The game is a popular Gamecube racing game series. Variants became popular on GBA, Xbox, PS2, Wii and even Nokia N-Gage. Now, there is an iPhone variant as well. If you have not played this game, then keep in mind that this game is similar to Marble Madness series. The Super Monkey Ball game was released on launch day and was a super hit in no time.
Your poor monkey, encased as he is in a ball (we'll call him bubble monkey – Seinfeld fans will get it), must traverse the treacherous levels as quickly as possible. You're not racing against other competitors (though this would be a great, and utterly wild addition), you're simply racing to the goal as quickly as possible.
Ever tried controlling a monkey? If not, then you will find out how difficult it is to do so when you play this game. Controlling the movements of the monkey is the most difficult part. Speed affects control and maneuverability. Unless you get the right balance between speed and control, you will find yourself either lagging behind or crashing at every other turn. As if this was not difficult enough, there are ledges from where you can easily slide off the screen. What results is a soulful and painful wail from the monkey along with a loss of a valuable life in the game. The ledges are present in all levels and you will crash the moment you opt for high acceleration to boost your timing. You know what to do and you also know how it is to be done. However, doing it often turns out to be more difficult than you can imagine.
Also scattered throughout the 110 levels (many of which must be unlocked) are bananas which can be picked up, and enough bananas adds an extra life to bubble monkey. Bananas are the also the means needed to unlock new worlds, as you'll have to collect all the bananas on a world to unlock the next. This will force players to replay the same stages multiple times, and coupled with the occasionally finicky controls, may cause some gamers fits. As a gamer who grew up with Marble Madness (much harder than any Super Monkey Ball game) I was loving the challenge, and had a blast playing through all the levels, and not just because they're challenging.
Super Monkey Ball has some brilliant graphics, still some of the nicest seen on the platform despite it being one of the oldest games out there. The 3-D environments are colourful and detailed, and the viewing distance is excellent. With the large number of levels there are certainly some duds in level design and looks, but on the whole this is a great looking game. Your monkey too is cute as can be, and there are 4 different ones to choose from, each offering slightly different parameters.
Controlling bubble monkey is accomplished entirely through tilting of the iPhone, and will likely take some practice to get used to. I personally didn't have much difficulty getting the hang of it, but a steady hand is definitely necessary, as the tilting is set at such a level that it will pick up even the slightest tilts, with more aggressive tilts resulting in massive turns. While others have complained that it's too sensitive, I think for games that require precise controls like SMB, this is really the only way to go. You simply can't accurately reproduce larger tilts to the same degree as you can smaller ones. If you like racing games and love a challenge, you should not let this monkey pass you by. Despite the lack of any additional modes, there's more than enough content here to keep gamers busy for a long time. This is one of my favourite iPhone games and comes highly recommended.
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