Sunday, September 7, 2008

Donkey Kong 3 Review - By Kiet Ho

During the initial release of Donkey Kong 3, fans had deemed the game as being the scariest thing people had ever seen since "The Exorcist". What made the game so terrifying wasn't its concept of a giant monkey, over 6 times the size of your body slowly decending upon you, with human sized bugs trying to kill you, but rather it was its graphical representation which gave it the title, and use of suspenseful music. The use of graphics on Donkey Kong's expression when he fell on top of stanely and killed him was the catalyst which drove this game to be considered what true fear was. When loading the title, the music that plays gave people the impression of "wild, jungle, forestry, fear, lost in the human psyche and insanity." The image of donkey kong super imposed and thumping his chest only enhances the emotion behind the impressions of the games title. Although the game design was very simplistic, the battle music which plays when you begin the game gives the emotion of "chaos, uneasiness, pandemonium, fear" and as the other music plays whenever an insect captures the plants enhances these feelings. But what truly gave the game its title of "scariest thing since the exorcist" was the moment before donkey kong falls on top of stanely, as the music shifts from chaotic, high paced fear to confusion, questions the players about what exactly is going on....until donkey kong falls, killing your character (no matter where he is) and violently thumping his chest at roughly 180bpm with such a loud and almost sounding like thunder. The cry your character gives off as you die was also very nerve racking to the player, as the concept of death in this game felt so real.