Super Monkey Ball Deluxe

Sega can scare the piss out of anyone with a wave of their hand. With games like House of the Dead, they actually try to scare you. When that doesn't work, they whip out Shenmue and try to scare you with how bad a game can be. And if that isn't enough, they have Ecco the Dolphin to scare you purely on the concept that they actually made a game featuring a Dolphin.

But there is something much worse. Something much more sinister. That, my friends, is Super Monkey Ball. Super Monkey Ball is a game where you play a simian entrapped in a small glass ball who is forced to, not much unlike a hamster, run around a small little maze and try to find his way into a goal post before time runs out or he falls off a cliff, presumably to his death. And you thought Sega wasn't sick enough by sending a freaking dolphin to it's death.

Monkey Ball (as it was called in Japan) was originally a somewhat stupid arcade game available in Japan for those insane little kids who still love to go to Arcades. The game quickly became a hit- it was easy to pick up and play, fun, and got really difficult after a while. Best of all, it was juvenile enough to allow it to be played by anyone- young or old- and still be relatively enjoyable. It has no violence, no language, and basically encompasses the entire mentality of the younger generation of gamers. Of course, this is from the Japanese, who still club fish to death and eat them raw. And god, it's pretty tasty stuff.



Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, as you can already tell, is just Super Monkey Ball available on the console in it's third rendition. Featuring 300 puzzle maps, the game is not only an update from the older games, but also a compilation of them- all 114 maps from Super Monkey Ball, 140 from Super Monkey Ball 2, and 46 extra just to make everything interesting.

And that's the gist of it. You do these puzzles with your monkey, rolling him around the courses provided praying to god you do not fall off or waste time. Even the most cynical gamer can see the allure of this game- it's simple and features nothing to cloud your eyes other than really bright colors, bananas blatantly labeled with the Dole symbol, and little annoying monkeys. If you have a hard time grasping the concept of this game, you probably have no idea what I'm even talking about right now. It's just that simple.

The game is also surprisingly well made for being so basic. The entire game (originally made for the Gamecube) exudes the kind of childish attitude appropriate for this kind of title. All of the graphics are well made (yet simple), the maps are by all means well thought through, and the music is oddly addictive and interesting. No-one could argue the game does not have polish, which is nice to see, since I can see Sega sitting around a table trying to come up with ways to just get this game out with the least amount of effort as possible.

But of course, I can't let this game go without critiquing it a bit. This game is juvenile- too juvenile. While the initial reaction I had to this game was ?I can stand it?, I later found out that playing this game is like sitting in a brightly colored plastic chair cutting construction paper with plastic scissors and making a collage of my parents with it. Long story short, the game is almost insultingly stupid. One could get more intellectual discussion out of any given Cartoon Network show, purely because this game is nothing more than childish drivel. For god sakes, the villain is named ?Dr. Bad-Boon?.



There is not much to say about this game other than ?you better be ready to put on the dunce hat?. This game is incredibly fun, but the insistence of Sega to add the piss poor and quite childish story as well as create basic stories makes this game slightly annoying. As well, the game is basic overall, meaning those wishing to push the power of their XBOX, Gamecube, or PS2 will find themselves sorely disappointed with the generic gameplay and arcade roots.

So, if you're looking to feel like you're wearing diapers and have a bit of fun, this game is something to pick up. However, if you are one to feel easily embarrassed by playing an ?easy? game (or just know people who will make your life a living hell for owning the game), this is definitely not the game to pick up in your free time. But who knows, you may like the ?interesting? love developments between... monkeys.

4 star(s) out of 5

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