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Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball is a very unusual game. If you have ever played the board game "labyrinth" you know what the idea is. You control the angle and inclination of the play area, and a little monkey inside a ball rolls around. Your goal is to guide him (or her) away from precarious ledges, across winding platforms, and through the narrow finish line at the end. Along the way you can pick up bananas for more points. Though the early levels are quite easy and even the most inexperienced novice can breeze right through them, the later levels get insanely difficult. The platforms get narrower, the angles get steeper, and the time you have in which to finish decreases. In the relatively short time I played SMB, I got through the "beginner" levels and beat the extra beginner levels. I also unlocked the extra levels in the "advanced" set. However, I made practically no progress on the "expert" levels. They're too hard! It's practically impossible to beat all 100 single player levels. But wait! The "advanced" levels are challenging, but fun. And there's more to this game than the single player! In addition to the fun and challenging single player, SMB comes with a superb multiplayer. There are 7 ways to play against friends (most of which can also be played by one player against the CPU). First is multiplayer of the single player levels. This is simply who can get through the platforms first. Pretty simple, but still enjoyable. The rest of the multiplayer modes do not follow the tilt-n-tumble gameplay. In these you actually control the monkeys themselves on stationary playing fields. There are 3 immediately available options to choose from. They are battle, target, and race. Battle is a typical arena brawl where the monkeys have boxing gloves that they can punch each other with. The goal is to send the opponants off the arena and into oblivion. There are also powerups that you can get to make you more powerful. Target, my personal favorite of the three, is a gliding game where the monkeys gain momentum down a slope, and then ramp up way into the air over water. You then must open your monkey's ball and he will glide. Taking into account wind speed and your own velocity, you must decide on a target that you will try to land on. Harder targets get you more points. This is a turn-based multiplayer game. Finally, there is race. Race is merely your monkeys rolling through different tracks while getting powerups and using them to get ahead of your opponants. Not the best mode in my opinion, but it's still a lot of fun. Finally, there are three modes you can unlock. These are billiards, bowling, and golf. All three are very well done and fun. They are obviously turn-based as well. The controls for SMB are extremely simple. In single player, you don't use anything but the control stick. With it you control the board tilt, and that's all there is to control! This easy control method requires a good controller. I tried my 3rd party Pelican G3 controller and had to stop because it wasn't precise enough to control the platform sufficiently. The multiplayer games use buttons, but usually only A. So, the control for every mode is simple and easy to get used to. Super Monkey Ball is a great addition to the GCN library. It is fun, addictive, and the gameplay is fresh and unusual. The multiplayer is probably the best thing about it, making it an excellent party game. If Super Smash Brothers isn't your cup of tea (and even if it is), this is a great multiplayer game for you and friends to enjoy. Definitely rent, possibly buy.
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| © 2002 Entertainment Critique. All Rights Reserved. |
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