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Preview  Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
- By Lander Clinton


Today I tried the second DK game to use the bongos. Instead of a standard music game with a scrolling beat you have to play, hitting the bongos is how you control Donkey Kong in a platformer game.

Hit the right bongo to make him move right, left for left, together to jump, and clap your hands to make him do a context-sensitive move. In one example that uses all of that, I'm running down a mountain between two giant enemies. If I go too far to the right or left I get hit, and occasionally there are bananas in the air I have to jump for, except that they're in bubbles. So I have to keep a constant but medium-paced right drum going, if I go too fast I hit the left drum. Then I hit them both together to jump for a banana, and clap my hands to make DK clap and pop the bubble.

Clapping also inspires other characters to catch you in swinging levels or makes DK dodge a punch when you have to box another gorilla. Each drum is one of his arms. When you clap and dodge an attack, go nuts on the drums to fight back.

Donkey himself is sporting some nice fur effects. It is unknown whether clapping gives him the clap.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get Donkey Konga before, but DK: Jungle Beat seems really fun. The only downside, and this may be due to playing around other people playing the same game, was how hard I had to hit the drums to make them respond. Other people's claps can also affect the game, but clapping never does anything bad.

- 5.12.2004