Games

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe

Platform: Xbox, PS2
Price: £29.99
Publisher: Sega

As games become evermore complex, demanding higher levels of technology and greater concentration from gamers, it takes an old stalwart of the industry like Sega to remind gamers that, sometimes, the only thing you need to keep you glued to your joypad is a monkey in a ball.

Originally a GameCube exclusive, the zen-like pleasures of Super Monkey Ball are now available to Xbox and PlayStation owners as well in this bumper deluxe edition, which collects all 114 levels from Super Monkey Ball, 140 levels from the sequel, plus 46 new "deluxe" levels. That adds up to over 300 levels to roll around in, and that's without taking into account the addition of 12 party games all centred around simians and spheroids.

The central conceit of Monkey Ball is simple. You're a monkey, in a ball. You must roll around each stage picking up bananas before rolling through the goal, all without falling over the edge. Simple in theory, devilishly addictive in practice.

If you're the sort of person who gets cramps of frustration from those fiddly little plastic mazes you find in Christmas crackers, where you have to get four tiny balls into the holes, then steer well clear of this game. Seriously. You'll go nuts.

This is a game that requires precision, speed and extraordinary amounts of patience. The platform you're rolling on lurches like a ship in a storm with every movement and, ironically, for a pick-up-and-play game that is ideal for post-pub play, it'll make you feel as sick as a dog until you get used to it.

But get used to it you should, because there are still few gaming experiences as wonderfully pure and appealing as Monkey Ball. It works on that subconscious gut level, where fun becomes fused with your DNA. Like toppling dominos, there's a primal attraction to this sort of skill game and Sega is spookily adept at wringing every last drop of amusement from the idea without becoming boring or straying too far from the core appeal.

The party games are a welcome distraction, and it's easy to spend many hours playing those - solo or multiplayer - rather than the main attraction. The GameCube titles required you to unlock these quirky offerings, but here they're all available right from the start. From the self-explanatory Monkey Football or Monkey Bowling to more esoteric challenges involving guiding your Monkey Ball onto a bullseye, you'd have to be pretty cold and cynical not to find something in this bumper package to raise a smile. Even Alan Partridge is catered for, with the return of Monkey Tennis.

Everything is served up with wonderful old-school simplicity by Sega. Colours are bright, the music is bouncy and the objectives are clear. From the menus to the game over screen, it's an unbridled joy - hilariously modern and addictively old-fashioned at the same time. And for less than thirty quid, you won't find this much entertainment in many other packages. Give it a spin.