Martin Kitts reviews Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll for the Wii. Scoring it a six out of ten, read on to find out why it's a poorer game than the one before it "in every respect".

Having started out as a very original arcade game that then mutated, via an astonishingly difficult sequel, into a fairly gimmicky collection of multiplayer minigames and – surprise! – the odd bit of monkey balling, it’s always interesting to see just how far Sega’s simple, classic Super Monkey Ball has rolled from its hardcore gaming roots.

As anyone who ever tried rolling down the thinnest guitar string on Advanced 11 in the first game will attest, Monkey Ball had a level of brutality reminiscent of the most unforgiving coin-ops of the 8-bit era. Even ten years ago, it was a throwback to a time when pure gameplay ruled over visual thrills.

Lately, though, it feels like a different sort of thing altogether. Whether it’s the failure of repeated sequels to add anything that makes a genuine improvement to the original formula, or simply over-familiarity with the Monkey Ball ‘brand’ in general, it’s been a while since one of these games was a genuinely exciting prospect.

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