Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (video game)

Platform: PS Vita
Developer: Marvelous AQL
Genre: Action, Puzzle, Party
Release Date: October 23rd, 2012

Few games can go from fun to frustrating as fast as a Super Monkey Ball entry.

Super Monkey Ball has been around since the early days of the Gamecube and was, in fact, one of the better titles for the system. Thirteen years after the first game, we're on entry number ten; time marched on, but Monkey Ball did not. Save some cruddier level design, this series has refused to move forward at all and that's it's biggest problem.

The biggest - and arguably only - added feature happens to be motion controls. If you so desire, you can control the game through tilting the system. This isn't even all that new a feature; I'm pretty sure the 3DS counterpart has it as well. Either way, the option to use the left analog stick is still there and believe me, you're going to want to use it.

See, the trouble with adding motion control to a game like this is that you only have so much say over what is happening as it is. Monkey Ball has always been unique in that you don't actually control the resident simian or the ball he resides in; you are actually controlling the tilt of the entire stage itself and using that to maneuver the ball around hazards, with sixty seconds to get to the goal. That's difficult enough as it is; adding tilt control just adds an extra layer of imprecision to a game where you're already struggling against momentum and navigating thin pathways.

Banana Splitz doesn't do a great job of being a portable title, either. When I say "nothing has changed" I'm including the way the game is structured. The typical Super Monkey Ball format is to have three difficulties; Beginner will have one world of ten stages, Normal will have three worlds of ten and Advanced will have five. You have a number of lives and continues to utilize and must complete all the stages in a difficulty in one shot.

That's perfectly fine for a home console - you're sitting on your couch, likely with a fair chunk of time to devote to whatever game you choose - but it's a poor format for a portable. Part of the point is to play games on the go and you don't always have a long stretch of time to play. Oh sure, you may have the occasional long commute or wait in a doctors office, but typically you'll pull out the system to kill a few minutes here and there. Most modern portable games plan for this - even the long games, like an RPG, will typically allow you to save at almost any point - but Super Monkey Ball doesn't bother. You either complete all the levels or you quit; there's no saving midway, so if you're on Advanced you're more or less screwed.

As a result, there aren't a lot of upsides to playing Banana Splitz. It's really the same as any other Monkey Ball game, so you may as well get one of those. There are better games to get for your PS Vita.

My Opinion: Skip It

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (game)

Platform: PS Vita
Developer: Drinkbox Studios
Genre: 2D Platformer
Release Date: February 21st, 2012

For all the talk of the trouble the PS Vita is in - it does have a surprising lack of games for a system two months removed from a full year on the market - it does have several titles of a pretty high quality. Some are pretty faithful ports, which is astonishing in itself for a handheld, but of the native games it has thus far, Mutant Blobs Attack is probably one of the most fun.

You are a mutant blob who escapes from a science lab. Having been experimented on, you're understandably a little pissed. So it's time to absorb whatever junk you find lying around until you can get some revenge on those pesky humans.

Mutant Blobs Attack is a pretty standard platformer, but it's a well designed one. You're never at a loss for what to do or where to go, while traps and obstacles are quite clever. At times, the Vitas touch screen functionality comes into play, allowing you to magnetically move platforms and reverse the direction of certain traps. Even the collectibles - your other mutant blob buddies - are hidden in intelligent ways; some of the later ones take a bit of thinking to find while others require you to keep a sharp eye open.

Also included are a handful of levels taking advantage of the Vitas motion sensors, serving as bonus levels to add some variety. These are entertaining as well, allowing you to tilt the system to control your blob. A minor, unfortunate nitpick is the fact that this requires you to start with your Vita held flat, but it's hardly a major issue.

Style is the word with MBA. Everything is colorful and every level is packed with chuckle worthy jokes or homages to things long past. One of the "Tilt-a-Blob" levels was done in black and white with a pretty familiar border, paying simultaneous homage to black and white horror films and the original Game Boy. While the jokes aren't liable to make you laugh out loud, it's enough to make you smile and set a lighthearted tone that kind of obscures the fact that you're basically destroying the human race.

The game has about six chapters with three to six levels a piece, so it's a pretty respectable length for the money. Stages are long enough to keep your interest but short enough to get one in if you have five minutes to spare. In all, it's got quote a bit to offer for a downloadable title. It's well worth the price, especially if you're a PS+ subscriber where it has been offered for free.

The Score: 9 out of 10

If you love platformers, give this a download. It's a wonderful little 2D side scroller that deserves a spot on your Vitas memory card.