Donkey Kong (NES/Atari)

[Falco Girgis]

Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 7.5
Replay: 9.0
Gameplay: 9.0

Review: Donkey was basically the beginning of video gaming. Sure, pong was around for a decade. But PONG? Uhhh... no. So Donkey Kong (with Pac-Man) ruled the arcade. As its popularity grew, it was recreated for home gaming systems. It really doesn't seem like much for the newer gamers. But people like my mom will always have a special place for this game in her heart.

Graphics were good. Nah, they were pretty good. Pac man had lines. This game had tiles. They were great even if they weren't very detailed. Most of the levels had the same tiles, but you didn't really get tired of them because of the way that they were arranged.

Sound was uhhhh... good if you are about 30 years old. Probably not for us. Primitive jumping and beepy type sounds were featured by this game. It wasn't that bad unless you are a fanatic who plays this game constantly. The repeating effects and melodies would fry your brain out.

I really don't see how this gameplay was so revolutionary. Sure it was fun, but got boring after beating it once. The game only had 3 levels! You are Mario. You climb all of the ladders and dodge obstacles until you reach Donkey Kong who has Pauline. Then you move on to the next round. After level 3, you win the game. There were hammers that let you smash those annoying barrels. But you couldn't jump if you had it. In my opinion, the most annoying part of the game is how you die if Mario falls two inches. I could land a drop larger than that and not die.

Donkey Kong is fun for everybody. You won't LOVE it unless you are over thirty. If you see this game in the store, buy it if you are a collector. If you see this game in the arcade, hey, knock yourself out!