The comical enemies and joyful music will make this adventure an enjoyable one for kids and adults alike. Cartoonish totem monsters wobble around on fire forcing Donkey Kong to blow their fire out before doing the "Mario pounce," jumping on their head to defeat them. Pirate ships sail in the background firing cannons at Donkey Kong as he rides a jet powered barrel through levels as well. Then there are Jabberjaw-like sharks which leap up out of the water below. One will also encounter bosses that belch, waddle, bomb, shake, and race their way about, challenging your fighting skills.
With that said, you are not going to find anything new or groundbreaking about this game. As platformers go, the level design and controls are pretty much just what the ones were for the SNES original, the only motion control feature of the game seems to be shaking the controller to perform the ground pound maneuver. In the end then, what you have is a slightly updated version of a 15-year-old title. Fifty dollars is probably a bit much to be asking for a game that stays a bit too faithful to the original with little innovation.
Then again, if it ain’t broke, don't fix it! Fun is still fun and if this is a gift for the kids, they'll love it!
Donkey Kong Country Returns is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB.
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