Gaming Target - Xbox: Super Monkey Ball Deluxe

Written by Ryan Genno on October 28, 2004

First Impressions: Now you can play with monkeys without worrying about getting your shots first!

C'mon, who doesn't like monkeys? They may be filled with fleas, and I heard they make terrible house pets, but they are just so darn cute. Sega seems to think so too and their popular Super Monkey Ball series in one of their biggest franchises currently on the GameCube. So far the only way you could play these odd 3D SMB games is with a GameCube or Gameboy Advance, but Sega is now changing that. In the new Super Monkey Ball Deluxe game, it will not only have all the 200+ levels from both Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, but it will also include several new exclusive levels as well. Another cool thing they are doing with this new game (much like what they did with Sonic Heroes) - Sega is now releasing Super Monkey Ball Deluxe on all of the three big platforms and of course, that includes the Xbox.

If you've never played a Super Monkey Ball game before, the game is simple. You get to select from one of several cute little monkey characters that run around inside protective plastic balls. It's your job to carefully move these monkeys around down various dangerous looking obstacle courses up in the sky. Some of these courses are filled with cool stuff like bananas and short cuts, but they are also filled with tricky hills, and some have moving platforms so the game isn't as easy as it looks. The faster you reach these goals the better your score gets, but the trade off there is if you rush through too quickly your cute little monkey could go falling off a cliff, and thus be going to their cute little monkey death.

The SMB games are also popular for their many multiple player games, and this game will be no different. Just look at all the strange contests you and your friends can compete in: Monkey Baseball, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Golf, Monkey Pool, Monkey Race, Monkey Soccer, Monkey Tennis, and tons more. The SMB games have always been great for parties.

So far SMB Deluxe looks just like the older GameCube games. The game's graphics are very colourful and the stages still look downright scary in design, but those expecting the game to take advantage of the Xbox's stronger processor will be in for a disappointment. It is also not known if the game will support any other services like Xbox Live.