GAMES 'Donkey Konga' will be party hit
It could have been better, but it's still a lot of fun.
By VICTOR GODINEZ
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Nintendo doesn't always make the most technologically advanced games, but it does produce some of the most innovative.
Which is what it has done with its latest GameCube title, "Donkey Konga" ($49; suitable for all ages).
This musical game comes with a pair of bongos in the box, and you have to bang the drums in time with the rhythm of the music on the game disc.
Like a lot of Nintendo's party games, it's a simple concept, but that doesn't mean it's easy to beat.
If you start at the "monkey" difficulty level, things are pretty straightforward.
Bang on the left drum when the yellow icon scrolls past, the right drum when you see the red one, pound them both when the pink icon rolls by and clap when the little blue starburst appears.
No, Nintendo isn't making you clap to look like an idiot. There's a tiny microphone between the two bongos that can "hear" your clapping.
Good tunes
There's some pretty good music on the disc, including pop tunes such as "Louie, Louie" and classic Nintendo songs such as the Mario Brothers anthem. You collect coins for each beat that you hit, and you can spend the coins to unlock mini-games, special sounds and other goodies.
As you ramp up the difficulty level, you have to keep up with faster beats until you're eventually banging or clapping for every note in the song.
Although "Donkey Konga" comes with a pair of bongos, Nintendo is also selling the bongos separately. You can have up to four players.
This game is a blast and should be a hit at parties.
It would have been nice if Nintendo had made the bongos wireless, like its Wavebird controller, so you could spread out across the room, especially when you have a bunch of players.
And having an online component to download new songs or even play against other humans would have been great, but Nintendo let that boat sail a long time ago.
Still, "Donkey Konga" is a fun, well-designed game that should delight kids or anyone looking to liven up their next party.