Nintendo brought back its popular Donkey Kong Country franchise for the Wii in 2010 with Donkey Kong Country Returns . It was so well received that the publisher ported it to 3DS in 2013.

Donkey Kong Country in 1080p; 'Nuff said, New secondary characters add unique ways for Donkey Kong to make his way through stages, Tons of additional content to collect will have you attempting to master this difficult game

Difficulty is high compared to most side-scrolling platformers; Lack of Wii U GamePad specific mechanics; Local multiplayer only

Hardcore gamers can rejoice now that Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze has been released on the Wii U. Expect your favorite monkey characters (not rolling around in see through balls) to make appearances. Expect the intense difficulty from start to finish. Expect tough and long boss battles.

Hot on the heels of Super Mario 3D World is another blockbuster Nintendo property getting the HD treatment thanks to the Wii U. Does Tropical Freeze measure up to the high standard of prior Donkey Kong Country entries? Toby's not allowing any monkey puns so just read the damn review will ya?

Colourful and charming environment and character designs; Challenging, varied levels; An excellent soundtrack

Every component of this game existed in some form in 1993; Neither tropical island nor frozen tundra is the true habitat of a gorilla

No game is perfect, but comes as close as it could get within its genre. The new game to beat in its sector; we're talking pure video game ecstasy. How we score: The Destructoid Reviews Guide

Donkey Kong's just wanted to be liked for so long. The erstwhile villain to everyone's favorite plumber, Donkey Kong decided long ago that if you can't beat him, you might as well join him - or, emulate him, in the case of Donkey Kong Country.

Donkey Kong Country looks great in HD; Dixie and Cranky Kong add a few new wrinkles to the mix

Feels way to similar to previous entries; Controls are still sluggish and imprecise; Frustratingly drawn-out boss battles

When it was revealed that the next game from the beloved Retro Studios would be a follow-up to the Nintendo Wii game Donkey Kong Country Returns , it came as a surprise to many, and fan reactions were fairly mixed.

is a great platformer full of tense sequences and tough levels. Boss battles are a huge highlight, and it's packed with hard-to-find secrets and collectibles. Multiplayer could use some improvement, but I found myself laughing whenever my teammate and I wiped out on some of these unforgiving setups.

A challenging platformer; Great boss fights; Clever level designs; Lots of Secrets

No Co-op Switching

Seeing everything there is to see in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a privilege, not a right. While some platformers present their content to you on a silver platter, daintily spoon-feeding each level into your eager mouth, Tropical Freeze tells you to go out into the snow barefoot, run...

Great presentation; with lush graphics and charming music; Incredibly challenging; but never feels unbeatable; New Kongs encourage different playstyles

Will simply be too difficult for some tastes; Co-op play is a disappointment

You might be tempted to overlook Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, but if you did, you'd be missing out on an excellent platforming title with tons of style and polish. While it's true that it doesn't explore a lot of new territory, iteration within a genre is only bad to the extent which...

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Reviewed on Wii U by Michael Damiani. Given the woeful performance of the Wii U to date, Nintendo's struggling console can use all the help it can get.