Donkey Kong

STORY / GAMEPLAY
You're Mario, the fearless Italian carpenter, and that big gorilla, Donkey Kong has run off with your girlfriend. It's up to you to struggle up those ladders and balance on those beams to rescue your lady fair. She's held captive at the way up the top, and Mario must climb to the top of the fortress, remove dangerous rivets, and fend off deadly firefoxes. He also faces a complicated chain of conveyor belts, and he must sidestep moving buckets of sand while continuing to battle the unreflecting firefox. But Donkey Kong is not ready to give her up so easily. He's tossing barrels and fireballs at you at every turn. Fortunately Mario can pick up and use a hammer to smash barrels, sand piles and firefoxes. But the hammer does not last forever, so use it quickly. It's up to you to outmaneuver that wily ape. Also, Mario must finish his journey before the counter runs out. If he hasn't rescue his girlfriend by the time the counter reaches zero, Mario loses his chance... It's a tough fight, and Mario needs your help.
basic run and jump game; all you have to do is run, jump, and climb ladders, so it's real simple. The controls aren't overly touchy, or slow, they're just right. But, when you play Donkey Kong for the first few times, you will have to get used to judging Mario's jumping distances. If you liked playing Donkey Kong in the arcades or if you'd like an original and fun game to play, I recommend playing Donkey Kong on an Atari XE\XL.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The levels themselves and Mario look nicely (actually looks just like he did in the arcade game), and the graphics in Donkey Kong for the 8-bit Atari really aren't that bad, looks-wise. The game also has nice looking colors. As in all 8-bit conversions, Donkey Kong looks more like a bear than he does an ape!
The sounds of Mario walking, jumping, or climbing a ladder, as well as the little memorable tunes during gameplay, are identical to the arcade game of the same name. The other sounds such as that of hitting something with the hammer, and the short music that plays when you finish a level, aren't bad either.