New Yorker, plastic surgeon and newly re-crowned Donkey Kong world champion (for the time being) Dr. Hank Chien has posted a score of 1,068,000, accrued over the course of a two hour and 45 minute session.
Chien has held the distinction once before, subsequently losing it to fellow classic arcade gaming high score legend Billy Mitchell, who then lost his record to Steve Wiebe.
Chien’s latest record reclamation was achieved on his second attempt of the day. Speaking to Twin Galaxies, the reputable electronic gaming scorekeepers, Chien explains: “My approach was very similar to last time. I played more aggressively in the beginning to put my pace well above the world record score and then played more conservatively towards the end of the game.”
Chatting about the lofty heights the world record score has reached, Chien said “The score is getting high enough now that you will have to play fairly aggressively all the way through the game to get the world record. If the score is pushed up much higher, I will have to revamp my playing style next time for a higher risk/higher reward.”
Despite its outwardly simple appearance, the pros consider Donkey Kong to be a deeply complex game. Discussing a theoretical maximum score for Donkey Kong, Chien said “the game is so complex and there are so many ways to play the game, I don’t think anybody has figured out exactly was that score is. In fact I don’t think anybody has even figured out the maximum score for the first board.”
“Since there is so much randomness and luck involved no one will ever get the maximum score. I know that the current score still has much room for improvement, so it is likely that this back and forth will continue for a while longer,” Chien continued.
The Donkey Kong world record will come under assault once again in March 2011, when the Kong Off takes place with the world’s top Donkey Kong players battling it out for the new top score.
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