Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Paon
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Racing
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher Troilo

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is a game that follows in the spirit of the Nintendo 64′s Diddy Kong Racing, where the cast of characters from the Donkey Kong universe race against one another across of a multitude of tracks and landscapes. In the game, you can choose to be a member of the Kong clan, such as the big DK himself, or one of the crocodile baddies, like King K. Rool, the main antagonist in the series.

Originally conceived as a GameCube title for the bongo drum gamepad extension, Barrel Blast has been redesigned as a Wii game to take advantage of the system’s motion control system. To accelerate, you must drum the Wiimote and nunchuck up and down as quickly as you can. Once you reach your maximum speed, you’ll maintain it unless you boost or hit something. To turn left or right, you must tap the appropriate bongo by shaking the controller in the hand of the direction you wish to turn. Jumping requires quickly flicking both controllers up at the same time.

Barrel Blast supports one to four players and features a few different modes. The core piece of gameplay is the Jungle Prix, in which you compete against seven other racers on seven different courses. While racing, you have the ability to acquire various items and powerups. For example, the course is riddled with bananas, which you can collect while steering around the track. Upon gathering 50 bananas, you can then use a boost to gain a burst of speed.

In addition to your fellow racers, you must contend with a multitude of obstacles. Scattered throughout each track are several types of barrels, such as wooden ones, which can be broken by punching through them, and metal ones, which must be avoided altogether, or you’ll lose momentum. In addition, each level offers pitfalls, such as trees in the jungle stages and falling lava rocks in the volcano stages.

Racing around the tracks offers a few extra surprises, such as the ability to temporarily ride mine carts, toboggans and even familiar animal sidekicks like Rambi the Rhino and Enguarde the Swordfish. Occasionally, you’ll have the chance to collect extra bananas by moving your Wiimote in specific ways, using the motion controls to perform trick moves after being propelled from a barrel cannon. That’s Barrel Blast in a nutshell, so let’s move on to the scores!