System: X360, PS3, Wii, PS2, X, PC, GC, PSP, DS, GBA
Dev: Nintendo
Pub: Nintendo
Release: Nov 2006
Players: 1 - 2
Preview by Ryan

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

Beat those crazy bongos my large gorilla-esque friend. By Ryan Schultz

Proving that there is still some life left in their Gamecube console, Nintendo is giving us another reason to dust off our Donkey Konga drums.

The premise of the game has DK and the crew racing against their usual enemies, the Kremlings. You can race the baddies or challenge up to three of your friends across five different worlds, each one boasting aerial, ground, and water based tracks filled with obstacles and plenty of weapons.

DK Bongo Blast, a racing game from developer Paon, will utilize the often-neglected Bongo peripheral during races. By beating on the drums you can control your character to swoop up and down, bank side to side and launch attacks on others. Clapping causes your character to jump over obstacles and by holding down both bongos together will unleash a banana fueled dash. The game can also be played with a standard Gamecube controller, but wouldn’t you rather use a pain of bongos?

Judging from the screen shots, it would appear that there is relatively little going on in the stages. This is misleading though, as courses feature plenty of obstacles like jungle vents and a giant octopus, as well as weapons like bazookas and banana bombs.

The most promising feature of this unusual title so far seems to be it’s split screen multiplayer mode. Up to four people can partake in the racing action, and due to the nature of the control scheme, should result in some hilarity and possibly some bruised hands.

The game does feature some hiccups that need to be ironed out. At this point in development, the graphics are somewhat bare and simple, and the frame rate tends to suffer. Reports also indicate that the control scheme feels stiff at times and that the overall pace of the game is slow. With a Q4 release, hopefully Paon will be able to remedy these problems and ship a game worth of those DK bongos.

By Ryan Shultz
CCC Freelance Writer