Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Review | GameSpot

There's something about Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze that's just a little off. Maybe it's the way Donkey Kong doesn't quite land with the firm-footedness you'd expect from a Nintendo platforming mascot. Maybe it's because, despite the introduction of the likes of Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong as playable characters with new abilities, Tropical Freeze's levels see little in the way of new challenges or designs to accommodate them.

[ape007]

a very well designed, charming and extremely fun/addictive platformer with epic soundtrack get a 6?

it's the same site that gave Zelda SS a 7.5 and TLOU an 8 and gave the disappointing MW3(im a huge CoD fan) a 9

......LULZ

[NYC_Gamer]

That's why its always better to play the games for yourself or ask a true fan of the franchise for their opinion

[SpiralTear]

Heaven forbid that people make their own decisions and ideals from video footage and actual gameplay, instead of handing their trust to some random person in an office who just happens to have some position of power at a corporate entity...

[ABizzel1]

@ape007

That's because they hired a bunch of journalist who're casual gamers to review core games.

The guy who reviewed TLoU is an admitted Fifa, Rock Band, and mobile gamer. How can you have someone like that judge a game intended for core gamers.

Many of these new reviewers are complaining about games being hard (one of the main complaints about the Polygon review for TLoU), and I'm like have you not played NSE / SNES games, and you think TLoU is hard.

That's why you can go to one site for reviews, and is one of the only benefits of Metacritic having your favorites in one easy to access place. But the best review is your own personal experience.

[LOL_WUT]

The score seems appropriate don't expect this game to be a game changer for the WiiU ;)

[ABizzel1]

@Lol_wut

I wouldn't have thought it, but Donkey is surprisingly a strong seller for Nintendo. It's right behind Mario and Pokemon for them.

[ChickeyCantor]

"The score seems appropriate don't expect this game to be a game changer for the WiiU ;)"

What does that have to do with anything?

A lot of great games were no game changers.

[Master-H]

Agreed , Gamespot's been all over the place lately, the last score they gave that i agreed with i think was Dark Souls (9.5).

[DialgaMarine]

It happens bro. On that note however, you can't forget that they were also the only major site to LoZ: ALBW they GotY award for 2013. It's all about difference of opinion. You may think that this is a near perfect platformer, but that doesn't automatically mean it is in everyone else's eyes. You'd be naive and crazy to try and declare otherwise. Just get over it. The game is resting at 82 on Meta currently, and will probably finish at 80/81 or at worst at 79. None of those averages are bad though.

[3-4-5]

Didn't GameInformer give it a 9.25/10, and they are notoriously NOT pro Nintendo.

Gamestop, you've had one too many "iffy" reviews in the past year.

You used to have credibility, what happened ?

[Beastforlifenoob]

1 second let me judge your credibility:
You bash the sh** out of gamestop for giving it a 6 and yet they have played it and you haven't. They listed their reasons and you just bashed them for no apparent reasoning.

Wait its a rehashed nintendo game therfore it must deserve a 10/10 /s

[TripC50]

@ Beast

He said "iffy" reviews and you say "bash the sh** out of gamestop."

tell me you are joking.

[3-4-5]

This is like bringing me in to judge Figure skating. I don't know a damn thing about it so I wouldn't score it properly.

Do they hire Non-gamers to do their reviews ?

Do they take themselves seriously anymore ?

[WiiUsauce]

Destructoid gave it a 10/10, gameinformer gave it a 9.25

[alejandroelputo]

just some people right

[BoneBone]

In a tidal wave of 9s and 10s, I wonder if GameSpot.com feel as stupid as they look.

The reviewer at Kotaku also found the game a bit hard (there's a video of him trying to play it and he blames his wussy amateur gaming skills on the game!!!) - they haven't released their review yet... I wonder why lol?

The state of some people who get into professional paid jobs in gaming is shocking.

[jcnba28]

It's hilarious really.

[Beastforlifenoob]

CRAZY CRAzy

They gave a simple -madeforcasuals piece of junk a 6.

Oh but because its a rehashed nintendo title it must desrve a 9 or 10... right guys? RIGHT?

[alejandroelputo]

your mature level is below rock bottom

[deafdani]

Made for casuals?

LMAO. Trust me, Donkey Kong is harder than 90% of games out there.

Go troll elsewhere.

[fonger08]

I don't understand why someone who doesn't understand platform games that institute tricky gameplay to add difficulty would review this game? Take, "Sometimes I'd perform a leap of faith during a particularly tricky section only to land on an enemy..." I wonder what this reviewer would have given NES and SNES Mega Mans... 2s? 1s?
@Beastforlifenoob not only does the reviewer never mention it's a causal game, he implies quiet the opposite that if you're not a fan of a challenging platformer, this game isn't for you. Then again you don't read... so yeah.

[ZainreFang]

Disclaimer: This review only applies to people not looking for a challenge.

[XxExacutionerxX]

Wow, Donkey Kong gets a lower score on Gamespot because the game is just too hard. Challenge is why we play games in the first place I thought.

[3-4-5]

We play for fun, challenge is sometimes wanted and sometimes not.

How does THIS person get to be the one who gets to review this game though ?

[Father__Merrin]

this is a next gen title on Wiiu, crankey ftw

[ritsuka666]

Don't believe in Gamespot they gave Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts 8.5/10.

[ape007]

nuts and bolts an 8.5????

LULZ

[jcnba28]

Sounds to me like this guy just sucked at the game.

[Master-H]

What ?! Cranky Kong's presence alone warrants at least an 8/10 lol
Let me guess..the reviewer found the game too violent(who am i kidding it's a Nintendo game lol) or too hard, wimps at gamespot as usual.

[WeAreLegion]

That's ridiculous. I can't wait!

[deafdani]

Tons and tons of glowing Donkey Kong Country reviews submitted to N4G... and only the Gamespot one, which has the worst score so far, makes the main page.

Sigh. This site's agenda against Nintendo is ridiculous.

[Jagsrock]

haha no doubt there are around +32 reviews 8 and above. N4g is almost as much of a joke as Gamestop.

[thezeldadoth]

it must suck to be the douche sifting through positive reviews and approving and clicking on the negative ones. if your meaning in life is to worship a corporation who just wants your money, thats sad.

[lizard81288]

He said its terrible level design, while ever other site says it has amazing and dynamic level design.

I know reviews are subjective, but some just come off as silly. He is pretty much saying the opposite of what everybody else is saying.

[Tzuno]

let's be fair, Snes ones are better than this, Nintendo needs to add that feel again and update silicon graphics since it will look a lot better than this.

[SCW1982]

Sorry but I think your nostalgia goggles are clouding the truth. Returns was much better than the SNES games

[DryBoneKoopa85]

SCW: I disagree with you only on the fact that the original series is amazing for its time and era. What they were able to do with the SNES back in the day was just simply amazing. There was a reason Nintendo bought such a large stake in Rare back in the day.

On that note though... Retro has done a fantastic job bringing the DK franchise to a new generation of gamers. With DK TF scoring amazing scores it only goes to show Nintendo has faith in Retro and still knows what there doing when it comes to making triple A tittles.

[thezeldadoth]

Returns was badass and i can't wait to play tropical freeze

[Geekman]

I wonder if you've played the game..............

[Tzuno]

no need i saw it how it looks and it is a shame compared to snes ones. there is no Dk feeling in there not to mention the music

[Boody-Bandit]

I would love to play this game but not enough to buy a Wii U for just the one game. Maybe when it drops in price I will pick one up.

[DC777]

It won't drop in price. It comes with a monitor and a Wii inside.

Anyway interesting review. I'm watching the stunning looking game play and listening to how bland the game is at the same time. It's a side stroller not sure what else there could be. Anyway to each their own. Score seems a bit harsh though.

[Zodiac]

Look at what was listed in the Bad. Don't give a game a low score because you aren't good enough. Bad level design and challenging level design are two completely different things. I hate when reviewers treat challenging level design as dull/frustrating etc...

[Geekman]

Uh oh. Gamespot screwed up. Lets hope this doesn't end up like the time Gameinformer gave Thousand Year Door a 6.

[GiantFriendlyCrab]

i have played this game 1000 times times before. Its just Donkey kong in HD. This is just cash grab from greedy Nintendo

[gpturbo81]

battlefield,cod, halo say hi!

[Loadedklip]

And Madden, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, Gears of War, Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Street Fighter Vs X Ultra Hyper Fighter 2 Turbo Arcade Edition ... etc etc.

Successful franchises get sequels ... not Nintendo's fault that they as a single publisher has the more successful franchises than anyone else. They actually abuse their franchises a lot less than most publishers do with their annual releases.

[Torunkz]

So far the Metacritic for the game is 8.1

Pretty good.

[Samus HD]

it deserves more

[iMaim]

Those guys at Gamespot are a bunch of hipster c*nts. Every game I've enjoyed immensely is somehow rated low compared to other review sites. I swear they're doing this on purpose for more hits.

[alejandroelputo]

im still getting it day one, the dk on wii was simply amazing.

[VeezyP]

This is why I prefer IGN for reviews, theirs are generally pretty reasonable.

[for we are many]

This review and the few other negative reviews are either done by new age gamers who don't like challenge and couldn't beat the game due to "difficulty", or Metroid fanboys who are angry at RETRO for choosing to do a sequel for DK instead of Metroid Prime.

It's not about the score, just READ the review and you'll see that they fail to back up their criticism(vitriol) with any valid point, and that's the hallmark of deliberately bad review powered by hate for a particular type of games or challenge, or pure fanboy mindset.

The game has gorgeous visuals at buttery smooth frame rate, intricate, imaginative level design, kickass soundtrack done by one of the legendary composers in the VG industry, tight control, huge challenge, replayability and content, nostalgia up the roof and Cranky Kong to sweeten up the deal. Instant classic in my book and an instant day 1 purchase for me and for many gamers who look for and understand quality in gaming. To Hell with haters.