Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll

"Overall, a great touch screen game for the masses."

I personally haven't even touched a Super Monkey Ball game before Touch & Roll so I only had a idea of what to expect from the reviews I've read. And they have been very mixed, ranging from good to crap. From what I read, it seemed that people who played the games on Gamecube made a general comparison and didn't like the DS version; both the touch screen controls and the lack of new levels. People who haven't played much of the Gamecube versions seemed to enjoy it much more. I was one of those people.

The DS has never provided outstanding graphics and sound apart from the odd game here and there, and so Super Monkey Ball DS didn't disappoint in those areas. And yet they weren't bad enough to put me off the whole game. They were simply nothing special.

In total, there are 12 worlds split into groups of 10 stages. The last two worlds are secret. Old hands seem to have been annoyed by the split into 10 stages because of the decrease in difficulty, but I think that this is what it was meant to be because it is an 'on-the-go' handheld game. Unfortunately, it is very easy (with practice) and it is also annoying that the scores or times don't save for players to try and beat because this would add replayability.

As well as the main game and practice mode for single levels, there is an added replay mode where you can watch replays of a run-through that you decide to keep. This works primarily on memory save, which means you can save either two long runs or up to eight short runs. This mode is probably best for recording 'fastest times' to compete with others.

The control system is very responsive despite what some reviews have said about its apparent unresponsiveness. With a small amount of practice, you can guide your monkey almost exactly where you want it to go, except when you are required to stay in one spot, at which point it can become very fiddly, but this really can be overcome with practice.

The camera is pretty much the same as the controls. When moving around, it doesn't cause problems, but when you try to stay in one spot, it has a habit of turning to face behind the monkey when all you want to do is bring the monkey a millimetre away from the edge.

The mini-games are simply second-fiddle to the main game and don't really make much fun. Single-player Air Hockey is great fun because for once the CPU isn't utter crap. Monkey Wars is also an interesting game more because of the great way that it uses the touch screen (my opinion only!!) rather than the actual gameplay it offers. An interesting insight to Metroid Prime Hunters. Monkey Golf is also a good piece of fun and there are 18 holes to play through. The other three minigames: Monkey Race, Fight & Bowling are simply rubbish.

I have only played DS Download Play on this game and I can tell you that even Monkey Hockey has all the fun sucked out of it thanks to the restriction of options to the least playable form. Monkey Wars wasn't bad but then it takes two to enjoy it and my friend didn't find it as enjoyable as i did. I would expect normal multiplayer to be much more fun, presuming the options come intact.

So in conclusion, should you buy this:?

Yes if: you have never played a Super Monkey Ball game before and/or you are looking for a great touch screen experience (which this happily provides).

No if: you've completed through both Gamecube games and would expect nothing different (or innovative) to what you consider perfection.

Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 7
Gameplay 8.5
Overall: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/06