Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

"A game that shouldn't have been ported"

I had never heard of this game when it was announced for the Cube or when it was announced for the Wii. I just noticed one day that it was out so I gave it rent. Is it worth playing though?

Graphically the game looks like it could still be from the Gamecube. Not really a big deal as most Wii games look that way but the lack of details and generic character designs really make the game boring to look at. The tracks themselves also lack any depth and it just seems to have the run of the mill level stereotypes.

The music is far from the stuff found in the original Diddy Kong Racing. It does have fitting music per the themes of the track but it's far from good. I don't remember if there was any voice work. Sound effects are very simplistic. Little chimes and grunts and that's about it.

This was original a game for the Cube and it was to be controller via the bongos. That was scrapped and it was ported to the Wii. Now try to imagine these horrible controls. To go you need to wobble the nun chuck and Wiimote up and down to gain speed. Then tilt the nun chuck left to turn left and the Wiimote to turn right. It's more of a shift to a different lane than a turn. To jump you need to move both controls up.

It doesn't sound bad in theory but the problem is that it isn't very responsive. Half the time you'll do something you're not wanting to. For a game that relies entirely on its controls it's a very bad thing to have some of the worst controls for any Wii game to date.

The game play is very basic. Race and try and get into first. This is made easier by collecting bananas as every 50 bananas you collect you gain a speed boost that you can use whenever you want. They are pretty much required to finish in 1st as the controls are against you most of the time.

There are some other modes to mess around with besides the main mode but to be honest I didn't bother. I just could not get past the badly done controls.

Granted, the game does have some multi player options but if you own the game and can't do well with the controls then I doubt anyone you know will be able to half way decent either.

It's a shame that they went with these controls rather than a straight forward control setup. It would have been a halfway decent game but due to the really bad controls the game is nearly unplayable. I'd recommend passing on this title and not even giving it a rent.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 2/10
Game Play - 5/10
Replay Value - 2/10

Final Score - 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/07

Game Release: Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (US, 10/08/07)