There you are, trapped in a ball that consists of two clear colours, you are situated upon a board that, for some reason, happens to be floating in mid air. You aren't in control but a god character is moving the board you are on rolling you towards a goal. Once that is done you are then transported to another board. This is silly, it is a silly idea, it looked silly, it played silly and what is really silly is that they made a sequel. But did I forget to mention it is also fun… very fun?

Super Monkey Ball 2 is one of those predictable sequels. You have more mini games than last time and the old ones have been built upon, you have graphics that have been improved in every department, you have even more levels that follow even more unique ideas and you even have an extra mode or two. So is Super Monkey Ball 2 worth getting if you possess its prequel? Indeed it is, because despite it being the traditional upgraded sequel it is also very very different.

First off is that the new mini games are new, the mini games always played differently to each other but these take that one step further… nearly every genre is covered in the 12 mini games. First off is the brand spanking new Monkey Soccer, this game is pure laugh a minute, you could be 8-1 down and still win… it is unpredictable, easy to pick up and hard to master, exactly what a multiplayer game is meant to be. Monkey dog fight is a star wars style space shooter, you fly around endlessly trying to destroy your opponent with a well placed missile, monkey shot is an on rails shooter and Monkey Tennis plays nearly identical to Mario Tennis. There are tonnes more (Monkey baseball and Monkey boat) and the older games have all been given excellent upgrades, Monkey Golf is now a serious golf sim as opposed to the crazy golf style game of its prequel, Monkey Race features far more obstacles and can have up to 8 competitors. Monkey Target is now a split screen, far more aggressive, high
er scoring and faster game (not sure if I prefer this though), Monkey Bowling has the addition of "crazy lanes" with undulating lanes and moving segments whilst the legendary Monkey Billiards has extra game modes including the ability to play pool (or 8-ball as it’s called).

So the new mini games are all unique and even the old ones have had life injected into them… yet it is the main game that features the biggest changes. Monkey Ball has mainly been about skill of the controller, the ability to keep a steady hand. Monkey Ball 2 meanwhile concentrates on the puzzle elements, you must work out how to reach your goal and doing so is based more on luck than skill. If I ever have to do some of the levels I did again I doubt I could do them… I only completed them out of persistence and luck and this isn’t a good thing. Although it still retains that monkey ball essence the gameplay is radically different and being a veteran of the first game I’m not sure I like it.

Nevertheless I am slowly warming to the style, I didn't expect to be playing something so different and a company willing to keep their title fresh is a good one in my books. Super Monkey Ball 2 is not like the last game, don’t expect the same thing, but it is still jolly good fun and with 4 players it is probably the best game out there. Just don't mention story mode.