Growing up, I had a long list of favorite things. These included, but were not limited to: biology, sociology, psychology, history, anthropology (any "soft science" ending in y), astronomy, mathematics, music and Looney Toons — particularly Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The Little Mermaid hadn't yet revived the world's interest in Disney, and the double entendre humor of Bugs and Daffy had me laughing from the age of 5 until, well ... now.

At this year's E3, in a corner of Barker Hanger, facing away from the crowd, on the last hour of the last day, I stumbled upon Warner Bros.' exhibit. There were three demo units showing two titles; the one I couldn't see on a screen was Duck Amuck. I persevered — even though my feet told me it was unwise — and was rewarded for my efforts. For the next 15 minutes, I played Duck Amuck! Translation? I did everything I could to annoy Daffy. *grins*

Based on the 1953 Chuck Jones cartoon in which the animator does everything he can to annoy Daffy Duck (and the animator is revealed to be Bugs Bunny), Duck Amuck! is a series of clever mini-games in which your goal is to annoy Daffy as much as possible without causing him to blow his top and thereby end the game. It's a precarious balancing act as he's not known for his cool demeanor.

You'll poke and prod and swipe at Daffy. He'll recoil, grab his foot and complain accordingly. Do this enough, and you'll trigger a mini-game. (Over time, you'll learn how to trigger a specific game.) Three cans of paint may show up, and depending on whether you color the scenery or Daffy himself, you will get one of six games. Slice Daffy enough, and the mini-game becomes ... wait for it ... slicing up Daffy!

You can erase his body, redraw it and send him off to race the turtle. He may determine the whole problem with you is your stylus and toss dynamite at you for a while using his own. Daffy is particularly annoyed that there is no scenery behind him — tear it, and he'll repair it with "Duck" tape; or perhaps it will bleed black ... onto his head.

Remember when Bugs and Daffy headed to Pismo Beach for rest and relaxation and came upon the Genie and the lamp and the gems? It was "mine all mine, and you can't have it!" You'll play a 1970s low-poly version. And Duck Dodgers — as he says, "Hey, this was some of my best work!" Nothing like keeping the Uranium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator charged! There are so many familiar shorts of shorts inside of the title. All of them memorable, all of them clever.

Of note are:

• Duck and Cover: You close the cover as if pausing the game (and it doesn't activate every time). Daffy will knock on the cover, asking you to open it again. Then he'll let you know which shoulder button to press when you close it to help him escape deadly peril.
• Recycle the Code: The game is full of "Bugs" — pun intended. Code will scroll down the screen, and it's up to you to pull the bad code out and drop it into the recycling bin as quickly as possible.
• Robin Hood Daffy: Straight from the cartoon, Daffy shoots himself through the bow to fight the mighty Sheriff, and you must keep him afloat until he reaches the rogue.

The humor that Warner is famous for is consistent throughout the game. Keep Daffy bored long enough, and he'll tell you exactly how many pixels there are on the screen — because he's counted them. He not only gives you the option to play one of those "strategety quest games, one of those games with cool graphics and polygons up the wazoo, or I know, one of those mind-improvement games ..." but parodies his own cartoons based upon games of yesterday and today.

For all of the laughter I had with this title — and I laughed enough that I had to stop playing on a plane — I'm just not convinced of the longevity of the mechanic. The games are fun. I enjoy them, and even though you reach a point in which Daffy's jokes will repeat, they don't bore. But the problem is you never move beyond well ...

There's no game between the games. You restart the mini-games at level 1 every time you play them. If you don't want to anger Daffy to end this round, just fail a game or two, and he considers you a buffoon (he tells you so), and you're good to go.

Duck Amuck! is a high-quality series of mini-games that stays faithful to the cartoon it pays homage to, as well as to Warner Bros. and Daffy Duck. It is inspired, clever and funny. And, it is enjoyable — once. However, at a price point of $29.99 — there is multiplayer, but you need two carts — I just feel awkward saying run out and buy it. I would recommend it unequivocally for $19.99. I'm glad I bought it, and I'll keep it to show to every person who walks into my home who doesn't yet have a DS. But unless you are a die-hard Loony Toons fan, a DS evangelist or have the extra pocket change, wait until it drops in price. It's worth it, just not quite yet.