DONKEY KONG 64 - VOTE FOR THIS FREAKING SITE AND SHOW ME YOU LIKE THIS SITE! VOTE IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER! - Athletic Organizations - http://maxpages.com/thebigshow2000/DONKEY_KONG

Probably the most-hyped game of E3 is
Rare's long-awaited 64-bit sequel, the
next line in Nintendo's beloved
Ape-based franchise, Donkey Kong
64. This is truly Rare's latest masterpiece
and E3-goers have finally gotten a chance
to have a go with the game, which is
conveniently set up across a multitude of
game-kiosks located at Nintendo's
booth. Of course, IGN64 played the
game at length earlier this morning and
we can confirm that it does indeed take
the 3D platformer genre to new heights,
and we mean that quite literally.

Donkey Kong 64 is the product of
testing, tweaking and refining. It is a title
that takes Rare's previously released
genres and smashes them all together into
one gargantuan game. DK64 plays very
similarly to Banjo-Kazooie in most
respects - it is, at its core, a 3D
platformer after all. However, the game
also features a significant number of
mini-levels with completely different
goals, environments and engines. For
example, one stage sees players racing
through colored tunnels in a style similar
to that in Diddy Kong Racing while

some scenes in particular require gamers
to take on a first-person view to shoot
down enemies. Still other portions of the
game have players flying through barrels.
It's all very Rare-like and recognizable.

Features

Requires the 4MB Expansion Pak
to run; Uses the device for
enhanced visuals.
Tons of gameplay puzzles.
A variety of weapons and
power-up items.
Multiple gameplay modes: ride
mine carts, race boats, fire
characters out of barrels, etc., etc.
Multiplayer deathmatch mode.

Donkey Kong 64 opens up to Kong and
friends busting out a rap tune. This odd
little show, featuring digitized voices and
lively rap beats, goes on for a little more

than four minutes. It's a bit disturbing,
really. But once the title begins, players
immediately catch a feel for the sheer
depth and scope of DK64. The game is
absolutely huge and it's just as smooth.
This is made possible with the required
use of the 4MB Expansion Pak. Donkey
Kong and friends absolutely won't run
without it. Luckily, when the game ships
November 22, the extra RAM will come
packaged with it. The Pak is used to expand the depth of visibility in the
game and not for higher resolutions. The 4MBs also work to smoothen
out framerates, even in wide-open, detailed levels that stretch forever.
Rare has also utilized the Expansion Pak for loads and loads of lighting
effects. Nearly every stage is filled with colored lighting that changes
shades and even affects the shadows of characters.

Monkeying Around
Players control five different characters throughout the game: Donkey,
Tiny, Diddy, Lanky and Chunky Kong. Of course, each personality
features his or her own unique attributes, be it strengths or weaknesses.
Donkey Kong, for example, is extraordinarily strong, while Tiny's flowing

pigtails double as helicopter blades. The kicker is that, during the course
of the game, players will need to take control of all the above characters
in order to advance. According to Nintendo, it all works something like
this: Controlling Donkey Kong, players make it to, say, level three, and
find that no matter what they do, they simply can't jump to a ledge high
above. The idea is to backtrack and find one of the other characters,
take control of them and then navigate back through the levels to the
same ledge and, theoretically, lower it, or unlock other gateways. But
Rare has evidently figured a way around making this process completely
tedious and repetitive with unique level missions for each character.
Some tasks can only be accomplished with Diddy Kong, while others
require Tiny's size to do the trick - so on and do so forth. Because of
this, particular areas of each level remain locked until the correct
character is selected and going through the same level multiple times still
delivers a fresh, original experience - which no doubt works wonders to
extend the game's life.

Characters are manipulated using a very Banjo-Kazooie-like setup. A
and B buttons act as jump and attack, while Z works in conjunction with
both for stomps, slides, backflips and bashes. The camera buttons are
identical to that used for Rare's beard-bird duo. The animation routines in
Donkey Kong are certainly some of Rare' s best. Some of the apes walk
on their hands (in exactly the same way and speed that Kazooie moves),
while others flip through the air or pound on the ground. Everything flows
seamlessly with top fluidity and smoothness. It really looks spectacular.

Donkey Kong 64 features a four-player deathmatch mode in which
players can go head-to-head against one-another playing as one of the
five selectable apes. IGN64 has not yet had a chance to fully explore this

mode, but we do know that the title will not feature cooperative play as
seen in Jet Force Gemini.

Outlook: Donkey Kong 64 is going to be big. There is really no point in
posting an outlook for this game, as we all know it's going to absolutely
sell like crazy. Nintendo knows it and it will be supporting the game with
its biggest marketing budget ever. The great news, though, is that DK64
actually makes good on the hype surrounding it. With huge, highly
detailed worlds, wonderful animation, tons of levels and mini-games and
a polished feel that seems to borrow ideas and genres from all of Rare's
previous efforts, Donkey Kong 64 has it all. And, looking at the title's
many options and overall look, it doesn't seem all that crazy anymore to
believe that Banjo-Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing were mere tests
leading up to this product.

By the way, thank you Rare and Nintendo for embracing the 4MBs and
proving that the extra RAM can be utilized for more than pretty
high-resolution modes and choppy framerates.

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Page Updated Tue Jun 15, 1999 9:09pm EDT