Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
- October 17, 2007 14:52 PM PST
- Email this!
There have been a few titles for the Wii that began life as GameCube games. Twilight Princess and Super Paper Mario were two of the ones that underwent the transition and came out better as a result. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Barrel Blast.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Racing to a Different Beat
Originally developed to make use of the GameCube's unique Bongo Drum accessory, Barrel Blast is an odd racing title where you have to "beat" the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in the air like drum sticks to make your character move. You swing the two controllers up and down to reach top speed and you move them both up to jump. In order to move left or right, you have to swing just the Nunchuk or Wii Remote by itself.
It's pretty awkward and tiring to deal with the control scheme, as you'll often jump when you meant to accelerate and lean left when you meant right. It would have been better if the developers had left in the option to use the Bongo Drum controller but they didn't, which is strange because the Wii can accept GameCube controllers. Maybe if they had, the game would have been more fun but as it stands, it's pretty terrible.
Controls aside, the gameplay itself is nothing to be excited about. The courses are clumsily designed, the races are repetitive, and the characters are unmemorable. In short, Barrel Blast is offensive to all the senses. It feels wrong, looks awful, and it isn't a treat for the ears, either. As for taste and smell, the rancid nature of this game is likely to give you acid reflux. This game is anything but a blast.
PROS: The Wild Move boost gives the game a semi-fun Burnout vibe for about 15 seconds.
CONS: Emulates Mario Kart in every category except quality.
