Donkey Konga 2 [GC]

Longtime Nintendo icon Donkey Kong and friends are back, in a sequel to what was probably the most novel and fun rhythm game since the legendary Samba de Amigo. Quick to learn, Donkey Konga 2 isn't the kind of game you'll be playing this time next year, and has some significant soundtrack shortcomings -- but it's still one of the better ways to entertain a room full of friends.

Donkey Konga's drum controller is the heart of the game. If you haven't seen one, it's a simple affair: there are two plastic bongo drums, joined with a short plastic rod that conceals a microphone for detecting handclaps, and a single start button. It's the perfect size to nestle in your lap, and is sensitive enough to respond to light taps -- hammering the thing just earns you sore hands.

Leaving aside the whole "how does a monkey get hold of bongo drums anyway" issue, Donkey Konga's gameplay is simple. Music plays -- you follow visual cues to drum along in what resembles the song's rhythm.

These visual cues scroll from right to left across the screen, and change color depending on whether you're supposed to tap one drum, both at once, or clap your hands. Sometimes the symbol is spread out over a larger distance -- this represents a drum roll rather than a simple hit.

If you can take your eyes off the "music" for a moment, you'll be able to watch Donkey Kong, or one of his friends, drumming along with you in the corner of the screen. Various backdrops, visual effects, and other icons pop up from time to time -- although you probably won't notice them yourself, spectators will probably appreciate the extra effort. Play well, and you'll earn coins that can be used to unlock higher difficulty levels, buy new sound effects, or enter minigames.

For once, these minigames actually work quite well. One particular favorite harks back to a game we played in our grade-school music classes -- a short bongo phrase plays and you have to repeat it several times while holding the rhythm. Unforgiving with mistakes, it could probably make a reasonable job of developing a novice musician's sense of timing. Nice to see a little effort at musical education mixed in with the fun -- even if it is accidental, playing this challenging mode ought to develop your skills.

But it's in the all-important area of soundtrack choices where Donkey Konga 2 falls behind its predecessor. Of course, finding a new selection of songs must have been tricky, as the first Konga game features the obvious choice of plenty of Nintendo themes, and repeating them would hardly be a good way to sell the game to fans.

Instead, it takes a much more modern -- and risky -- approach. The MTV-friendly soundtrack includes songs from bands and artists like Good Charlotte, Incubus, and Usher, as well as a handful of arrangements of familiar classical tunes and a couple of original compositions. Musical taste is about as subjective as it gets, and although most listeners should find something on here to make them smile, it's fair to say that Nintendo is targeting a particular type of listener with this collection.

So here's the million-dollar question -- can you really see yourself playing the bongos to REM's Losing My Religion? A worrying number of Donkey Konga 2's tracks just don't fit the game. Why would you make a bongo-drumming version of Staind's It's Been a While? What possessed the developers to think such a restricted soundtrack was a good idea?

But get a room full of friends, and a corresponding number of bongo sets (up to four are supported), and many of the game's shortcomings vanish. Like any rhythm game, it's perfect for group play -- many game modes allow duets or jam sessions with multiple players, or head-to-head contests on the minigames. Even after you've run out of the track selection, you'll still find things to keep you entertained.

Of course, much about the soundtrack comes down to your own personal taste. Perhaps you'll like Donkey Konga 2's selection of tunes more than the original's -- but even if you do, the bongos just don't fit well with a good number of the songs. This game is a brave try, but most players will regard it as a step backwards from the previous game.