Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Analysis

I found out yesterday that there is a new Donkey Kong Country game coming out. This was a pleasant surprise, and by far the best thing I've heard from E3 this year. There were some other nice announcements, but let's focus purely on Donkey Kong. I thought it would be fun to do an in depth analysis of the gameplay, and all the hopes I have for it.

This blog will be discussing my experience with Donkey Kong Country Returns and my thoughts on the upcoming Tropical Freeze. I have yet to beat DKCR, as I've only ever played the display copy in store, I have made notes on what I think it needs for improvement. Don't get me wrong, it was one of the funnest games I've played recently.

One thing I like about this new DKC, is the lack of a certain "Donkey Kong Country Returns 2" and it is rather a new name... that sounds like a Popsicle... ANYWAYS, lets get to it..

BETTER MAPS

They might not need to be drawn... but they need to look good. With Donkey Kong Country Returns came the 3D map... and while 3D isn't bad, it looks plain, blocky and boring

"Now, this! Can you resist this?"

I'd like to see maps that have thought put into them, and that are interesting to look at... The level of detail in the old DKC games is quite awesome, and I think they should bring that idea back... new one looks like Mario...

REALISTIC GRAPHICS

I was really hoping they would use the WiiUs HD ability to have some intense visuals in the next DKC game, but it seems as though they are keeping it cartoony... My idea is that they should go the realistic approach. I would love to see a DKC game with graphics like Gears of War or MGS... something that can get you in the zone. I previously found these images, and they perfectly show what I think the route they should take is.

The Donkey Kong Country series has, since SNES, been a more realistic take on the side-scrolling platformers. Sonic the Hedgehog is Style, Mario is a fucking fantasy world and Donkey Kong is Life.

Let's compare the new and old DKC and Mario games:

OLD

Look at the detail in the leaves, and the dirt... downright amazing

and then whatever the fuck this is supposed to be, basically shows this contrast perfectly...

NEW

The game looks a lot more cartoony, when compared to it's predecessor. Almost like Mario, or even Worms 3D... I'll be honest though, it looks a hell of a lot better than I thought yesterday. I'm actually pretty impressed at the moment.

Looks decent, no? The one thing that I think is making it look bad is the environments.. While not awful, they seem to look cheap. I think if it was a bit darker, more ambient shading etc it would look slick. Still not awful.

DEATHS

That poof in the center of the screen is a locust dude, after getting jumped on. This is what seems to happen to the majority of baddies... they just disappear... I have seen one instance where the dude gets jumped on and then does a 'fall' death like in the SNES games. I dunno... it's a small guff, but I like my baddies to fall over the side when they die lol. They do when you roll into them though, so that's good.

This image above is of DK getting bombed... Everytime he is hit he does a freeze frame like this, loses a heart, and continues on... Why? I like when you would just lose a kong, use the next kong and continue... HOWEVER... Maybe if the game is hard enough to condone this... as it is well documented that people find DKCR far harder than any other game in the series... if this is the case, then maybe the 'heart' system is worthwhile... but still, I don't want your pity! I want to be beaten to a pulp! Maybe there is a way to turn off the heart system... who knows...

DAVID WISE

This is by far what has me excited the most. and exactly what I wanted after playing some DKCR... I thought that instead of rehashing music, as they were doing, they should make a new original soundtrack, and more specifically... a score by David Wise..

Think of nostalgia... now, you have to earn nostalgia... You can't use someone elses nostalgia. It's the same with soundtracks.. If they make a good enough one, people are going to enjoy the soundtrack. We already enjoy the DKC soundtracks... they didn't rehash them in the 90s, so why would we use them as if they're some sort of staple? I don't mind if they use a bit... but all the same, part of the brilliance of the DKC game music is that it was different and beautiful with each rendition. Not a repeat. The whole reason people get nostalgic over that music to begin with is because it's amazing, not because it was something else...

Here's hoping there's some slick tunes...

RAMBI
& Friends

This is probably the main area that realistic graphics are needed.

this is how he looks in DKCR.. awful.. Rambi ain't no cartoon character, he's a MACHINE!! or something :P He shouldn't look so smooth...

Instead, he should look more like this. Some texture on there, a bit more mean... it'd be sweet. Now, I'm not sure what all the animal buddies are that appeared in DKCR... if they add some more in this new one that'd be cool... but more than anything I just want whichever ones are in there, to look really cool.

WATER

This is a new addition, and one of the more visually appealing bits of DKC:TF

It's nice and 3-dimensional... making it really open feeling... Also, the swimming animations are really good. Smooth.

So I have high hopes... some guffs etc, but all in all it looks pretty decent...

Full Circle.

Let's start with last weekend. I decided to go for a walk, do some thinkin' and smokin' ... I was headed home when I heard cheers, sounded like a school game, I was thinking Soccer. So i decided to make my way over, and possibly watch some. I kept walking and still couldn't find it.. Finally decided I'd go around the next corner, and if it wasn't up there I'd probably just head back. Anyways it was, some baseball games, Little League and the likes. One thing that struck me was the pure excitement of these kids and this game. They had some awesome chant... Not sure what it was... something like "We gonna shake you like a volcano!" ... anyways. So I watched for a bit, the one game ended so I made my way over to another that was going on, and sat in the bleachers for a bit... I started to think about when I was in baseball. One thing I thought was how, back in the day, I remember going etc... but I have no memory of having anxiety... I guess I did when doing like... presentations in front of class for school... but I dunno... it seems like it was more about the game and having fun than being worried about what others think... reminds me of Taken:

"My grandfather used to tell my mom that kids should never have to worry about anything more serious than baseball. Everything you need to know is there. It has success and failure, moments when you come together and moments where you stand alone. And it has an ending. Not a clock, like in other sports, but an ending. And that, my grandfather said to my mom, is as close as a kid should have to come to that sort of thing."

 Then today I went over to the park, in hopes of taking in another game. There was no game on today, but what I got to do instead was swing... I haven't been on a swing in years now... I'd even go so far as to say I had forgotten about swings... and when I got swinging, I was pleased to realize I swing exactly the same way as I used to... now I'm not sure if it's like... "Proper swinging" like there's a textbook outlining how you should swing, but regardless, I had not forgotten.

Now, I'm swinging, cigarette hanging out of my mouth, great big smile on my face... at first one kid came by, and went to one of the swings while her family left and did the "alright see you!" thing. She ended up joining them. Then another kid comes by with her mom and swings, then a kid with his dad and swings... we all swing for a moment, while the parents sit around... the boy asks his dad to give him a push.. his dad continues texting... the girl gets her mom to push her... anyways, and I think... These kids... can't swing... but I can! And these parents, I'm going out on a limb... can also swing! Now here's the part that I love... you get to an age, and body size where you can properly swing (on larger swings, the little swings you can essentially always use...) But by the time you can swing proper, you're moving on to different grades... and getting old... Seems to me swings are meant for the exact people who think they've grow out of them... and you gotta harness that power... the swing is an amazing thing.

So I had done the full circle idea... you know, you go a ways and you come back. Taking something new from the experience... Thought I'd share my adventures.

Learning Curve

I was watching Stargate the other day. And had some sort of epiphany ...

I was thinking about how the earlier seasons were really amazing, and later on it got kind of dumb. I was thinking about the earlier seasons, and as soon as I thought it... it was illustrated perfectly on the episode I was watching:

EARLY SEASONS

LATER SEASONS

The earlier seasons were more interested in telling stories... keeping things simple... Later on we get Stargate Atlantis, Universe... and all this other background noise that takes away from the core. There were certainly other things contributing to making the earlier seasons better: Better characters (not to mention ones that weren't "pretending" to be other characters) Fresh ideas... a sense of wonder...

But I do think that it's certainly an important point... and that it was presented to well in this episode... The simplicity is sometimes more prevalent than something convoluted...

The episode is beautiful. The ending is perfect. The kids of the world pass their knowledge out amongst everyone, and an oasis of summer breeze is left. A middle ground... The fact it didn't have a simple "We're right, you're wrong" and rather an evolution of viewpoints made it much more powerful...

THANK YOU SID!

I was watching the XBOX ONE reveal... a little bit anyway... Seems the general consensus is to hate it. I'm not really sure of the features as I havent watched MUCH... but what I will say is that they should be focusing on GAMES, as it is a game console... rather than useless other features like TV and stuff... We can use a TV fine, we dont need a robot, we need something to play games on...

ANYWAY, during the show he at one point did a "Go tot he TV, go to music, go back to the TV" voice command... and when he went to the music... it played some cool song that sounded like Sonic... So I rewound, watched it and saw the title of the song.. Now for the awesomness... It is a song I had forgotten about, that I heard in HMV.. I remembered it as soon as I listened from the start. I even bloooged about it HERE at the bottom I went on to explain the songs it reminded me of...

So now that I have found it I may look into what else this group has made... Id heard of them, but never really knew what the deal was... if they make Sonic type music, I'm in!

Unfiltered Cigarettes

"I can't stand these things... it's like drinking coffee through a veil."
                                                                     -Reggie Lampart (Audrey Hepburn)
                   Charade, 1963

I love that quote, and that film in general. Made me want to try some unfiltered smokin' myself. I tried to get a pack of unfiltereds, but couldnt find any, I resorted to what she did in the film and simply broke the filter off.

Today is beautiful, made me want to walk around town a bit, so I picked up a pack and took a stroll. As for unfiltereds, I tried that today and felt the need to relay my experience on here... It was good, tasted fine etc. The one thing to strike me is this: Once you break a king size it becomes a regular sized stick, and the very end becomes unusable... wasting some tobacco in the process... I mean, you cant exactly smoke the whole thing like when you have a filter... you'd end up burning your lips... not to mention the end becomes all wet... so whether it would actually burn, I don't know... so yeah, I dunno... I like both, but it seems more efficient just to use the filter lol.

 Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorites... After watching Breakfast at Tiffany's I wasn't sure, because I have a disliking opinion of that film, however, after watching more, I find her to be simply Joyous... like Julie Andrews, though I think she is in a lot more good movies than Andrews.. But who knows, I havent seen overly many of eithers, and each does have some good ones indeed...

 But yeah, walking around was great, let me do some thinking, came up with a poem.

SOUNDS OF SUMMER
It's rolling down the highway, at
Ultra speeds and fullfilling
simple needs
Yes, an ice cream truck
Yes, The Beach Boys
so much as I like them
I speak of the songs that have less
to do with surfing
and more to do with life
and growing old
Yes, lesser winds
Yes, "You have soccer practice"
Yes, bike bells and
Yes, "You will break a window"
"No I won't,
I'm not gonna throw it at the window"

Adam & Winona

ADAM SANDLER

Alrighty, so I think Adam Sandler is pretty cool. I haven't seen any of his new movies, hear nothing but bad things, but I mean, growing up I found the few movies of his that I'd seen to be quite enjoyable. Anyways on to the main idea of this blog... re-focusing energy... or something like it.

Punch-Drunk Love. Just finished it. P.T. Anderson has yet to disappoint me. He always makes movies with quite entertaining characters, and this is no exception. It really is a hilarious movie. This movie looks beautiful, sounds beautiful and is beautiful.

What I liked about this movie is it takes something done to death: Adam Sandler + Romantic Comedy. But turns it into a rather musical and artful experience... Adam basically plays the kind of character he normal does, the likeable underdog type... But it's something else, it's a bit more human. It plays out like he is coming up with music in his head... as if he's this brilliant composer, but has yet to focus that energy properly...It works in the violent temper most of his characters holds... and makes it into a rock song...

Now before watching this, I had come across "Blossoms & Blood" a short by PTA put together from some alternate takes of this film. I very much enjoyed it, I'd say it might be best to watch it after PDL instead of before, but it's up to you, I mean, I still enjoyed it.

As for PDL... it's, like Magnolia, one of those films that is "Composed" like music... it has a flow... everything is working together to create something true and full. It really shows how Adam could be in some good movies... I don't have anything against him making the ones he does, as I've said I do have an enjoyment of the one's I have seen. Still shows some potential. With that being said, I'm not sure PDL would have worked to the degree it did without an understanding of Sandler, as it is a play on his type of character.

WINONA RYDER

I've wanted to see her other movies for quite some time, and have seen many at this point. One thing that strikes me is that most of her movies are just not all that interesting. She normally gives a pretty decent performance, but the films just fall flat.

Black Swan, being the best movie I've seen her in (let it be known it's one of the best movies I've seen period. Just look to the left and see my favorite movies) It is one of her best performances, though she is hardly even in it. Playing on the idea of where she was in the 90's against where Portman is now. Beautiful movie. and she was stuck with a great director to bring it out (much like our Sandler example above)

Night on Earth. Loved this one, and I have only seen it recently. The movie I liked as a whole, her segment wasn't really the best.. but it was still fun and cool.

A Scanner Darkly. Watched this one last night. It was a little too political at times... but in general I quite liked it. For the most part my appreciation comes from two beautiful moments in the film, which are more to do with Keanu Reeves: His narrations of talking about the scanner darkly, and then his very last narration... amazing, those ones brought me more into it than anything else. But all in all it had great performances by everyone including: Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey Jr, Rory Cochrane and of course Winona Ryder.

The movie plays like a live comic book, with its odd art style... but I really enjoyed that.

I just wish she was in some better movies though... There are some, but whatever. I would really like to see her in a PTA movie as well... Just love PTA films so much, and think she could do good in one possibly. But even still, at least she was in Black Swan and a few other decent ones. It's cool that these two ended up in movies by two of my favorite directors, hope to see some good stuff in the future from all those involved.

"I think too much. I think ahead. I think behind. I think sideways. I think it all. If it exists, I've fucking thought of it."

-Winona Ryder          

babe, bye bye

It's as if.... as if my eyes are sucking in rays of light as if the amsterdam walls were all to sudden-crowded. I will always appreciate their covers... I will always appreciate their music and sounds and red roses too. I see them bloom from me and u...
now where do i go>??? around this block and around the mooon
I was sucking in air through my nostrils as my eyes watched a fastwforward backwards motion...
back motions = force+ time
I think I have some understanding ofd who and what and where and how and when and.... fuck... is that it?
cap the senatance: I am

double space

second chorus

Joey Ramone... did you die a long time ago? did you... did you find an airplane, and rig it to explode as it plummeted... immediatley before hitting the waves\

///KER-SPLOOSH