Meh. I'm not all that excited about this. I'd been hoping for a new DK for a long time (I loved the originals on the SNES) but I was hoping for some sort of evolution, not just a rehash. There's this attitude that sidescrolling is inherently better than 3D as far as platforming is concerned, but I don't buy it. Sure, I suppose there haven't been as many great platformers in 3D as there have been sidescrollers, but look at the focus of 3D platformers. Most of them downgrade the platforming elements and make them adventure games as well. I suppose the premise was that if it's going to be in 3D, it needs to be free-roaming. While it certainly opens up that possibility, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. You can still get the linear fast paced experience of a 2D platformer in 3D. Look at the Crash Bandicoot games. They did exactly that, gave linear levels in 3D, and they were pretty fun too. You may also argue that since something is in 3D it can't be as fast paced as a sidescroller, but I disagree there too. Just because it hasn't been done yet doesn't mean it can't, and I'm pretty sure gamers can take it.
But I definitely see this sort of resignation with Nintendo regarding classic franchises. Okay, so people didn't like DK 64 as much as the originals, but that's because it WASN'T THAT GOOD AS A PLATFORMER. And rather than learn from their mistake and try to figure out how to do it right in 3D, they seem to have given up (Super Mario Galaxy notwithstanding). You see it in a lot of their games. Super Paper Mario. Kirby's Epic Yarn. Metroid: Other M. Super Mario Bros Wii. And now the new DK. I'm not saying these all won't be fun games, but it's nothing special either. In addition it looks like the new DK is being based largely off the first game, which is imo the weakest of the series. Anyway, I'll be playing the game, and like I said earlier, it will probably be fun, but it definitely isn't what I've been waiting all these years for.
