 Review |
Diddy Kong Racing Rare pull one out of the bag.. |
Review |
Diddy Kong Racing Rare pull one out of the bag.. |
Game Information |
Nintendo
Quote: "Hours of top single player fun..." |
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Diddy Kong Racing basicly come from no-where
at the time of its release, this sometimes happens in the
gaming world and is usually down to the fact that the
game in question is not very good...however, DiddyKong
Racing was a game from non other then Rare, the company
who produced such gems as Golden Eye 007 and Banjo
Kazooie, and more recently Donkey Kong 64 and Jet Force
Gemini. This then, must be one of them rare occasions
where a game falls from the heavens, without any warning,
and is rather good..but then again, just because its made
by Rare, the gods of the gaming world, doesn't mean it
will be a gem...read on to find out what I think of the
game which has to go head to head with non other then
MarioKart64!! Lets firstly look at the options on offer, at first it appears to be rather limited...yet on further inspection you will find that this game has a lot to offer! From the main menu, you have the option of either the Adventure mode or the tracks mode, the tracks mode is basicly like an exhibition race, where you can either race your rivals...or simple go for the time trial option and try and beat your previous lap times, which will be saved to the cartridge! The Adventure mode is where it's at mind, and my goodness does this mode offer you everything you've always wanted...lets just say theres so much to do here, it makes MarioKart look silly! As the name suggests, you are not just racing here, but you are on an Adventure. Your ultimate goal is to race agaisnt WizPig who has done the usual thing and you have to save the world before he destroys it...the usual story! You don't have to do this all on your own mind, as you have help from two other characters named T.T. and TAJ! T.T. basically keeps you up to date with your adventure stats and TAJ gives you handy hints along the way, and also hands out the Ballons when you win...?...Oh yeah the Balloons! "The more balloons you get, the more races that you can enter" The game is based around these balloons, basically everytime you win a race you receive a balloon! The more balloons you get, the more races that you can enter...you see, some race tracks will only become accessable once you have enough balloons. Its a bit like Mario64 where you have to collect the stars! So...how is the game structured? Well, there are four worlds from the central hub, each world has its own central area which is known as a lobby. Each lobby has four race tracks, a Boss, a secret race area, and a trophy room! As you can see there will be a lot for you to do... The Worlds are called Dino Domain, SnowFlake Mountain, Sherbet island and Dragon Forest, as you can guess Snowflake mountain is set in snowy locations and Dragon Forest...in the Forest! The worlds have to be attacked like this, first you have to have enough balloons to access a certain lobby, once inside you then have to have enough balloons to enter a race tarck. Each lobby has four race tracks, and to start off with you can only enter one race track, but once you get enough balloons(race victorys) you can pretty much go where you want to! Anyway, once you have the balloons, you take part in the race! You have to win all four race tracks, and then you have to race the Boss of that lobby. This is very hard, but more on that later...so you race the boss, then you have to re-race the four tracks again, only this time you have to win the race, and also collect 8 silver coins which are placed all over the race track. As you can imagine, some of the coins are in hard to reach places, and most require you to go off the racing line...and so losing time to your rivals! It's normally easy to get all 8 coins, but remember you have to win the race aswell! "such as knocking down trees which will squash you if your not quick enough" Once you have won these four race tracks again, you then have to race the boss again...only these time he will place obstacals in your way, such as knocking down trees which will squash you if your not quick enough, or simply placing bubbles all over the place which slow you down...Once you have won this, you then have to find a hidden key which unlocks a secret special track...as you can tell, theres a lot of replay value in here! There are eight characters to choose from to start with, and these are Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch and the star of the show DiddyKong. Along with these, there are also two characters who help you on your adventure known as T.T. and TAJ...these two can't be selected as racers mind, not to start with at least! The characters are 100% cute, much like the whole game really, it does get to a point where you almost feel sick...almost! There are also power ups, these are very cleverly down, as they are done via balloons, which you must drive into and pick up, there are red, blue, green, yellow and rainbow. Red is your normal fire forwards attack, blue is a speed up, green your back attack, yellow your shield and rainbow is a special power up which makes you lock onto the racer ahead of you and speed up to them. The system works, by you picking up say a red balloon, now if you pick up another red ballon...your missile gets upgrated to a homing missile and if you pick up another red balloon, you get 10 homing missiles. However, if you pick up another coloured balloon...you go all the way back to just that colours basic power-up. As you can guess, a lot of skill is needed to make sure you hold onto your upgrated weapon. Theres also a two-player mode in there somewhere, mind you this game is based more around the one-player adventure mode, and so if your looking for a great night in with your mates...your best off with MarioKart64, but even so, Diddy Kongs multi-player mode is still a lot of fun! "the handling is sheer perfection, very much like MarioKart on the SNES, only theres more sliding and skill involved here!" Hmmm...how does it play then, and is it any good? Well, firstly it plays rather well...the handling is sheer perfection, very much like MarioKart on the SNES, only theres more sliding and skill involved here! You see, rather then just have the karts, planes or hover crafts slid when taken to the limit...you have a slid button. This works well, as when you see a tight corner coming up, you can press the slid button and make it round the corner at full speed...however, good timing is the key here! Theres also a few hidden secrets, such as ways of making the slid even more efective, or getting a speed burst...all of these secrets are given to you via Taj, as and when you beat one of his challenges! As well as the excellant handling, DiddyKong racing also has some of the best looking visuals on the N64, they are cute and this will maybe put some people off, however, the game is anything but cute! Lets just say this game is solid...you won't be completing this one in one sitting thats for sure. Rare are known for there attention-to-detail, yet this game is almost taking the p#ss! It all starts with the games presentation, children laugthing at the start, and then you get to see Diddy and Co racing round the worlds...being chased by WizPig(the big bad boss). This level of detail doesn't stop there, in-game will see your elephant friend Taj singing along to the soundtrack, and so as you drive past him you can hear him singing along...brillaint! Theres also children singing, frogs to run over, coconuts falling from trees if you hit them, the sound is of an equal detail and so are the graphics! It's all there and you will be amazed at the time and effort that has gone into this game. There is so much to do, this game is not just about racing...but it is an adventure! At times it's almost a platform game, with the Bosses to beat and coins to pick-up...rare really have pulled out all the stops in making this game! In fact, its a concept which is so good that the newly released Crash Team racing, by Naughty Dog on the Playstation, has copied it in almost every way! The boses, the adventure style, Crash Team racing is almost a copy of DiddyKong racing...still! The learning curve is, I feel very good, but at times you do begin to wonder? The first races are pretty easy to win, yet the first Boss is so hard...and this really is just a starter on what's to follow. The game is rock solid, I can not say enough how hard this game is, if you like your games challenging then this is for you. There is a line between a game being fun, and just too hard...Diddy Kong Racing is as close to that line as any game has ever been before, without falling over it! The Bosses may be hard, but once you have beaten them, you will get the greatest feeling of statisfaction..EVER! Not only that, but you will remember the bosses for the rest of your days...they really are that good! Lets not forget that DiddyKong racing also covers three types of vechicles, how Rare have pulled this one off to the level they have is beyond me! "It really does get so hard at times, that you may get frustrated and just call it a day" So far then this game may appear to you as being perfect, and it so very nearly is...yet that problem I spoke of before has to be taken into account, and it's to do with the games difficultly level! It really does get so hard at times, that you may get frustrated and just call it a day, my advise is...don't, just keep playing, as T.T. himself says "You can do this..."! I wonder why Rare decided on him saying that?:O) With time and effort you will beat this game...and the statisfaction to be had from winning the races, beating the bosses and just clocking a new lap record is the greatest feeling ever. Rare really have made yet another Gem. In short, DiddyKong racing is one of the greatest games ever created, yet it's also one of the hardest... Kevin Preston
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created: Sunday 09th January 2000
Last Updated: Sunday 26th March 2000
