So, I spent some time tonight (not too much... we also went out to eat, and watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) fighting the final boss of Donkey Kong 64. Surprise! It's actually fairly good! (And this definitely clinches this game as being better than Wind Waker, which I suggested above. I only died once against the first form of that game's final boss, and not at all against the second) I've argued before with people that you can't really know what a game is like until you've played the whole thing. There are games that are pathetic, or great, from beginning to end. And there are games that seem really good at first, but are a total let down at the end. This game was middling for most of its length, but it seems to have saved the best for last (I wonder if it's like Banjo Kazooie in that regard. I personally have never fought Gruntilda).

The final boss fight of this game is sort of goofy. It actually takes place in a boxing ring. Each Kong has a round against K. Rool. So far (I've made it to Tiny's part), you have to figure out something new in each round to damage K. Rool. And, with the exception of the first round, it's actually sort of difficult to execute what you realized you must do.

Anyway, going back to what I said earlier about this game, perhaps going over the line with exploration, I think it's best to explore that issue with a comparision to Donkey Kong Country 2. That game also involved some exploring, as you had to find so many kremcoins in each level to unlock secret stages at the end of the game. The thing is, in that game, exploration wasn't the whole game. There was action amongst the exploration. There really isn't any action amongst the exploration in this game. The better parts of the game (the bug sliding race, the jack in the box boss, the final boss) have nothing to do with exploration. And while you are exploring, it's almost impossible to die.

I LOOOOOOVE Flying Omelette!!
Crawl and 1000