controlling the elemental storm powers of lightning, thunder and wind to vanquish enemies. Thor must overcome monstrous foes lifted from the pages of the comics, including Ulik, Ymir and Surtur, as well as other daunting enemies.


I actually feel like I am getting some vibes from Wolverine here (as that game was great), and if you remember, that was a pretty decent game. I think as long as the quality is better than Iron Man 2 we could have a winner anyway and hopefully Thor in done right by Sega, which it is looking he will as the game is looking great. Thor: God of Thunder is scheduled to release in Spring of 2011 for all major consoles. For even more information, you can check out the official website here.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn Gets Dated for Europe…

Dustin Spencer
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1

One of the best Wii games release this year, or at least to myself, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, finally has got an official European release date. If you by chance have been living under a rock and never heard of the title, Kirby returned back in October in the states to critical praise just about every where (you can check out our review HERE).

For those who haven’t got a chance to play it, the game is like no other released this year and honestly begs to be enjoyed rather than played as you and/or a friend travel through the fabric and yarn filled world, trying to save the day from the evil Yin Yarn. Kirby has a full range of new abilities as well that all utilize this unique artstyle to the fullest extent. Kirby’s Epic Yarn officially releases of February 25th for EU users everywhere next year and this is also good news for AU residents as we don’t have an official date for the release yet but I have a feeling it should be just right around the corner for Australia as well.

Surprise from Gameloft – New RTS game

Joey Liew
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0
Surprise from Gameloft – New RTS game

Gameloft is keeping the surprises fresh everyday for its fan. Yesterday, they made their chart-topping console-port racing game – Driver for iPhone/iPod Touch goes free for 24 hours to kick off their twitter giveaway event. Today, they revealed an exclusive sneek peek to their brand new solo and multiplayer RTS (Real-time Strategy) game as their second gift. This is a first from Gameloft and they named it Starfront: Collision. It looks pretty cool! Intuitive touch controls, three different factions, 20-mission campaign on planet Sinistral, and online multiplayer mode. Looks like we can get lots of content out of this. Along with the news, they also gave us a CGI trailer. Other than the game is available for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, nothing much is known yet. Stay tuned for more update, we will keep you in the loop.

Oh, before I forget, remember to follow @Gameloft on twitter to receive a new gift every day until Christmas  Day!

Donkey Kong Country Returns – Review

Dustin Spencer
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2

Game Name: Donkey Kong Country Returns
Platform(s): Nintendo Wii
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Developer(s): Retro Studios, Nintendo
Genre(s): Platformer
Release Date: November 21, 2010 (US) December 2, 2010 (AU)
December 3, 2010 (EU)
Price: $49.99 US – $89.99 AU

Sixteen years ago, Donkey Kong Country took the world by storm on the Super Nintendo providing a graphical and gameplay experience that at the time was completely groundbreaking. The game spawned two highly successful sequels and although Donkey Kong would find the spotlight again in other titles such as Donkey Kong 64 and many spin-offs, fans everywhere ached for a rebirth of the platform favorite. Retro Studio’s have now revived the classic 2D sides-croller with updated graphics and gameplay, but did the studio capture the same magic that Rare started with long ago? Here is my review for Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Story
Forget about having to rescue a Kong or take down a robotic enemy, Donkey Kong Country Returns story is straight to the roots of where the series began, recovering Donkey Kong’s treasured banana hoard. The first thing I should get out of the way starting off is how DKC Returns is NOT a remake whatsoever, but a complete re-imagining. Instead of Kremlings, the main enemies are now odd little island residents called Tikis from the evil Tiki Tak Tribe. Tikis are pretty small in size but with the main power to hypnotize creatures and turn them evil.

We start our journey with the king of swing with Donkey Kong & Diddy getting their whole banana hoard stolen from the Tikis. Enraged, the duo head off on an adventure through DK island to recover the hot goods once and for all. There isn’t too much emphasis on the story as it is simple and to the point, but it is obvious the game was made with that in mind as like the classic Donkey Kong Country titles, the story is mainly just a filler tale to have an excuse to traverse through the amazing levels and actually concentrate on the gameplay itself.

Just because the story is simple does not mean that the game lacks character though. Donkey Kong and Diddy make a perfect return to their true forms in this title and it feels like they have not missed a beat since their last platform outing. One of the main things I worried about though when it came to Retro Studios making this game was if they would be able to recapture the magic of a Rare-style boss battle or enemy design in general. I always thought that when it came to making enemies for any platformer, Rare filled each character with such life and charm that it tied together the whole game. I can easily say that Retro did a perfect job in this department.

Most of the enemies may be a bit different from the buzzards, bees, and Kremlings you would be used to seeing in a DKC title, but the new batch are just as good if not better designed than the classic ones. There is also a huge variation as well, from biting berries, pirate crabs, and the different Tikis as well as many other animal foes, each enemy is clever and makes each stage an adventure in itself to see the next foe as it is obvious a lot of time and heart went into each one. For the fans that grew up on the series, there is also some appearances throughout the game of a few classic characters. Cranky Kong runs a shop now and still possesses his same attitude. Rambi and Squaks the Parrot both make an appearance as well which can help you on your journey through the vibrant world.

Consider Donkey Kong Country Return’s a return of Donkey Kong and Diddy, but also a return of the platform titles that were meant to be played and experienced instead of watched like a movie like most titles of today.

Gameplay
Much like the Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios have in my opinion completely revolutionized the Donkey Kong Country games while keeping everything that made the games so special to start with in tact. While the game does use the WiiMote and Nunchuck (the nunchuck being completely optional), the motion controls used in just the right way which blended in perfectly with the classic formula. There are many differences though and the first that is worth noting is that unless you are in the multi-player mode, Diddy is no longer playable. Instead of being a faster alternative for levels, Diddy now rides on Donkey Kong’s back, providing two extra heart capsules (of which the player gets four altogether) and giving DK the ability to hover over gaps with his jet pack. After the first level, I literally forgot all about wanting to use Diddy alone though as Donkey Kong performs perfectly with this method and actually felt truly upgraded with these features.

In many ways, the game still plays the same as the older versions with jumping, running, collecting bananas and life balloons and of course platforming being the key ingredients. The motion control comes into play though with a few different moves though. The first move is the classic ground pound which is actually a huge necessity as you must use it to break through crates, floors, and many other obstacles. Just shaking the Wiimote and Nunchuck in a fitting ground-pound like fashion is all that is needed to quickly and effectively perform this. I did have a couple of instances though where it went on a just a tad longer than needed though, but overall this move will probably be the most executed for anyone who picks up the game.

The next move is a brand new one to the series, and that is the ability for Donkey Kong to blow flowers and other objects to show hidden items and bananas as well as weaken certain enemies. This performs exactly as it sounds was a great new addition to the list of many new features. DK also has his classic roll attack back which is used about the same as well finishing out his hugely revamped ability list.

I could not honestly even type up this review though without mentioning the difficulty though. At times it is a breeze to go through certain levels and stomp enemies into the ground without problem. The thing is though is that the game is much more brutal in many of the later stages in particular and will test even the toughest and most polished of player to the max. This isn’t the “chuck your WiiMote in frustration” kind of difficulty though. Donkey Kong Country Returns has many areas where you must properly think ahead before just running straight through as if you don’t, you will be seeing the game over screen a lot. Coming up with strategy to beat each level and taking your time makes the game much easier to immerse yourself into each level. This non-hand holding technique is refreshing the whole way through and also makes completing each level more rewarding upon completion.

What makes the difficulty high in some areas is a very thought out level design. Not one time does a level feel the same, as each usually had a different way to play from the next. Along with the standard platform fare are new twists on the mine-cart levels from the original title, sliding fast down hillsides, blasting through the air in barrels as well as piloting a rocket barrel and many more methods, each one of these performed smoothly throughout the experience and like most of the game, relied on precise timing and thought to perform effectively. Add in the many enemies with different methods of defeat as well as DK and Diddy’s enhanced move pool and you have a very in-depth gameplay system. Rambi the Rhino also makes his return with the ability to plow through enemies, walls, and spikes at the blink of an eye and is used throughout the game as the only animal buddy available. If you are already missing Winky and Expresso while reading this, fret not as Rambi honestly is all that really is needed in this game as there is already so much variation as it is I think those additions may have overdid it if they were to be included.

Each area has it’s own theme (such as Caves, Volcano, Forest & more) which plays out with the appropriate enemies and hazards. With five to eight stages followed by a boss battle in 8 fully booming worlds, there is a lot of content packed in this game. Each stage has different forms of completion. The first being to collect every puzzle piece hidden throughout the stage. This is no easy task as the puzzle pieces require some serious hunting at times and usually are in positions where you must make the perfect jump to reach or made available by playing and beating a bonus game. The KONG letters are also back and unlike the puzzle pieces, these are usually out in the open. Just because these are usually visible does not mean that is an easy feat to obtain all four though as placement can be brutal to grab, such as times when flying through a stage in a minecart, so a bit of trial and error can go a long way to grab all four letters by the end of a stage.

Each world also has Cranky in his shop in which he can supply you with help if you are having some trouble. Items such as balloons, banana juice which can turn you invincible, and even Squaks the Parrot who can point out puzzle pieces in stages as well as a couple other items can all be purchased using the banana coin currency found in each stage. One item at a time can be equipped before heading into a stage as well. I can’t tell you how many times I shopped with Cranky as every item is extremely useful in it’s own right depending on your desperate situation. If you are REALLY having trouble, after 8 deaths on a stage you can activate the “Super Guide” which summons Super Kong to finish each stage for you. This can take away from the rewarding experience in the game to me at least, so use this only if you feel extreme need. You can also not collect items or officially complete the level this is used on, so honestly consider this feature a SKIP function.

Boss battles come at the end of a stage and each boss is different from the previous one. I loved each design as the the game mixed up the usual formula of just jumping on the boss to death to giving each boss battle it’s own setup with different gameplay and strategies.

Of course it wouldn’t be Donkey Kong Country without some type of 2 Player mode, which is where two-player co-op comes in. The second player controls Diddy who has access to a pop-cap gun, different variation of the ground pound and of course the slight speed and jumping edge over Donkey Kong as well as the Jet-Pack I mentioned earlier and the classic cartwheel. While in co-op, players can also have Diddy jump on DK’s back and do a co-op roll as well. Considering this is drop-in, co-op adds a huge amount of value to players who want to go through the vast worlds with an extra player and performs just as sharp as the single player mode while adding that fun-factor of having a friend die right along with you if mistakes are made. Now if you are just dying for Diddy play, you can kill off DK and finish each level as the smaller Kong but this is more of an unofficial yet working way of using that option if you have the two WiiMotes.

After completing the game, it usually takes quite a bit of work to actually finish the game overall. In order to get the coveted 101% status, you can dive into Time Attack mode and try to get the best time on each stage as well as go back and get all letters and puzzle pieces you may have missed in the overall game. Each stage also has a “Shiny Gold” status which is tough to obtain but doing so can give unlimited bragging rights and once you reach this I cannot explain the level of accomplishment this feat truly has. I don’t think there is any way someone could purchase Donkey Kong Country Returns and ever feel a lack of content as the game is the most complex and rewarding gameplay experience the series as a whole has had to offer.

Graphics/Audio
Each world as I mentioned is an experience all it’s own. With detailed and vibrant and colorful 3D designs, many will be having a nostalgic rush for the familiar feel of the stages and with all of these being fully updated and crisp, the experience feels modern the whole way through. Donkey Kong and Diddy have never looked better as well and are fully detailed down to the trademark Red tie and hat. Enemies are also cleverly designed and fit perfectly within each world and provide a lot of balance and contrast to the particular level played, allowing their personalities to consume areas and pulling in the player’s focus to the obstacles at hand.

In a brilliant move, a good portion of the music from Donkey Kong Country titles has been put into Donkey Kong Country Returns making the whole game start and finish with the complete feel of the beloved classic. Muting this game is almost a sin as the soundtrack is so nostalgic playing without sound would in my opinion take away from a full experience. As far as sound effects go, Donkey Kong sounds like his usual self for the most part, but this has also been updated with a bit more realistic sound bytes. Diddy did sound a bit off to me though, as if the pitch was a bit to high, but this didn’t effect my opinion really whatsoever as it is just too minor of a thing to really worry about when so much other nop-notch audio is being used.

Overall
It can be quite an accomplishment to revive an entire series with just one title, but that is what exactly what Retro did with Donkey Kong Country Returns. The updated graphics along with the remastered music from the classic games really made the game feel modern yet it stayed true to the originals. The control scheme was updated perfectly for the Nintendo Wii as well and added “just enough” motion controls to modernize the gameplay.

In a way, think of Donkey Kong Country Returns as a gift to those who grew up with the series. The difficulty may be insane at points, but there was never one time where I wanted to give up as each stage completed feels rewarding and kept me going all the way through. Add in the simple yet effective story and the new roster of imaginative characters and this may be one of the best platformers in years. Retro Studios took what made us all love the big gorilla to start with and improved it in almost every way making Donkey Kong Country Returns not just a great game, but a title that is sure to go down as the rebirth of the franchise.

I Give Donkey Kong Country Returns:
9-5-capsules-out-of-10

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