Super Monkey Ball

As to the mini/party games, I especially enjoyed the monkey golf and monkey target (a mini version of pilot wings), and they are lots of fun when you have your mates round.

The main beauty of this game is how simple it is to control and to pick up, as opposed to some games. My girlfriend (who hates playing console games) picked this up very quickly, and was hooked as well.

The only reason for not buying this game is that you have other things to do in your life. But if you do buy it, you probably won't care about them anyway.

If you were a fan of Marble Madness during the 8-bit saga of computer games, you will love this game. If you’ve never heard of Marble Madness, you will still love this game. Sega has duplicated the innovative structure, challenging depth and addictive gameplay of the ball rolling puzzle game in a wacky Japanese manner that is fun for all ages. That’s right, even adults (who are attracted to Nintendo’s “kiddie appeal” like vegetarians to beef) have suddenly become allies to GameCube because of this game.

The basic premise of the Main Game is this. You’re a monkey in a ball (obviously) and must navigate your way through stages suspending in the air to a blue goal, where upon passing through you are transported to a slightly more challenging stage with exactly the same principal. There are 4 monkeys to choose from, AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon (although no individual characteristics are carried with each character), after which three difficulty levels await you; Beginner (10 stages), Advanced (30 stages) and Expert (50 stages). The camera follows the ball in a third-person mode, yet the board actually tilts to move your ball and not the monkey. It seems daunting at first but due to the camera mode and the control sticks sensitivity, you have precise and complete control over your ball.

Score Points are given for stages you can successfully complete, and depending on the time remaining, depends on how generous your total is. If you are daring enough to take a more difficult route to green/red warp goals, not only are several stages skipped but your Score Points bonus skyrockets as well. You can collect bananas during stages too (what is a monkey game without bananas?) which not only act like coins in Mario (100 = 1UP) but also contribute points towards your total score. The only direct reward is seeing your name in the rankings list, but as an additional extra, Play Points are accumulated too (used to unlock the games’ extra features).

So, as long as you reach the goals without falling off and before the time limit runs out, you would think there is nothing to worry about. This would be the case if the game weren’t so fiendishly difficult. For its kiddie appearance, I seriously doubt the kiddies themselves would be able to complete the game in their 1st attempt…make that their 1st 500 attempts. Beginner is self-explanatory, Advanced has very difficult moments, but with repetitive trial and error are easy to overcome. The amount of time you will spend ripping your hair out/throwing your controller at the television/cursing words you never even knew existed, whilst playing Expert mode…it just cannot be stressed enough. Players have been praying for a modern game with retro difficulty since the jump to 3D, yet their prayers have been answered with a game that seems impossible to complete.

Due to the difficulty setting, this game may put off players used to graphically stunning games which only take extremely minuscule portions of their gaming life to complete. However, due to the difficulty setting, this game may attract players who are looking for the greatest gaming challenge of their lives. You will come across something that literally looks impossible and you will definitely fail on the 1st, 2nd, even 100th attempt of it too. But the feeling of achievement when finally completing a level, where it’s difficult to stay on let alone reach the goal in time, and after attempting it 100 times previously, is just overwhelmingly brilliant. The more you hate a particular stage, the more you will love yourself when it’s finally conquered.

Eventually, the single player mode will become tiring if completed or not (and I don’t blame you for giving up if that’s the case) so it’s good to see a multiplayer mode as well. This thankfully doesn’t require the skills and timing of the main game, but does require at least one friend to share it with. Which is a great shame if you’re a loner, as you’re missing out on a fantastic multiplayer experience that screams replay value with bright flashing lights. Three Party games are available to begin with: Money Race, Monkey Target and Monkey Fight, yet three Mini games can be unlocked by the Play Points you collect: Monkey Billiards, Monkey Bowling and Monkey Golf. They are simple games, but are simply designed to have barrels of fun with a group of friends, particularly Monkey Fight (Monkey + Ball + Giant Boxing Glove!).

Despite the imaginative aspect of it, Super Monkey Ball does flaw (hey, nothing is perfect). The game’s graphics looks a little plain, particularly the game's backgrounds, such as distant mountainous landscapes or endless nighttime space with a random fast food restaurant floating about. It is limited scenery used too often. The graphics are colourful and generally pleasant to look at but they’re no Soul Calibur II. The redundant soundtrack is another problem too as the constant techno beat hardly ever varies. Not that they are bad tunes, but your own CD collection will probably give you greater listening pleasure. If you can't try look past these minor grumbles, then you are not trying hard enough.

Easy to play yet difficult to master, Super Monkey Ball is a complex extravaganza of multiplayer and single player gaming that will leave you stuck to your television for quite a while.