Your usual party game, with one difference, this time you control a monkey in a ball! I was a little hesitant to try this at first since I am not a big fan of the "Party" game genre (I do like Fusion Frenzy but not everyday).
In single player mode all you have to do is get your monkey (who is in a ball) to the finish line. If you start playing in easy mode you will think the game is easy, which it is not. The first few puzzles are a straight line and in easy mode, all ten of the courses are simply, but once you advance it gets much more complicated. In advanced mode, as in expert mode, the first ten stages are similar to the ones in easy mode, with a few more holes, bumps and moving platforms. Level fifteen in advanced mode is probably the hardest puzzle on that setting. Then once you hit expert, every puzzle becomes frustrating. I have completed the advanced mode, but only got half way through the fifty in expert mode. The game also keeps a constant score and lists the high scores for every single player and multi-player game.
For the multi-player, here is where the fun really begins. I played with a few good friends and there is nothing funnier than seeing someone else's monkey fall of the track over and over. You can play the single player mode mentioned above with more than one person. It becomes turn based where each person gets a chance to play the level. If you complete them while your opponents cannot, you get to play some extra bonus levels after completing all the regular ones, which is nice, since you don't have to just wait around for your friends to finish.
There are also a bunch of multi-player only games (you can play them alone or versus the computer if you really want to, but it is less fun). There are a few that are open right away and others that have to be unlocked by getting points in the regular single player mode. The open ones include Monkey Race, Monkey Fight and Monkey Target. Race is simply a race to the finish, split screen. Fight is a battle and target is a flying game where you have to try and land on targets.
The unlockable games include Monkey Billiards, Monkey Golf and my favorite, Monkey Bowling. These games simply replace the ball with your Monkey Ball. You aim, select your power and that's it, but it is not as easy as you would think. The targets move fast and it is hard to judge how the ball will bounce or how much it will roll. I enjoyed playing all the modes and got frustrated quite a bit with the single player missions. The game also lets you play most multi-player games with one controller, since they are often turn based.
The only problems are that there are only three unlockables, not that many, they probably spent most of the time making the regular levels. Also, when you are trying to save up points to unlock new games, there is no indication on how many points you will get till you die, so there is now way of knowing how close you are to unlocking something (but this is minor anyway).
I would suggest renting it first to see if you like it. Also, part two is out and have twice as many games, but is probably twice the price also.
Progress: Completed advanced mode (50% through Expert), played all multi-player games.
Rating: 7/10
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