Dammit, Nintendo…

From Wired Game|Life’s hands-on with the “Play It on Wii Selection” version of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat:

I liked it a lot when it was an innovative platform game played with a drum controller. Now that it’s a more straightforward game — you move Donkey Kong with the control stick, jump with the A button, and shake to attack — it’s less novel an experience. And no, even though Wii has GameCube ports, you can’t just plug in your bongo controller.

Would it really have been that hard to have it both ways? Considering the disc must be twice as big, I’m quite sure space wouldn’t have been an issue.

I already own Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the GameCube. I fell in love with it the day before I got my Wii, thanks to a demo at the Nintendo World Store. They were all out, but I made sure I got a copy. Not that this is even announced for the US yet, but if it is, I may have to actually stop and think about getting it. More levels and changing things up is nice, but I’d rather play an extended version of the game I fell in love with.

Apparently, it looks good in 16:9, and it runs a bit easier with the Wii controls, but I just don’t know. If it were released at a Player’s Choice $20 mark, it would be much more of an impulse buy, but I don’t see it happening. But again, I guess I’m getting ahead of myself, as there’s no release announced for the US yet.

If you want to see some more footage of the game in action, IGN has some gorgeous videos, as does WiiFolder.

But if you’ve never played Donkey Kong Jungle Beat before, I highly recommend giving it a look, especially if you liked what you saw in Super Mario Galaxy; since this was made by the same team, you might find a similar charm or quality about it.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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