Most people who have perused the catalog of GameCube games have noticed that the lineup is dominated by revamps of classic Nintendo games. However, many gems in the collection come from somewhat unlikely sources. Despite the fact that Sega stopped selling consoles, they've continued to release a bevy of titles that appeal to all sorts of gamers. When developer Amusement Vision paired up with Sega to unleash Super Monkey Ball 2, they created a fantastic addition to a highly addictive series of games. The ESRB "E" rating suggests a game lacking in the severe violence or maturity of other titles, but it's certainly not just for kids.
The original Super Monkey Ball enchanted audiences by filling the empty genre of games about monkeys in balls. A pseudo-throwback to Brio's wooden palate based Labyrinth, Super Monkey Ball lets the gamer take third person control of a monkey inside a spherical capsule. By guiding your monkey through a series of floating levels filled with obstacles and bananas, you earn points to unlock a series of party games. Super Monkey Ball 2 follows the basics of its predecessor, but dominates it in every aspect.
If you've already purchased Super Monkey Ball, you'll be somewhat disappointed because the best aspects of the original game are included and improved upon in the sequel. Super Monkey Ball 2 serves as sort of a version 2.0 for its precursor. The four main characters are back: AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon. Each monkey has a unique control style based on its weight, but that affects the party games more than the level mode.
The game play is exactly the same, with the analog stick being the primary control method. The major difference is that the game looks even better than it did the first time around. The fire levels look amazing and the frame rate doesn't slope off when there's a lot going on, which means that the fast paced action is smooth and crisp. The only thing that remains pretty much the same as far as downsides is the sound. While the effects do well, the music is still a little too high pitched and bubbly for my tastes. However, this doesn't really do anything to detract from the game.
The game itself is split into three different modes. The main game expands upon the first title, providing 150 new levels for gamers to explore. The new story mode adds an extremely goofy narrative to string you from level to level. I dare you to find a more noble cause on this earth than helping monkeys get their bananas back. Dole has clearly returned to the fray, providing promotion on every single banana you encounter. Picking up a hundred Dole labeled bananas (the only kind in the game) earns you an extra chance if you fall off the edge of a level or run out of time during the story and main game modes. While this kind of shameless advertising might bother some gamers, nothing that simple can make monkeys less fun.
The new levels are, as one would expect, much more challenging than those in the original title. The objective of each level is to guide your monkey across an obstacle filled floating track through a goalpost. Many of the new goalposts are mobile. Some of them jump, bounce, spin and even run away from you. This adds a whole new dimension to a game that provided a great challenge to begin with. While some might find the new levels difficult, I found that the new goals added a lot to the experience. Even with the new goals and levels, arguably the most fun mode of all is still party mode.
Party mode lets you try your hand at revamped versions of the original six "Monkey" games (Race, Fight, Target, Billiards, Bowling and Golf) while giving you the opportunity to experience new additions to the lineup (Tennis, Baseball, Soccer, Boat Race, Shot and Dog Fight) for a total of 12 games to enjoy. Unfortunately, some of the new titles fall short, but at least the original six are unlocked by default.
Even if you're not the type who plays many group games, the AI is decent for enough to enjoy playing the party games alone. However, if you do play with groups of people there's very little in the world that's more fun than a spirited round of Monkey Fight. If you've ever wanted to use one of those spring-loaded punching gloves that all the classic cartoon characters had, Monkey Fight will give you the opportunity.
You're placed into a small variety of arenas armed only with your glove and your reflexes. The object is to slam your opponents off the side, using either the standard punch or by charging up your glove for a super-punch. Also present are power-ups that give you a spinning glove, a spiked metal glove and extensions to your spring. This is the mode that causes even best friends to scream curse words at each other. It's fast, it's furious, and it's insanely fun.
The other party games tend to be somewhat lopsided and easy. Monkey Billiards can be a lot of fun for a more casual match. Monkey Bowling is a good way to test your physics skills while testing out the different characteristics of each monkey. In the end though, they all just sort of fall flat in the face of a beating in Monkey Fight. If I could stuff more uses of the word 'monkey' in this paragraph, believe me I would. (monkey)
