Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
Whats a system launch without a monkey? Probably pretty normal. But any system
launch that is accompanied by a monkey-oriented game is all right with me. After all,
monkeys make things cool look at Space Ghost and Dexters Laboratory, King
Kong or Every Which Way But Loose or Ronald Reagan. For crying out loud, wont
somebody acknowledge the genius of Lancelot Link?
At any
rate, Sega apparently knows how cool monkeys are, and theyve given the rest of us in
the know a really intriguing new game called Monkey Ball. Thats right, Monkey Ball.
Think of it kind of like those Labrynth games they sell at Spencers Gifts, except
instead of a steel ball-bearing, you roll around a monkey. In a ball. Its kind of
like a hamster ball.
You
can probably understand why I am at such a loss to remain coherent during this preview.
Sega is well-known for giving us entirely addictive games, and Chu Chu Rocket demonstrates
their ability to do a puzzle game that will take over your life, sort of a Tetris-effect.
Add to that the aforementioned monkeys, and youve got a winner.
The basic
premise of Monkey Ball is this: You control the tilt and angle of the playing field. The
field is divided into panels, some panels move, and your goal is to tilt the panels to
roll the ball (with the monkey in it) to the goal without falling off the edges. This is
incredibly simple. The controls are simply the joystick and the A button. The goal of
Monkey Ball is not to perfect a set of commands, but to perfect your tilting ability and
to strategize about how best to win and/or screw up your opponent. You can get special
items that will tilt your opponents board or change the size of their ball.
This is
a simple game, but the cuteness combined with the addictive puzzle action could make it a
real winner. Considering there wont be that many games out for the GameCube this
fall, Monkey Ball will be a very welcome addition to the lineup. It is the kind of game
that will keep the kids on it all day, give big bro and sis a laugh routinely, and get mom
addicted in her off-time. A strong multiplayer mode will make Monkey Ball even more
appealing. Check it out around the GameCube launch, if for no other reason than the
monkeys.