The level designs are the best in a platformer that I've seen in a while. Every object/enemy/obstacle is carefully placed and you won't get all the collectibles just by running through the level on autopilot. As someone else posted there is a great sense of weight when controlling DK yet the controls feel precise for the platforming in this game. Playing this with the wiimote sideways and after a 5-10 minute acclimation period I never really that dying was caused by some accidental motion waggle or due to the supposedly inferior d-pad.
I too was first worried about the motion control for rolling and although there is a very tiny delay compared to a button press I haven't encountered a situation where response time for rolling got me killed. You can't expect to roll jump through the entire game like you could in some parts of DKC1. You need to know when and when not to roll jump as the distance it covers is so large that you will overshoot some platforms if used incorrectly. When you come across an obstacle that needs roll jumping the level design gives you more than enough room to make up for any slight delay from the waggle. I actually prefer this over the spin jump waggle in NSMB Wii - now that game caused a few accidental deaths due to the sensitivity.
Would I have preferred button press for rolling over the waggle ? Definitely but I don't think it detracts from the game at all. One aspect of the controls that I do question is the blow mechanic which feels totally redundant of the ground pound.
I too was first worried about the motion control for rolling and although there is a very tiny delay compared to a button press I haven't encountered a situation where response time for rolling got me killed. You can't expect to roll jump through the entire game like you could in some parts of DKC1. You need to know when and when not to roll jump as the distance it covers is so large that you will overshoot some platforms if used incorrectly. When you come across an obstacle that needs roll jumping the level design gives you more than enough room to make up for any slight delay from the waggle. I actually prefer this over the spin jump waggle in NSMB Wii - now that game caused a few accidental deaths due to the sensitivity.
Would I have preferred button press for rolling over the waggle ? Definitely but I don't think it detracts from the game at all. One aspect of the controls that I do question is the blow mechanic which feels totally redundant of the ground pound.
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