Time to break my streak of racing game reviews, and instead shift over to a recent, yet "classic" game: Mario vs Donkey Kong. It's supposed to be the "sequel" of the Gameboy version of Donkey Kong, which I have never played before but maybe one day I'll be able to play it. Mario vs DK is not really the sequel to GBDK, it's more like a remake with a different storyline and levels, yet the gameplay remains the same. Anyway, how about I start out the review! 0-4 star scale style!

Graphics: **

This game has graphics that are good and bad. First, the good. The 3D, slide show-like cutscenes are very nice, for a GBA game. You can't say too much bad about them. I also like the backgrounds, they aren't half bad either. But the characters in the game just look blocky. I just don't like that. It's as simple as that. Anyway, this category has some good and some bad in it, so it deserves an average score.

Sound/Music: ***

I actually like the music to this game, the small tunes that play for each half of a level. The Mystic Forest and Twilight City tunes are pretty good. The voices are good, too. Oh, and you gotta love the msuic that starts a DK battle, a remix from the original arcade DK game. I don't have too much else to say here, but I have to say the sound is pretty good.

Difficulty: **1/2

When I first played the demo for this game, I thought it was pretty hard. It's not really hard, but the difficulty on the whole is a little above medium. The first two worlds are straightforward, and then the game gets a little harder. The next three worlds are medium-hard. Most of the levels are medium in difficulty and the rest are hard. Then comes the last world, which is tough. The plus levels, oddly enough, are pretty easy. The expert levels, overall, are not very difficult, just above-average, much like the game on the whole.

Controls: **

I have a few complaints here: first, the backflip (performed the same as in Super Mario Sunshine) is not easy with a control pad, but since I play GBA games on a Game Boy Player now (with the Gamecube's controls), I don't have any problems. Most of the regular controls can be hard to use at first (like the jump, oddly enough), but once you get used to them, they should be no problem.

Characters: *1/2

Let's see... You have Mario, DK, and your fair share of Mario minions: Shy Guys, Piranha Plants, Podoboos, Ninjis, Thwomps, Thwimps, Boos, and Bob-ombs. Not good enough to pull the score to an average one, but not bad enough to drop the score down to a star or less.

Gameplay: ****

Awesome. A mix between puzzle and action. I love it. The gameplay is pretty simple to explain, but I think it's great: in the first half of the level, you must take a key to the keyhole, which may not be easy in later levels. In the second part, you must reach the Mini-Mario bubble. The puzzles in the game are awesome: switch puzzles, conveyor puzzles, Bob-omb puzzles; I really like it. The game is like the original Donkey Kong with a big kick of Super Mario Bros. 2 in it.

Levels: ***1/2

The levels are very nice, I must say. Switches, conveyor belts, spikes, moving platforms, wires, and lasers? Great! The puzzles add to the score, as well. The only problem is I wish there were even more..."objects" (like wire fences to climb on or something like that) in the levels. However, the levels ARE very nice and there are at least 100 different levels overall, so it's not all that bad, is it?

Replayability: *1/2

Like many games, the replayability just isn't that great. The game might last a month, and then it just dies down. Quickly. There's not much to say here, but the game isn't too good in this category.

Fun Factor!: ***

Pretty fun, I have to say. Going and maybe just messing around in some levels does provide some fun. I do have to say, this game is one of those where it's fun enough to the point that it's kind of sad or scary to think about when you totally complete the game and you feel like you have nothing else to do. And that is something positive to say about the Fun Factor here.

Overall: ***

Mario vs. DK is, overall, better than an above average game, but it's definetly not excellent. Maybe if the game had a little better replayability, the score would have been 3 1/2 stars. But it's not. Is it worth buying? Probably. Is it worth renting, if possible? Definitely. Is it a fun game? Yes. Sure. Are these questions starting to get annoying? You answer that! Heh heh heh...

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