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Super Monkey Ball
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| Description:
Super Monkey Ball does exactly what it says on the box: it features a monkey, in a ball, and it is absolutely super. This rather odd game is similar to the classic Marble Madness, except that instead of controlling a marble through a maze-like course you control the course and must tilt and rotate it to get the cheeky little simian to the exit. Ironically, the Gamecube's best launch game is also its least impressive graphically. It's not ugly, by any means, but the graphics are mostly purely functional and subservient to the gameplay. It may sound simple and repetitive but Super Monkey Ball is pretty much the dictionary definition of addictive, perfectly balancing the intense frustration at failing to complete a course with the absolute desire to have "just one more go". To make matters worse the later courses are so fiendishly difficult it' s as if Beelzebub himself has risen up from hell and designed a puzzle game. The single player mode is maddeningly addictive, but it's the four-player larks, either on the standard puzzle courses or through a bunch of wacky mini-games including monkey bowling and monkey fight, that mark Super Monkey Ball as a true gaming classic. Its lack of showy graphics may unfairly limit it to cult status--just make sure you're part of the cult.--David Jenkins
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3/5 |
Funny but one of the most frustrating games ever!
(July 10, 2008) |
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You have to try this for pure novelty value! i mean monkeys in balls! c'mon thats funny!.
The first few levels you get to grips with controlling your monkey ball and it can be very satisfying to reach the goal! you find you are willing the ball to go in the right direction and end up holding the controller at bizarre angles in the hope it will make the ball go more left!.
Sadly as with most games - things get harder! MUCH harder! good lord! there were levels where it starts, you breath, and the ball falls off the side! ARGGGGG!!! i can honestly say it really is the most frustrating game i have played on the Gamecube!. I never bothered to finish it. Maybe i was just rubbish at it?!?.
One good thing is the multi player mode - it is great having races against people - although when you have four people on a tiny telly it gets very confusing! but after a few drinks that just adds to the fun!
I'd say have a go at it! you might be brilliant at negotiating a monkey in ball! or you might throw your controller at the telly as you hear the monkey yell as it falls off the side for the zillionth time!. |
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5/5 |
Best game on the cube
(July 21, 2006) |
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Basically this is the best game on the cube. The multiplayer is good but average if truth be told. The main game is where it is really at for skilled gamers and it rocks. If you love games were you try to beat your high score then try it and if you dont then avoid. The gamecube controller was designed for this game and works better than the x-box and ps2 controller thus making the gamecube version the most sought after.And before i go if you like monkeyball then you will like part 2 also as its nearly as good. |
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1/5 |
what a pathetic waste of money
(November 19, 2005) |
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This has got to be the most boring game i have ever played. the levels are so unoriginal. roll a ball with a monkey in it to the end of a level collecting as many bananas as possible only to be dumped on an even worse level after. don't bover wasting your [or your mums]money on this. the only good thing is monkey racing a mini game where you race your friends along a race track.if it let you i would give this 0 stars. |
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5/5 |
All family fun
(August 31, 2005) |
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It has always been quite difficult for me to get interest in computer games for any longer than half an hour, if i can't do something i give up easily! However with monkey ball i have found myself being stuck in front of the screen with family and friends. When buying it last christmas it kept me up until 3am!
The main game is a set of 3 seperate stages with different difficulty levels. Basically your obviously a monkey in a ball guiding yourself through differnt mazes which get harder the more you complete. You collect bananas to give you extra lifes when you reach 100.
There are mini games aswell with races, flying and target landings. This was a real treat and got the whole family having a laugh, many hours of enjoyment now at a great price. There has yet been a game since that has lived up to it - apart from monkey ball 2 of course, this hope for a 3rd! |
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5/5 |
Perfect multi-player - and brilliant on your own, too
(September 23, 2004) |
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Super Monkey Ball is the finest multiplayer experience on the Gamecube without doubt. The 6 games on offer are a perfectly designed blend of accessibility and addictiveness - simple enough for anybody to play yet maddeningly difficult to stop. Monkey Target for example, in which you have to land your flying monkey on large floating darts-style targets in the sea, is particularly compulsive and long, long sessions with friends on this game alone are not uncommon. It really is that much fun. The single-player mode is very different, but just as great - an intimate test of dexterity that infuriates and delights in equal measure. The beauty of the level design is in its simplicity - upon failure only you, the player, are to blame and you soon realise that with practice the seemingly impossible, infuriating feats of improbable aptitude become levels that you are positively racing through for extra points, grabbing every last banana on your way. It's a triumphant return to the old-school gaming ethic - gaming as a challenging endeavour of self-improvement, rather than the prevailing modern trend of narrative progression. There is no story here - just a series of increasingly difficult obstacles between you and high-score glory. As such, those looking for an easy time should perhaps look to other titles - or perhaps just to the sublime multiplayer games, all of which can be played solo, against computer-controlled opponents. Easily one of the best games on Gamecube or any format, Super Monkey Ball is irresistable fun and an essential purchase. |
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