Name: DK Jungle Climber
Genre: Side Scrolling Adventure
System: Nintendo DS

The new generation hasn’t been good to Donkey Kong. It seems with every game that comes out the otherwise intelligible ape has been numbed down into Nintendo’s very own stupid brute. Color me old fashioned but didn’t he always come off as the smart but misunderstood type?

Now every game that comes out has him grunting stupidly and making silly faces – fine things for a monkey to do but it pains me to see them coming from Donkey Kong. Not only that, but many of the DK games to come out have been teetering on the edge of pure suck and mediocrity. DK Jungle Climber is the first in a while to be truly pleasurable. It doesn’t force a stupid or gimmicky control scheme on players (bongos, anyone?) and ends up having fun gameplay, fun controls, and a nice, fun style.

A bulk of the game is controlled using the DS’s shoulder buttons instead of the often overused touch screen. Hey, developers, just because you can map jump to an upstroke across the screen doesn’t mean it is a good idea!

The right bumper moves right and grabs with the right hand, left does the opposite, and both at the same time jumps. The game seems to be more like those in the Sonic series as it has the ape going up, down, underwater, and every which way to collect bananas scattered throughout the levels.

The climbing mechanic works great. Holding onto a pin with a trigger has the King of Kong spinning uncontrollably, clicking the opposite button has him grab with the other hand and steady himself. From then there are a few different things that can be done. Pressing the shoulder buttons one after another climbs or hitting them both jumps from peg to peg and work across the level. It feels great and there is never a time where the controls get in the way. Instead, feeling completely immersed in the world, flying through the air is seamless and easy.

The game also takes the DS’s new signature graphical scheme into full effect. All characters and environments have distinctly 3D looks to them as all of the characters are fully modeled. The game is built into a side-scrolling world so it keeps a classical flavor. This is a tired and true method that made both Sonic Rush and NEW Super Mario Brothers both so appealing visually.

The game isn’t too long and can be completed in a few sittings if need be. This doesn’t cause any harm because of the game ranking how much you have collected throughout each level – eliminating the replayablility concerns of many DS adventure games.

The game could not ring all of your bells and I can’t say I would buy it myself but I am happy I played it and may grab it in a discount bin sometime in the future. I could see people becoming obsessed with the game as it is fairly addicting, so to test and see if you are one of those people I would suggest renting it.