Super Monkey Ball is one of Sega's surprise arcade hits, that combines mad high-speed dashing for bananas with some cool puzzle elements which adds up into one crazy frantic game!! And it's heading for your nearest GameCube.
So what's Super Monkey Ball all about? Well, you choose you main monkey, either Aiai, Meemee, or Baby, and its your job to get them to the end of some pretty hazardous levels in one piece, collecting bananas on the way. Whilst this may sound easy enough, you actually have to "tilt" the landscape to move your monkey along, rather like screwball scramble, a rather fiendish puzzle in its own right - and if you consider yourself a tilting expert, then how does tight turns, moving platforms, holes, thin tight ropes and collapsing floors sound? Did I mention you have a time limit to get through as well?
There is certainly enough here to suit beginners and a give hardened masters a challenge too, especially considering the game has 100 massive levels!! The game itself is sheer madness, even dafter than Chu Chu Rocket, but then I guess that is what makes this game so fun and so damn addictive with it!!
To add more fun to this bonkers game, there is an added multiplayer mode where you can dash around with your mates. The multiplayer mode even offers Mario Kart style power ups to send your monkey rival crashing down!! This game, like many puzzle games out there, was designed for multiplayer fun. But if that gets boring, there are other ball games for you to try, including Monkey Ball Golf and Snooker! Don't you just feel sorry for those poor monkeys?
Although the gameplay is rather simple, the graphics themselves are a sight to behold. With bright colourful and dazzling graphics, not to mention the various visual effects such as transparency and lighting effects, a feat the GameCube excels in. I doubt anyone will find fault with Super Monkey Ball's graphics, even the multiplayer mode looks just as sharp and keeps its speed at 60 frames per second!
Super Monkey Ball is looking ace, and is set to be a direct hit for the GameCube, it has already been confirmed as a Japanese launch title. I for one cant wait to grab hold of this cool game, it looks like Sega has gone and made themselves another master piece!! More information on Super Monkey Ball when we get it.
