As gaming has matured, games have grown in complexity. Complex games have their place in the market, but sometimes you just feel like something different. Sega is one of those companies known for fairly regular treks into the "something different" zone. As the company shifts to multiplatform development, it seems to be in fine, quirky form with Super Monkey Ball, its first GameCube release. An enhanced port of developer Amusement Vision's arcade title Monkey Ball, the game makes a strong case for the power of simple yet incredibly addictive gameplay.
Super Monkey Ball's simple, albeit slightly left-of-center premise finds you guiding a monkey encased in a transparent ball to a goal. There are two catches: You control the environment, not the monkey, and the path to the goal becomes increasingly perilous. The simple formula works incredibly well and calls to mind the classic gaming of Marble Madness. The main game is broken down into three modes--normal, practice, and competition. Normal mode is essentially a port of the arcade game, offering a choice of three selectable difficulties. Each difficulty setting offers its own set of progressively difficult levels. Practice mode lets you perfect your skills on stages you've already cleared. Competition mode shows off one of the game's biggest strengths: its multiplayer support. While one to four players can play normal mode, they have to alternate turns. Competition mode, on the other hand, actually lets two to four players play the game simultaneously on a split screen.
In addition to the main game, Super Monkey Ball offers two original modes, party game and minigame, which offer a variety of gameplay but keep to the simplicity that makes the main game mode so appealing. Party game mode offers three games--Monkey Race, Monkey Fight, and Monkey Target. Monkey Race is a solid little racer for up to four players, complete with power-ups. You'll choose from three types: a six-course grand prix, time attack, or one-course race. Monkey Fight is a one-to-four-player brawl in one of three arenas featuring a jungle, ice, or space theme. In this mode, your monkey's ball is outfitted with a telescoping fist, which you smack opponents with. The goal is to knock your opponents off the edges of the stage as many times as possible. Monkey Target is an eclectic game for up to four players that's one part Pilotwings and one part darts. The goal is to earn points by launching your monkey off a platform and gliding it to a pad floating in the surrounding ocean. Different parts of the pad are worth different numbers of points--and successfully coming to rest on them will earn a certain score. To keep things interesting, you'll spin a roulette wheel at the start of each round to see if the game will place aerial hazards in your way.
