Super Monkey Ball for iPhone Lightning Review: Addictive, Hard as Hell
0 comments Posted by Bunny at 8:51 PM
The App: Super Monkey Ball, probably the biggest game in the App Store today, mates the longstanding franchise's primate-in-a-bubble rolling to the iPhone's accelerometer interface.
Verdict: Simple, addictive fun, but a bit frustrating. If you're used to Monkey Ball's motion-sickness-inducing control setup (and you don't mind looking like a jackass on the subway) you'll have a blast. You can roll your way through 5 worlds of 11 stages each on two difficulty levels which are unlocked linearly. You've got your pick of four monkeys of varying ages and genders to put in the ball, but after that, it's a whole lot of rolling to the goal without falling off the edge.
But get ready to fall off the edge. A lot. The accelerometer control scheme does get better as you get used to it, but after about 30 minutes of play I was still having a lot of trouble finding the neutral point. But if nothing else, the graphics are definitely on the high-end for a cellphone game, which sets the tone nicely for the iPhone as a serious gaming platform. [Super Monkey Ball]
Even before the launch of Apple's new iPhone 3G, technology blogs have started to highlight factors that may make it a mere gadget.
Top among such factors is the device's high cost, with The New York Times' technology blog 'Bits' calling it "a step backwards for consumers".
Bloggers believe that it is not less expensive to own because US mobile carrier AT&T has a pricier data plan to subsidise the up-front cost.
In Australia, confirmed iPhone carriers Optus and Vodafone have not revealed the local pricing, but both will offer it on a no-contract prepaid plan.
Another biggest iPhone disappointment is the fact that it still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits.
Thirdly, it is not easy to crack open the new device's sleek case to replace its battery. The new iPhone also does not have video recording provisions, something one can find even in the so-called low-end 'feature phones' these days.
Besides all that, it is unable to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application. The lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is said to be one of the most maddening iPhone flaws, reports Forbes magazine.
The iPhone does not even have a voice dialling system that allows users to dial verbally. Seven biggest disappointments regarding Apple's new iPhone 3G:
Cost
Doesn't support Adobe's Flash
No replaceable batteries
No video recording
No cut-and-paste
No multimedia messaging service
No voice dialling
