In your quest for a great family-oriented adventure video game, do not pass up Donkey Kong for the Nintendo 64. The moment the game begins, you are carried away from every day life by the the enchanting opening movie and are flown along until to the final battle. The software has an abundance of excellent graphics, wonderful musical score, thoughtful and intriguing puzzles, and unique characters.

Every story has to have bad guys, so the opening movie shows how they came to arrive on Donkey Kong's island. The mission laid out for the primates is to get back all the golden bananas that were stolen from the Kongs by the baddies, free the other Kongs which are imprisoned by the evil leader King Krool, and finally defeat the leader himself. Once the mission is revealed to the gamer, the adventure begins.

The first character you get to play is Donkey Kong himself. He is a gorilla and is a far cry from the ape in the old arcade game. In this game, he is truly the leader of the monkey clan; the powerful head of the family. This idea is reinforced from the tie he wears sporting his monogram, DK. Donkey is a little rusty from hanging around the hut all day and eating bananas, so you have to take Donkey to training class. Once training is complete, you earn your first golden banana and you also earn a skill from Cranky, who is a much older and grouchier primate. He hands out abilities when earned to each of the Kong members. The main abilities Donkey possesses are use of a coconut shooter, playing the drums, using the gorilla grab to move levers, and becoming invisible when needed.

As you progress through the game, you find the other Kong family members and solve the puzzles to free them. You also pick up more abilities as you go along, and the other Kongs help you in your quest with their own abilities. The game does not make you wait too long to find the other Kongs and once you do, the mix of their unique personalities makes the adventure even better.

The first Kong usually found is Diddy. He is a small in size, like a chimpanzee, and sports a red ball cap and matching shirt. His expertise lies in flying a jet pack, knocking out baddies with a peanut shooter, using his long tail like a spring, lowering his head for a chimpy charge to push certain buttons, and playing a mean guitar.

The next Kong Is Tiny. She is small in size as well and wears little overalls with a cool cap. Her skills are proficiency with a feather bow, ponytail twirl which allows her to sail over distances too long for her to jump, and the ability to shrink in size. She is very hip when she plays her saxophone.

Lanky is the next family member, and he is more like an orangatang. He is goofy, sweet, and loves to make noises. His skills are firing a grape shooter, walking on his hands, stretching out his long arms like rubber bands, and blowing himself up like a balloon so he can float in the air. Lanky's musical instrument is the trombone.

The last primate is Chunky. He is the largest of the family, and not so bright. He does not like danger, and covers his face with his hands when you select him or points to the other primates as if to say pick them, not me! Chunky's weapon of choice is a pineapple shooter. He has the ability to grow extremely large, and when he plays his musical triangle, he does a little ballet by dancing on his toes.

The Donkey Kong adventure is exactly what it says it is - a fantastic adventure. The rich levels of game play and different environments are choreographed to perfection and result in one of the best games ever created. Once you finish the game, it leaves you wanting to play more and take the Kongs out for another adventure.