Donkey Kong Country Returns is an excellent platformer that I would recommend for just about anyone who owns a Wii.
Game play, 9. Like most platformers you have to get to the end of the level. Pretty simple goal. This game doesn't deviate very much from the old games. Which is a good thing. There are eight worlds, and at the end of each one is a boss fight. The level designs are much more difficult than that of your average platformer. When you complete a level you can play it again on Time Attack.
One of the best things about DKCR is the abundance of secrets. In each level there are four plainly placed letters that spell "KONG". Most of the time it's about figuring out how to get the letters while not dying then it is about looking hard and paying attention to subtle details in the level. Then there's the puzzle pieces which are hidden. Some levels will only have five, some will have nine. Now there needs to be incentive to go to the trouble of finding these secrets right? Well there is. If you get all the KONG letters in each level in a world a secret level will appear on the world map. As for the puzzle pieces, they simply unlock images in the gallery.
DKCR plays very well. This is just the game hardcore platformer players have been waiting for. This is definitely one of the more difficult 2D platformers on the market. It's challenging enough for fans of the classic SNES games, and accessible enough for those who are newer to this genre. If you find this game too hard there's a shop in each world that allows you to use your bananas to buy balloons (lives), temporary invincibility, an extra life point, and a parrot that tells you when you're nearby a secret.
The only problem I had with DKCR's game play was the way 1ups respawned every time I died. As hard as level's were designed it doesn't do much good when you essentially have unlimited lives. Only once was I ever in real danger of getting a game over. Some may find that nit picky but I think that design flaw seriously hampers the hardness of this game.
Presentation, 9. The graphics are pretty nice; they're not the best on the system but the game still looks very nice. This game really does feel like a current gen version of Donkey Kong Country.
The sound track is great. Full of original music and remixes of old tracks alike.
Value, 9. Your first run through the game should take you about twenty hours. But why would you stop after simply beating the game the first time? There's so much more to do. Getting all the KONG letters to see the reward at the end is worth it and even getting the puzzle pieces is fun simply because of how hard they are to find.
PROS:
Classic series brought back to life
Charming
Challenging
CONS:
Constant 1ups diminish the challenge of the game
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game I would recommend to any platformer fan. It has everything a platformer fan could want: Fun, challenge, and length.