Donkey Konga (with DK Bongos) (Nintendo GameCube, 2004)

Donkey Konga is a great game best compared to "Dance Dance Revolution", or "Guitar Hero". You beat the Konga drums and clap your hands to the rhythm of the music with up to four players at the same time. It's really fun to hear everyone clapping their hands after the other in perfect succession. Apart from the multiplayer aspect, it also has some great challenging modes to play alone, or just to show off your skills to everyone else. I prefer the first Donkey Konga, as it has a much better selection of music compared to the sequel, but the are both excellent games.

The only problem with this game is that to play with four players you must have four konga drums, luckily Gamestop.com is currently selling two sets of drums for $15, so if you're interested you'd better take advantage of this deal while it lasts. (No I'm not working for Gamestop, but I do love Nintendo...)

My adult daughter and her 12-year old son just love this game! They have quite a competition going. I love to watch them playing it, but I know I'd never keep up well enough to play it myself (I like slower and non-competitive games like solitaire!). Donkey Konga is a little fast and advanced for my 6-year old granddaughter, even the minigames intimidate her a little, but I think when school is out for the term and she has more time she'll pick it up. If you have a bit of natural sense of rhythm, a sense of humor, and enjoy music, you can't go wrong with this game. It is exciting to play, but no "blood and guts" anywhere. I was thrilled to find a game that different-aged people could play and enjoy. Oh, and you definitely need the drum controller, preferably one for each player. While the game can be played with just the GameCube controller, it's really hard. My daughter and grandson take turns playing with the drum controller when they play against each other, and the one using the GameCube controller always feels somewhat disadvantaged. Really good family game!

So you wanna be a drummer? Then play Donkey Konga!!! I love this game so much! Who needs to be a "Guitar Hero"? This game is for those of us who want to play drums!! There are plenty of new songs, old songs, even a few classical. Even though it seems more for children, I think a 6 year old wouldn't be able to get past the easy levels. As a musician (not a percussionist), this game is still challenging. And the best part? You don't need the bongo drums! Playing with a controller is just as efficient, but the bongos are of course more realistic.

A word of caution: If you use the drums, be sure the hook everything up before starting the game and that you don't touch it (kind of like when you can mess up a controller during start up). Otherwise, if you even talk a little bit louder than usual, the bongos will pick it up as a clap.

Our family really enjoys all three of the Donkey Konga games. The song selection for this one - the first of the three is target to the really young - this is the game you want if you have little ones say around six to eight, or like us if you can find it cheap enough just to add to your other two for some additional music and to have when you have company over and you want to start them off on something easier. A great game.

You tap the left drum or the right depending on the symbol scrolling across the TV screen in time with the music. It will also have you hit left & right at the same time or clap above the built-in microphone in between the drums. Developes a sense of rythm and beat and eye hand coordination. Plus the music is fun. Lots of giggles and fun with this game.

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Using the Bongo controller to play along with the beat of some classic music was most entertaining about this game. The variety is great. Although one major downside is that most songs are cut off to keep them short. Another flaw was that after a while the game becomes a little to easy, even at the most difficult option which includes more notes to play and at a faster pace. It's either left, right, or both, or clap to play along. Although, I would say achieving a perfect score on most songs is no easy task. Nevertheless, the game includes a wide selection of pop, rock, and video game music enjoyable for up to four players. I would recommend Donkey Konga 2 instead.