Donkey Kong's new groove

  Following just over a year after the bizarre announcement of Team Ninja's Metroid: Other M, Nintendo produced another unexpected developer/design pairing at their E3 press conference Tuesday with the reveal of Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Harkening back to the original trilogy of side-scrolling Super Nintendo titles, Returns lets one or two players control Donkey and Diddy Kong as they traverse a wide range of  2D environments.  Players can use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to perform a variety of new gesture-specific moves, including a ground pound and windmill attack.

Sacrificing the Super NES's post-rendered graphical style in favor of traditional polygonal geography, Returns still succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of the original. Breathtaking sunsets reduce the simian heroes to nothing more than silhouettes, their red accessories highlighted in a Sin City-like fashion.  

Described as a reimagining of the original Donkey Kong Country, it remains to be seen whether the levels will feature all-new geography or play largely similar to their 16-bit counterparts. Regardless, Nintendo fans with a craving for bananas can look forward to playing Donkey Kong Country Returns on their Wiis this holiday season.