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.

This game requires a lot of hard work at the controls. Every movement you make on your controls need not reflect to the same extent in the game. The controls work as if you are controlling someone on the ice rink. You never can be sure how your command will reflect on screen. Your speed affects your ability to turn without losing your balance. The idea of slowing down seems very appealing. However, this spoils your timing and you can forget all thoughts of competing with expert gamers. If you go too fast, you shall crash often and this shall affect your game as well. The smart thing to do is strike the right balance. As if the turns were not enough, there are ledges that you must jump over. Fail to do so and you will hear a loud wail from your monkey as you lose a valuable life in the game.

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.

This game is right on top as far as the oldest games in the circuit are concerned. Despite this, it would not be incorrect to say it is one the best amongst all other games in the platforms. The environment of the game is colored and very pretty. A lot of work has gone into the details and this is obvious from the overall design of the game. It is unreasonable to expect that each and every level will be prettier than the earlier one. There are some duds but they are few and far.

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.

Game Score: 9.5/10

Check out my Blog – The Chris Voss Show thechrisvossshow.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

More Iphone Games Articles