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Donkey Kong Country Returns Boxart

Donkey Kong Country Returns

Platform: Nintendo Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Retro Studios
PEGI Rating: 7+
Players local: 2
Genre(s): Platform, Side Scrolling

Donkey Kong Country Returns Review (Wii)

Monkeying around is not an option

Monday 17th January, 2011

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Recommended for ages 6 and up
Donkey Kong Country Returns is rated a 3+ by PEGI, and that's a rating we'd agree with in terms of content - although we are surprised it wasn't given a 7+ due to containing cartoon monkeys jumping on crabs' heads.
The main rules of Donkey Kong Country Returns are persistance and patience, as throughout your child's adventure, there'll likely be plenty of times they feel like giving up and throwing in the towel, but through persistance and hard work, they'll see it through - which is a valuable life lesson for anyone.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game that's been designed for co-op play as a family unit (or a couple), but strangely, seems to punish you for doing so. But although you'll lose lives at double the rate you would in single player, even though you begin with the same amount, there's something special about Donkey Kong's co-op mode. Perfect for parents playing with younger children, who can encourage them to hop up onto Donkey Kong's back to get past tricky stages (and they can still fire bananas at things by shaking the Wii Remote), it's been designed to take the stress out of the trickier platforming segments - and it work really well. If it wasn't so daft about the lives, it'd almost be perfect.
Donkey Kong Country Returns - Nintendo Wii Review

Positives

  • Massively varied levels.
  • Well hidden collectibles keep you hunting.
  • Diddy can climb on Donkey Kong's back for the harder parts.

Negatives

  • Too hard for newcomers to the series, with no difficulty settings.
  • Co-op actually makes the game harder, not easier.
  • Motion controls can be awkward.
Everybody Plays Score Divide
6 and up
Recommended for
For more information, please see the parental perspective
7/10
Controls
Holding the Wii Remote sideways, and using the +Control Pad to move, and 2 to jump, the controls are mostly straightforward - it's just the motion control elements that are hard.
5/10
Learning Curve
It starts off fairly easy, but gets very, very hard, very quickly, and with no adjustable difficulty level, and a co-op mode that practically drains live, it's not the most accessible game in the world.
Overall
On like Donkey Kong
8/10
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