Games, games, and more games! part 4

Hello guys, DarkdaemonPK2 here. What’s the ideal thing to do on a Friday night in order to remove all the stress you have accumulated throughout the week in order to feel recharged? Play video games, what else? Enjoy the bevy of games I have on my list while you sit on your couch all snug and comfy. Caution: primates galore!

1. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
Oh no! Donkey Kong had been ape-napped by the evil Captain K. Rool and his band of swashbuckling Kremling pirates and are demanding the Kong clan to pay them the Banana Hoard as ransom. Enter Diddy Kong, Donkey’s partner from DKC 1, alongside his girlfriend Dixie Kong, who are off to rescue him as they trek the Kremling’s stronghold called Crocodile Isle. I generally like this compared to DKC 1 since this is the first game I played in the trilogy of Kong games on the SNES, which on my case, I played on the Super Famicom (SFC for short) which I borrowed from an acquaintance when I was in high school. Generally, this game is a huge improvement to it’s predecessor with better graphics, added game mechanics, difficulty which is challenging but not that impossible to beat, things to collect, and also the all important Kremling’s ‘Lost World’ which is a secret area you need to access and beat all the stages if you want to see the true ending to this game. If you haven’t played this game, I highly recommend you on playing this if you like action platformers in general. And yeah, pirates! Who doesn’t like seeing pirates on a video game?

2. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble
What happens when both the main characters from the previous games go M.I.A in a place called the ‘Northern Kremisphere?’ It means it’s time for Dixie to go all center stage to rescue the guys and bring them safely home! Accompanied by his baby cousin named Kiddy Kong, the duo leaves the comfort of Donkey Kong Island and all the way to a far away land while battling new hoards of Kremlings spearheaded by the new head honcho called Baron K. Roolenstein. My first memories of this game is that it was played by a super rich acquaintance of mine during my younger days. Either way, I never played this game that much compared to DKC 2 even after I got it on the Virtual Console on my New 3DS. I don’t know why, but something about this game is a bit off for me, but I guess it’s just my bias is in the works. Anyways, the graphics for this game is immensely superb, and Rare added exploration elements on the world map in which you can discover hidden paths just by searching the immediate surrounding. This game is also partly non-linear since you can tackle some levels in any order, although you need to back track in order to get specific items in order to access secret areas. I pledge to complete this game in the near future, but a clearing a few stages everyday will suffice for now.

3. Ape Escape 2
After overloading the transport with more monkey pants that it can handle, the primates in Monkey Park revolted and set their eyes for total world domination led by the villain of the previous game named Specter. It’s now up to Jimmy to ‘catch ’em all’ ala Pokémon and send the monkeys back to the park to stop any more damage from happening. Ape Escape 2’s modus operandi is all about its innovative control scheme in which you take full control of the PS2 controller: the left analog controls your guy, the right analog controls, the shoulder button makes him jump, and the X, Square, Circle, and triangle button will be assigned for your gadgets that you can swap on the fly. And use those gadgets you must as efficiently as possible in order to get every last monkey that are scattered throughout the levels. I think the best feature that I and my sister enjoyed about this game are the mini games that can be unlocked once you collect enough coins. My favorites are Dance Monkey, Dance! which is a clone of Dance Dance Revolution, and Monkey Soccer in which you can play a surprisingly fun soccer game where you can use the captured monkeys as players, each with their distinct stats. Bottom line: this game will make you go bananas! Oh, and be gentle with the PS 2 controller when playing this game.

And that’s all the time I have for today. Have you played any of the games on my list? Any games you’re playing as of late? I’d love to read you comments! Until next time.