Having beaten my bongos to a pulp thanks to the original Donkey Konga, I was excited to be receiving the second installment. As with all new games I get, I always take a peek at the instruction manual first. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I look at the song list and notice that, save for the Donkey Konga 2 Theme, there were no Nintendo songs to be found.

Trying to surpress my chagrin, I pop the game into my GameCube and head straight for the main area of the game, which happens to still be named Street Performance. I spin the circular menu around to see what kind of songs I might want to play. Luckily, while a number of the songs I did not not know by name, there were quite a few that I had heard before. This eased the pain slightly, but only slightly because while there were songs that I would have loved playing along with, there also seemed to be quite a number of songs that we've all heard on the radio or elsewhere hundreds of times before. Songs like All Star, The Anthem, Come Clean, Headstong, and so on.

They weren't necessarily the worst songs in the world, but I've heard them all enough that I really didn't want to play them save for getting massive amounts of coins. On the plus side, there were songs that I hadn't heard in a while, or at all, that were very fun to play along with. These songs include It's Been a While, Losing My Religion, Boombastic, High Roller, and Contact.

Sadly, quite a few of the genres were shafted with Donkey Konga 2, or so it seems. Rock/Pop easily had the most of the bunch, with sixteen songs. Hip-Hop/R&B had the next most with seven. The Classical and Dance/Electronica categories each had three, while the Game, Reggae, and Latin genres were given a paltry one song each. If you didn't notice already, this means that there were not only no Nintendo songs, but there were no children songs, either.

If you've played the first Donkey Konga for any length of time, then 2 is going to look very familiar. Simply speaking, Donkey Konga 2 has you beat on your bongos to songs of different diffculties to earn coins so you can buy harder songs and different sets of drum sounds. The good thing about this is that even the songs I dislike were fun to play. Most of the songs this time around are also more active. You'll be banging you bongo around a lot more, which also means that you'll be getting coin counts near one thousand on a lot of different songs.

All the modes you loved (or hated) are back again as well, though some with different names. Battle is the same 2-player contest to see who can get the higher score. Challenge mode is also back, but instead of having only a continous stream of songs, you can choose from six or twelve-song sets. If you get to the end of either of those you'll be treated with a brand new song that isn't featured in Street Performance. Once you buy all the Gorilla songs you'll also be able to open up the more tradional Challenge mode which presents you with all the songs.

Jam Session is back, but sports the new name of Concert. As before, up to four people can play with either bongos, controllers, or a mix of the two to a specially mixed version of the song you pick. There aren't any coins awarded, but it's a very fun and challenging mode, especially if you can gather four sets of bongos together.

The best new feature of Donkey Konga 2 is the Music Lab. This is just the new name of the Ape Arcade, but the two new mini-games there more than make up for the name. For 50 (single) or 100 (multiplayer) coins, you can play either of the two mini-games. In Rhythm Keeper, you are given a certain sequence of drum beats in a specific time, all you have to do is match that rhythm once the barrels disappear. This game definitely can help you to keep a rhythm if you've having trouble with that.

The other game is called Barrel Race, and is my favorite part of the game by far. You and up to three others (or just the computer if you're by yourself) can race against the clock to see who can get through all the drum beats the fastest. Depending on the set you use (short, medium, or long), there will be a specific amount of drum beats that drop down into a column. All you have to do is hit them in sequence from bottom to top.

If you do well in either of these two mini-games, you'll earn a chance to earn new badges. Badges are little pictures that appear alongside all of your high scores, in place of initials. You start the game with a measly ten badges, but by playing these games you can earn up to twenty more from various Nintendo franchises.

The only completely new mode to appear in Donkey Konga 2 is the one called Freestyle Zone. In this mode, you pick whatever song you want and you'll be thrown into one of the 3D backgrounds in the game, with no gauges or pictures clogging up your screen. Here you can play to your heart's content, making up your own beat as the song plays. While you beat, though, pictures of various characters from the Donkey Kong Country series will come popping up on your screen. After a specific number of hits it'll change to a different character. You can do this for as long as you want as there are no time limits in Freestyle Zone. You can even change the song or the background any time you want.

Rounding out the main modes of the game are the generic Shopping Mall (buy your songs and sound sets here), Electric Hut (options), and Hall of Records. Speaking of sound sets, you'll be in for a surprise if you have a Donkey Konga save on the same memory card you use for DK2.

Overall, Donkey Konga 2 is obviously quite a bit like its predecessor. The new songs give you enough to warrant playing them at least one time through each of the difficulties, but the mini-games are really what's going to keep you coming back for more. If you didn't like the original Donkey Konga, chances are you aren't going to like this sequel. If you did, there's enough here to satisy your bongo-bashing needs.