DK, DONKEY KONG!!! Yes yes boys and girls it's your favorite monkey and his friends gracing a N64 near you.

In Donkey Kong 64 you start of as (you'll never guess it...) donkey kong when one day you're relaxing in the comfort of your own tree house when all of a sudden K.Rool and his reptilian kremlings are terrorizing your home yet again. It's up to you and the help of some old and new friends to rid the DK Isles of evil. As you go along you'll unlock different kongs with different abilities. Diddy Kong you're trusty side-kick of past games is here again, Lanky Kong (my personal favorite)an acrobatic, stretchy, and inflatable orangoutang, Tiny Kong a tenny-bopper esque simian who can shrink in size, and the towering, muscley Chunky Kong are all here to help you on you're voyage. All of these unique Kongs have different projectile weapons, attacks, and instruments fitting there styles. There are tons of inside-jokes and nods and previous games, remember the barrel game from the Donkey Kong Country games? Well that's hear now in 3-D and it never looked better. Cranky, Funky, Candy and even the recently passed Wrinkly Kong are in this game to provide you with tips, weapons, attacks, and instruments. I could go through and tell you about all the weapons, instruments, and attacks but I don't wish to have carpo tunnel syndrome, so we'll just leave it at that.

Gameplay:
Since there are five playable kongs in the game you'd think the control would be outstanding...and it is. Each Kong walks, jumps, hits, butt-stomps, and even dances different. The controls for each Kong is responsive and on the money; if you're not in water that is. See when you're under water sometimes you feel like the game is swiming for you. The controls are very loose and somewhat out of control underwater. Just be thankful there aren't to many times when you'll be forced to be underwater.

Graphics:
These graphics are one of the if not the best for the N64. You'll doubt this is a 64-bit game by the expanding and extordinary visuals. Since the new "Expansion Pack" is used the graphics are lush, vibrant, and down right purdy no matter what level you're on, but at times like when you're under-water or in a rainy enviroment it can be too dark. At times I was forced to squint to see where a door was or if I was getting anywhere instead of walking into a wall. A minor set back that doesn't happen too much, but when it does it can get frustrating.

Sound:
The sound, and in game music in this game is quirky, and well fitting to each and every level. For example when you're in a jungle level there's a bongo being played in the background, and birds chirping. All of the kongs have differnt sound's they make when puching or jumping. Lanky makes a "Noony boo" sound when ever he does a handstand and Chunky grunts when jumping (poor guy can't get 2 feet off the air). This game also supports dolby digital sound, so every sound in the game be it a kremling chomping or the sound when you recieve a golden banana sounds crisp and well delivered. But it would be nice to see some voice work other than grunts and chirps. The cut-scenes are just plain text with some sound effects to jazz it up.

Lasting Appeal:
This game is HUGE. Think Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 put together. There are eight huge levels broken up into the DK Isles to go back and forth from and you'll be playing this for a very long time. 200 golden bananas, dozens of mini-games, hundreds of bananas for each kong, blueprints, and banana fairies, are to be collected in this game. Once I recieved my 100th banana I was only 46% done with the whole game! There is also a solid multi-player in which you can play as any Kong and frag your other Kong buddies. This game is also very addictive. I found myself playing it for hours on end. Go ahead and disconnect the phone, and put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door because you're not going to stop playing this for a very long time, and that's not a bad thing.

Overall:
This game is a great game for anyone looking for an adventure that will keep them busy for a good while.  Even though the game is a bit too similar to other games in the genre, like Banjo-Kazooie, the game is still great and is a must-buy for any Nintendo 64 owner in your life.