Game of the Moment : Donkey Konga 2

There is a new addiction in our house, and it is Donkey Konga 2. For our anniversary, Jenn gave me a "coupon" for anything I wanted at Fry's (within reason), and she said I couldn't justify it. That meant it had to be something totally for fun. We went in a couple of weeks ago to browse around, and we walked by the DanceDanceRevolution (DDR) kiosk. DDR is a rhythm game where you try to dance to the beat, and the game cues you to what you should do. There is mat on the floor with spaces to jump on, like in twister, and you get high scores based on how in rhythm you are, and if you hit the right spot. I had always wanted to try one of these, and thought it would make a great exercise program. Anything that mixes video games with exercise is going to be a surefire hit with me.

I sucked at it! Of course, it was my first time, but I was really bad. It didn't help that one of my coworkers happened by with his camera phone at the same time. I got a little gunshy at that point. Fortunately, right next door to the DDR setup was a Donkey Kong Jungle Beat game setup. This is a GameCube game where you play a set of bongos and Donkey Kong does things on the screen. Corbin took to it right away, and Jenn and I both thought it was pretty neat. It was also much less than a DDR setup, as I already have the Nintendo, and the Bongos run $50 with a game, or $30 without. To get setup to play DDR I would need to buy an XBOX or a Playstation 2, dancepads, and a game. That was going to run a minimum of $300. I knew I had a major paper coming up, though, and decided not to get anything to make sure I could study.

My willpower ran out on Friday. Jenn called me at work and said she was hungry for Chinese. She also dropped the hint that Fry's was on the way. That was all it took for me. I dropped in the Fry's, picked up two sets of bongos with the Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Donka Konga 2 games. It is a BLAST! Jenn and I played Donkey Konga 2 for a little over an hour tonight. It is so much fun. We can play with or against each other. The point is to hit the bongos in rhythm with the music. The screen cues where you should hit the right bongo, left bongo, both, or clap. There are easy songs, with a slow tempo and few notes, and tough songs with a fast tempo and lots of notes. It is soooo much fun. The only downside is that our hands were getting pretty sore from beating on the drums.

There is another Donkey Konga game with other songs if we get through this one. Nintendo also has a Donkey Konga 3 in the works. And who knows, if Jenn and I really enjoy these rhythm games, maybe at some point we'll splurge and get the DDR setup. It was so much fun to sit in the basement and play video games with Jenn. I'm glad we've found a game that we can both enjoy together!