Publisher: Nintendo
Ages: six and up.
Parental
Advisory:
None
Daytrum Editor's Choice
At long last, there's a family game that everyone may play. Nintendo's entertaining Donkey Konga is an innovative rhythm game that relies on bongos as controllers. It's a title that will appeal to all family members, even coordination-challenged parents. And it's one of the best family games that we've seen.
Each DK Bongo controller, which resembles a real bongo drum, has a left and right drum. The on-screen musical action instructs players to tap one or both drums to the beat of a song or follow the beat with a clap of the hands, which is picked up by a built-in microphone. The better your rhythm, the higher your score. On screen, the game represents "hits" with colors, which are easy to learn, but becomes very challenging in its hardest modes.
Players get to thump their bongos to the beat of songs such as "What I Like About You," "Whip It," "All the Small Things" and more. The musical selections mostly fall into the categories of pop, kids songs and Nintendo themes. In the end, the game would be stronger if it presented a wider variety of music.
The title's single-player modes offer musical tests of skill that challenge players to earn coins and unlock special sound effects, such as barnyard animal noises, barking dogs or effects from classic Nintendo games. The best thing about the game is that people who've never before played a video game can instantly grasp Donkey Konga and have fun with it. Two can play in cooperative and competitive modes, and up to four may participate in musical bongo jam sessions. As a rhythm game, there's no violence or questionable elements.
We've often touted rhythm games such as Konami's Dance Dance Revolution on the PS2 as excellent family games. But among such titles, Donkey Konga offers the widest family appeal. We highly recommend it. And despite its bundled hardware bongos, Donkey Konga sells for only $49.99, which is what you would probably pay for any top notch game. (Additional bongos cost $29.99 each.)
10/14/04 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
