SweetPaul Entertainment » Donkey Kong Country http://www.sweetpaul.com Movies, Video Games, Music and More Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:14:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 E3 2010: Nintendo News http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2010-nintendo-news-part-1/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2010-nintendo-news-part-1/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:17:18 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=1147 This week was Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3. The announcements that were made completely topped last year’s show and puts Nintendo on top as the definite winner of this year’s E3.  Last year I was a bit disappointed even though I was pleased by what was announced.  I was hoping for three properties to be announced that weren’t.  This year, those three properties were all accounted for: Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus and Zelda!

This year’s list is ridiculously long.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much Nintendo has just blown my mind.  While looking into the games that I wanted to write about, I found more games that Nintendo has announced at E3.

Wii – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

Donkey Kong Country Returns – I’ve been hoping for this game and it was one of the many surprises of the show.  I’m excited to finally have a true sequel to the DKC Trilogy of games that I love so much.

Epic Mickey – I’m more excited about this game now knowing the premise of it.  It looks like a unique platform game that will capture imaginations.  You are Mickey Mouse and you carry a paint brush that allows you to control the environment.  Whatever your gaming style is, it has an effect on the outcome of the game and how characters within the game react to you as you go.

GoldenEye 007 – Wow.  A complete re-build of the classic N64 shooter that changed first-person shooter games forever.  It’s effects on the gaming industry are still felt and this game should recapture the feel of the original.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn – A truly unique take on the Kirby franchise.  Looks really fun and stylistic.  Everything seems to be made from yarn in this adventure, and it gives the game an original look that is unlike anything I have seen before.  Kirby still has his classic moves with some new ones.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This will be out sometime in 2011 now, as development is scheduled to continue through the end of the year.  It’s going to use Wii Motion Plus and it’s going to be another great Epic Zelda game!

Mario Sports Mix – Mario characters playing Volleyball, Basketball, Dodgeball and Hockey.  You can even collect items to use against each other, kind of like Mario Kart.  This is a very exciting sounding game, though Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the DS was very difficult and frustrating.  I think having Mario Basketball on Wii will make a big difference.  I just hope the A.I. of your teammates is actually intelligent.

Metroid: Other M – This was announced at last year’s E3 show, and now it’s very close to release.  I’m looking forward to playing this one.  It’s going to be in the style of Super Metroid from the SNES with a dash of Metroid Prime from GameCube and Wii.

NBA Jam – I loved playing this on the Super NES back in the day, and now it’s back!  Boom-shaka-laka!

PokéPark Wii Pikachu’s Adventure – This one’s for Courtney.  Looks fun, though.  It’s an adventure set in a Pokemon Park that features attractions and Pokemon.  Pikachu was summoned by Mew to find missing Sky Prism Pieces to save the day.

Wii Party – Party games, horseback riding, etc.  All with your Mii.  This one features 13 different party game modes and over seventy different minigames.  It seems to have a variety of unique games that will make it fun to play with your friends.  Hopefully it becomes a staple of a game night for family and friends.

3DS – Top 10 Games at E3 2010, in no particular order

It’s 3D – without glasses – holy crap!

Animal Crossing
Batman
Kid Icarus: Uprising – I was hoping for this game to be announced last E3 and was surprised that it was announced this time around.  Looking forward to it!
Kingdom Hearts
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – While I feel Twilight Princess is the best Zelda game ever, many feel Ocarina of Time is.  This will be huge.
Mario Kart – Awesome, this is going to be great fun to play in 3D!
Nintendogs 3D
Paper Mario
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final) – I believe this is the 4th in the series of addictive puzzlers.
StarFox 64 3D

DS

Ōkamiden – The sequel to Okami for Wii, it looks interesting if not different.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future – Likely the 3rd in the series of addictive puzzlers.

As you can see from the list above, Nintendo has really made quite an impression this year.  The length of the list of great properties that are coming out is enough to last me for years of gaming at the speed that I currently play video games, and this is if no sequel to Ghostbusters: The Video Game is announced.

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]]> http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2010-nintendo-news-part-1/feed/ 0 Donkey Kong Country Returns! Coming to Wii, a true sequel! http://www.sweetpaul.com/donkey-kong-country-returns-coming-to-wii-a-true-sequel/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/donkey-kong-country-returns-coming-to-wii-a-true-sequel/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:20:34 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=1142 A couple of years ago I wrote an article called “Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, My Dream Game” never thinking that it would actually happen.  Nor that a true sequel would actually happen.  But this week I have been given an amazing gift from Nintendo.  They announced a new DKC game at E3!  This wasn’t the only game that surprised me at this E3 and I’ll be writing my response to a bunch of the games that Nintendo announced like I did last year.

This game, however, is enough for me to feel that Nintendo has won this years E3 Expo.  I know that this is a selfish reason, though.  I’m completely pumped about the game and look forward to jumping back into the DKC world when the game comes out this fall.  The original is my all time favorite video game, and I loved the sequels as well.  I just never dreamed that I would see another one so soon.

Controlled by a group of evil Tikis, the animals in Donkey Kong Island have raided Donkey Kong’s Banana Hoard and stolen his stash of bananas – and he understandably wants them back. Retro Studios brings Donkey Kong™ back in a new side-scrolling adventure with familiar characters and new levels that reignite the passion players had for the Super NES™ original.

Features:

  • Retro Studios faithfully restores everything that made the original series great, from barrel cannons to mine carts, and then builds on those elements with stunning graphics and new layers of depth to the world and game play. The game offers the traditional side-scrolling experience everyone loved, but with levels created in fully rendered 3-D environments.
  • Diddy Kong™ joins the quest. With his trusty backpack, he can produce a jet pack or Peanut Pop Guns to give Donkey Kong more abilities.
  • For the first time ever, the franchise features the ability for two people to play together at the same time (additional accessories required and are sold separately) – one as Donkey Kong, one as Diddy Kong. Players can navigate the levels separately or as one unit. Diddy Kong can ride on Donkey Kong’s back and hop off whenever he pleases, allowing novice players to ride on Donkey Kong’s back through more challenging areas of the game.
  • Hidden items, puzzle pieces and other surprises are found all through the jungle. Spell out K-O-N-G by the end of each level to earn an extra bonus.
  • Motion controls give players a real feeling of control. Players move Donkey Kong using the Control Stick on the Nunchuk™ controller and can shake the Wii Remote™ controller to make Donkey Kong slap the ground.
  • Vibrant colors, beautiful graphics and fun characters draw players in. Even people who have never played a Donkey Kong game before can pick up a controller and start collecting loads of bananas.
  • Every level offers new fun and new challenges. Sometimes Donkey Kong is running through the jungle, sometimes his action takes place on a tropical beach and other times he must become a master of timing as he jumps chasms in a mine cart.

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]]> http://www.sweetpaul.com/donkey-kong-country-returns-coming-to-wii-a-true-sequel/feed/ 1 E3 2009: Nintendo News (Part 1) http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2009-nintendo-news-part-1/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2009-nintendo-news-part-1/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:04:03 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=780 Anybody that knows me at all knows that I’m a pretty big fan of video games. I have played video games since the old Atari and NES. This gives me a perspective on games that I don’t see very often.

Today was Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3. The announcements that were made were not at all bad, though presentation could have been better, the products speak for themselves. I’m just upset about the omission of three properties that I’d love to see make a comeback on Wii.

Nintendo Channel on Wii has also been updated to include trailers for the games they debuted at E3.

We’ll start with the surprises. All three are games that I now plan to get, and have added to my radar to acquire as soon as they are available.

Surprises that I now want to have:

New Super Mario Bros. WiiNew Super Mario Bros. Wii

I love the first New Super Mario Bros. on DS, and with that game being a top seller, expected to hear about New Super Mario Bros. 2 for DS at this year’s E3. What I did not expect was to see another entry in the series appear on the Wii. And it’s four players – SIMULTANEOUSLY! Not only that, but it is scheduled to come out by the end of this year, as they said Holiday 2009.

Seeing as the rumored new Mario game had just been announced, I didn’t see this announcement coming, and was slightly disappointed, even though I didn’t really expect it to be announced. And then it happened:

Super Mario Galaxy 2Super Mario Galaxy 2

You’ve got to be kidding me! This has me extremely excited. When I finished Super Mario Galaxy, I already wanted more adventure in the universe that Nintendo created with that game. Even with the pain and frustration that sometimes came with the challenges presented by the game, I wanted more. And more is exactly what we’re getting. This time, Yoshi is invited along on the adventure, as you can ride him around. It’s going to bring new gameplay elements into the fun adventure that I gave a 10 out of 10. I look forward to playing through the first adventure again, as well as the all new adventure, coming in 2010.

Metroid: Other MMetroid: Other M

I had heard rumor of the Metroid series returning to the style of play that it began with, with the first person perspective going away. This is that game. With Metroid Prime Trilogy being released later this year on Wii, you could say that is Retro Studios final Metroid game. What they’re working on now is a mystery at this point.

The trailer for Metroid: Other M starts out with the identity of the game being a mystery, until finally Zero Suit Samus appears and then puts on the suit. Not to mention the fact that she talks as well. This game looks incredible, and it, too, is due out in 2010.

Other games that they announced that I want

Wii Sports Resort with Wii Motion PlusWii Sports Resort

This looks better than when they first announced it. With a really wide variety of mini-games to play, including Table Tennis, a Swordplay game, Archery, More golf, Basketball, Water Skiing, Kayaking, Frisbee throwing, 3-point contests and more. I was very surprised by the number of different games available to play.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical BoxProfessor Layton and the Diabolical Box

This is for the DS, and it’s the second game in the Professor Layton series. I’ve been having a great time playing the first game in the series, and look forward to this one as well. It’s utterly addictive and fun. This wasn’t announced during the press conference, but looks great.

I hear this game comes out as soon as August of this year.

Properties that are mysteriously missing

Donkey Kong – As I’ve written about, I want a true Donkey Kong Country 4. They can call it New Donkey Kong Country for all I care. I want it.

Kid Icarus – Pit appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is a terrific character. Let’s see him return in a new franchise that becomes classic!

Zelda – Twilight Princess doesn’t really count, Nintendo. Let’s see a new Zelda made for the Wii from the start! And let’s see it come out on the Wii and not Wii 2.

All in all, though, a great E3 for Nintendo. Microsoft has enthralled the world with it’s controller free motion device, but to play a game like Super Mario Galaxy, no amount of hands free control will give you the added benefit of having a control stick and some buttons. People like to have tactile feedback.

As for Sony, the one game that they have a trailer for that I wouldn’t mind playing is one that is exclusive to the PS3. Sad. It’s called The Last Guardian.

But then Sony, again, tries to claim to be the first with technology that Nintendo invented. Really, Sony? Motion controller? In 2010?  With 1 to 1 controls? Sounds a lot like you’ve been in a cave somewhere, while Nintendo announced Wii Motion Plus. Seriously. Get with the program.

There was one other Nintendo announcement that I just wanted to comment on: Wii Vitality Sensor.

The Wii Vitality Sensor could add more depth to games like Resident Evil and Call of Duty. Imagine a game where you do a whole bunch of stuff, and then you get caught and have to use it when doing a lie detector test. There are many many possibilities for this that people aren’t really thinking about. Thinking outside of the box with this device is very important.

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]]> http://www.sweetpaul.com/e3-2009-nintendo-news-part-1/feed/ 0 Donkey Kong Country Trilogy, My Dream Game http://www.sweetpaul.com/donkey-kong-country-trilogy-my-dream-game/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/donkey-kong-country-trilogy-my-dream-game/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:18:37 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=424 I’m a big fan of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy of games. If anyone asked me what my favorite game is, I’ll say Donkey Kong Country. The level design and game play are both fun and the music is fantastic. Donkey Kong 64 was a sequel, sure, but it wasn’t ever Donkey Kong Country 4 to me.

I would love it if they released an “All-stars” version of the game series, much like Super Mario All-Stars. I’d update the already superb graphics of the original games to be cleaner and more refined, and I would add full motion videos to tell the story that sets each game in motion, only allowing you to play each sequel as you complete the last.

I would then culminate the adventures with a brand new DKC4, in the style of the original trilogy of games.

When it comes to the music in the games, I really liked most of the music in the DKC series, enough to own the soundtracks to them. But when putting together an All-Stars game, I would re-produce the music to have a solid, epic soundtrack. I would take only the best music from all three games and leave out the rest, either re-scoring those tracks to fit in with the beautiful score that is left over, or simply replacing it with music from another game. Case in point: Lakeside Limbo, the first stage of the game.

I would actually love the best music to be fully orchestrated, with a choir to provide added flair.

Another thing that I would do with the games, as it would all be connected, is allow for you to go back through the original games and use any of the playable characters into each of the games. But only after completing the first three DKC games. This would open up a new timing system, as it could lend itself to more secret areas becoming accessible in different areas, with the use of different characters. However, this is something that I would only add, if the first time through the game was still the same, and your time for that game wasn’t effected. I would have any extra time spent, with new bonus levels, be added to a “global time” and not an “individual game time” to keep players happy.

One thing that the Game Boy Advanced versions of the games did was to add new items to collect, such as a camera, to put together photo albums. That was a neat addition, but it was a little bit shocking to see how much it would slow down your time toward the complete percentage when finishing the games. That, I would change into a secondary, over worldly thing, in order to preserve the original gameplay from the SNES editions.

Next, for Donkey Kong Country 4, I would design the game with the same flair as the first one, and elements of DKC2 and DKC3. It would be an epic game with fun, new level-types, as well as familiar level styles.

And that would only be the Donkey Kong Country All-Stars portion. I would also allow you to scroll on, past the first 4 games, into the next collection of updated games. Donkey Kong Land, completely re-done, in the Donkey Kong Country style, with the same beautiful graphics, music and tightened controls to match those of the DKC series. That first DKL was insanely difficult at times, and frustrating at other times, as the screen would blur and you’d lose track of your character. It made things difficult when you’d press a button expecting one thing, but your character wouldn’t respond as quickly, presumably because of the limitations of the Game Boy.

In this way, Donkey Kong Land would become a playable game, and would be a solid entry into the Donkey Kong Country pantheon of games.

I’ve wanted this in a game for over 10 years now, and I finally decided to write something about it.

Now, Nintendo is doing something interesting by re-releasing some of their GameCube titles on Wii with updated control schemes. They are calling it the “Play it on Wii” series. Among the titles getting upgrades are Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin 1 and 2, Chibi-Robo and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has been updated, adding new levels, a better control mechanism than the kongas from Donkey Konga, and is now more platform based. Hopefully this makes it more like Donkey Kong Country than it originally was. I never got a chance to play it, but now I’m hoping that this version of it releases in North America, if it is anything like Donkey Kong Country.

Perhaps it could be the first step toward my dream of seeing a Donkey Kong Country Trilogy released some day.

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