Today, I'm gonna be talking about Donkey Kong 64, a game that I played (or, a lot of the time, watched my brother play) quite a bit as a kid.
Donkey Kong 64 is a 3D puzzle/platform/adventure game, released in 1999 by Rare. It's very similar to Banjo-Kazooie, though I'm not sure if they use the same engine, or if it's just because the same team made it. DK64 has more characters than Banjo-Kazooie, though, who you unlock throughout the game. It's worth noting that I've never actually played Banjo-Kazooie- but with how much I enjoyed DK64, it's definitely on my list of games I'd like to try eventually.
I'm not sure what exactly it is about this game that made it so easy to spend that much time on. It might be the amount of content- beating the game can take tens of hours (for a more competent player than I would have been at the time), and doing all of the optional bonus stuff takes way longer. I think it might have to do with how open world the game was- at any given time, you can go to any of the unlocked levels, as any of the unlocked characters, and just explore. We never really focused on any objectives- usually we'd just mess around, sometimes accomplishing things as we went.
Another thing that can draw you into the game is the music. Donkey Kong 64 has some really good music- it always fits both the mood and the theme of the level, and somehow manages to be both ambient and interesting enough to not get dull. I'm not sure if it's just nostalgia, but I can honestly say DK64 is probably one of my favourite, if not my favourite, games in terms of music. I think one thing that really makes it is how the music changes within a world. As you go to different parts of a level (eg. going from a forest to a cave, or entering a building), the music changes- not completely though. Usually it's just the instrumentation, and minor things like dynamics or tempo, but in some extreme cases, even the time signature can change (as is the case in the Creepy Castle Ballroom theme).
The last thing about the game that I really like is how atmospheric it is. It's mostly a combination of the music and the level design I'm sure, but going from Angry Aztec to Gloomy Galleon feels like going into a completely different game. The settings are really immersive, so even if you get bored messing around in one world, you could just go to another and the boredom would disappear (or at least, it would as a kid).
Anyways, that's gonna be it for today- sorry about the shorter post! Hopefully you enjoyed it regardless : )
