Ahhh yes, the ancient rivalry between penguins and apes! 

This is a really hard game! I'm not the greatest at platformers, but I have fond memories of playing level after lever of the SNES games without too much difficulty... I can't be getting old right?

I have only played the game in multiplayer so that's the only experience I can speak to.. But I miss the days when dedicated multiplayer was an option in games. In DKTP, Player 1 is forced to play as Donkey Kong while Player 2 can choose between Cranky, Dixie or Diddy Kong. Each Kong has their own skill, but they all generally perform the same task. You kill enemies by bouncing on their heads or throwing something at them.

I started as DK and quickly got frustrated with how hard he was to control in the air. So many times we would die from silly things like seemingly easy jumps. His sprint is also unpredictable because you can overshoot your landing... Especially when you're forced to play the character, it can get a little frustrating! Especially when you share lives with teammates, if one person keeps dropping the ball then it's really easy to run out of extra tries. My partner and I found it easier to just use up the four lives and game over than to buy extra lives.

So far my favourite Kong to play as is Dixie, because her helicopter banana hair gives you a little more control while in the air. Cranky has an interesting cane jump so he doesn't get hurt by spikey pitfalls, but there are so many drops so far in the game that I'd much prefer having the control in the air.

The levels are pretty fun! With lots of platforms and dynamic views. The barrels you can jump into will sometimes shoot you into the background where you'll be chased by various scary things. The enemies are generally very weird.... penguins, owls, fire pigs...? Then again, it's not like crocodiles made much sense either. Also the random pig allies at checkpoint are weird... I don't get it.

And let's not talk about DK's creepy voice!

Let's talk about graphics. This is a beautiful game! I enjoyed the immersion in each stunning scene and the effects seemed to work together. I liked the familiar-made-new style from the older games for a new generation. And just look at that fluffy gorilla! So soft...

I've been looking forward to new games with co-op being a strong focus in the gameplay. I'm tired of games that treat multiplayer as solely means for PVP. I think sharing the surge of excitement after beating one of these levels with a partner is really great and the level difficulty is refreshing to say the least. If you're looking to share some of that Donkey Kong nostalgia with your kids then maybe give this one a shot. You'll definitely need a lot of patience, but I think it's worth the grind for such a good game.

You're a kid now! You're a squid now!

Splatoon is the recently released, super-colourful 3rd person shooter from Nintendo. I had zero interest until I saw how fun and and hectic the versus mode is! You get to play as either a guy or girl squid... thing... but other than changing your eye and skin colour there isn't much customization for your physical appearance. The gameplay focuses around your ability to turn into a squid, as well as your ink-shooting water gun. As you gain experience, you can unlock many different attachments that alter the playing style of your gun. You also have access to different sub-weapons like grenades and turrets that spray your colour of ink.

Where this game really shines is its team-based versus mode. With four players on each side and short match times, you can easily get addicted to re-queuing for hours! In this mode, the aim is to cover as much of the map in your colour as you can. Rather than Call of Duty or other shooters where the aim is to kill as many people as you can, killing other players in this game only serves to temporarily give you a respite from the action. You can maintain control of one corner of the map and have a huge kill count, but unless your team works together you'll probably lose more games than you'll win! I think I really like this because the nature of the game is more casual and friendly for people of all ages. I find the different gun types work well for different team roles too. 

For instance, I really like the paint roller so that my team can race forward to secure more territory while I paint the base! Plus, it has a large area of coverage so it feels super epic when you find a spot that isn't painted. On the other hand, the PVP of the paint roller isn't very strong since it's very close range, so someone with a strong gun can shoot you from afar! It's all about what you want to bring to the team...

I've only played a little bit of the story mode so far only because PVP is so much fun! What I can say though is that story mode aims to hone your skills (which is should), while providing a fun platforming experience. The puzzles aren't necessarily hard at first, and I think the difficulty is gradual. The bosses are really silly, with tiny little feet and funny character design. One thing about story that I feel they missed out on was the concept of more collectibles. So far, you only need to collect pages of lore in each level, but I think it'd be neat to also have areas where you can fill in outlined graffiti with ink that provide other little boosts or maybe Miiverse stickers! Something extra to reward your exploration of the world would be appreciated, I think.

Another thing I think may put some players off is the ultra-cutesy and 'hip' style the game fronts. For instance, the fashion in the game is very urban so some players might feel limited in the customization of their character. Especially at first, since you have to play the game a ton first in order to even unlock the ability to buy different clothes! There's this whole theme in the game of being fresh enough (seafood joke, anyone?) and practically every NPC says this on a regular basis. It's a bit cheesy, but kind of endearing at the same time.

Finally, I think one other thing this game excels at (especially for Nintendo) is the integration of the Miiverse messages players can create in-game. In the Plaza, the overworld in a way, players can access their Miiverse and created messages. These messages will be displayed with your character as they appear in the Plazas of other players. After a PVP match, your Plaza will refresh to display new players. It's really fun to walk around and look at all the neat artwork people have created for the game! A lot of Squidward memes though, haha! Your artwork can even be featured as graffiti in the Plaza, or in the arena during PVP matches. I was able to find one of my drawings during a match today!

tdlr; Splatoon is addictive and crazy! I think you'll really enjoy the PVP!---- WAIT A MINUTE $70?! *SWEATS PROFUSELY*