DK: King of Swing isn't immediately amusing. One will push A in a futile attempt to jump, and gawk at how slowly Donkey Kong lumbers along the ground. Almost immediately I retreated to the tutorial, where I discovered that King of Swing is actually a lot of fun.

First I learned to jump by pushing L and R, and how L and R grab floating balls with their respective hands in midair. The hand used determines the direction the ape swings. If two grabbable balls are near enough, or DK is climbing a sheet of linked balls, DK can grab with two hands to charge in-place for a lunge attack, useful for destroying barrels and other familiar Donkey Kong enemies, such as mice and dragonflies. It also acts as a more powerful jump than releasing a trigger button while swinging. In midair, our tick-infested friend's course can be adjusted slightly with the D-pad, but no more than in the original Super Mario Bros. Collected bananas can be spent on heart refills in-game with B (10 bananas each) or a cheap, brief super-charge which enhances DK's swinging speed (though it wasn't very useful in the demo).

The game feels remarkably similar to DK Jungle Beat on the GameCube, also on display at E3. The levels almost have a rythm to them, and skilled players will truely swing like kings through the levels. At the same time this game reminded me of Kuru Kuru Kururin with its similarly simple but addictive design. Only three levels were playable, other than the tutorial, but within them I found tires to bounce off of, rotating balls to swing from, gears to turn, and moving walls to get squished between. The levels are connected with a DKC-style map, suggesting themed arenas, and possibly boss battles. The demo levels had a jungle or Aztec theme.

Mario may be slapped on everything from painting to racing, but DK is quickly cornering the Nintendo market for freshly-controlled and entertaining games. I had no interest in King of Swing when it was announced, but now I'll be sure to buy it upon its release.