If you've heard about iPhone/iPod touch games, you've heard about Super Monkey Ball. Released on July 11th along with the new iTunes Application Store, this launch title has done extremely well for itself. It boasts a fair score from users, and has ridden the top of the charts since it's release. Is this hype simply due to it being the first real game announced for the iPhone back in March of '06? Or does it actually stand on it's own two legs?
Well, considering those legs are attached to a monkey... in a ball... how could it lose?
Super Monkey Ball has the same concept of all the other Monkey Balls games: roll around a level in a ball while collecting bananas, dodging obstacles, and navigating paths to get to the portal at the end. It's this simple gameplay that has attracted the past games in the franchise to young and old alike. Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone absolutely delivers in this respect.
The graphics are extremely polished, and rival that of the Nintendo DS. Yes that's right, and this game is on a flippin' phone. The framerate is buttery smooth, and I've yet to encounter any graphical glitches or errors of any kind while playing. I also noticed that the iPhone really doesn't give off much heat from playing this game either. I don't know how they got a game to look so good on a phone, even with it being an iPhone!
The sound is also great, with very catchy (yet not quite annoying) tunes for the levels. The sound effects are all very clear, and the little monkey sounds, though there aren't very many, are good enough, and vary depending on what character you choose.
Speaking of characters, there are 4 total. There are also 5 worlds with 10 levels each. Before you gasp at the apparent lack of content, bare in mind that each world must be played on both easy and hard to beat it. Easy and hard levels are completely different. Add on bonus levels for getting all the bananas before finishing, and you have yourself over 100 levels to struggle through.
In mentioning a struggle, the difficulty of this game can't be over looked. It seems that it's biggest michanic, also turns into it's biggest weakness. Using the accelerometer to tilt the levels is definitely a great concept, and a must for an iPhone app, but it proves to be inaccurate at times, and can make the levels a lot more frustrating than they are meant to be. I love a good challenge as good as the next guy, but when it's a gameplay mechanic causing the frustration, it can get tough to not put the game down for a long break.
Although, who knows, after fighting through 100+ levels, you could probably use a break, you crazy phone-tilting feind! You don't have to be a fan of Monkey Balls- er, BALL to enjoy this game. It's $10, which honestly feels about right. Once you get the hang of the controls, it won't be that bad. As long as you're willing to climb up that learning curve.
