Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll is really just a “touch” variation of the same games that have appeared on other consoles – so it should be familiar territory. Perhaps too familiar, since nearly everything found in
Touch & Roll has been ripped straight from the console versions. So, other than the new, touch-based controls, there isn’t much new ground broken.
Touch & Roll’s main challenge mode offers up 100 mazes, which are broken up into groups of ten. Completing groups unlocks additional levels, each with a higher difficulty than the last. The object of each of the timed mazes is simple; guide your monkey in a ball to the goal, while collecting bananas. A simple concept made difficult because you’re not really controlling the ball, but rather the entire board. Tilting the board causes the ball to begin rolling in that direction, making Monkey Ball more of an exercise in physics than a game – which is sure to frustrate some gamers, especially after experiencing the game on the DS.
The set of 100 mazes is only a third of what Monkey Ball has to offer. As you play through the single-player game, you’ll unlock multiplayer modes that can be played using the DS’s wireless gameplay features (sorry, no online).
Many of the side-games that appear in Touch & Roll have already appeared in the console versions. The only difference between those and the ones in the DS version are the touch controls. You have bowling and golf, which are what they sound like. Then there’s fight and race, both of which are fun if you can get over the control issues that plague the entire experience. Only two new games have been added to the mix – an FPS and air hockey. Both are, unfortunately, no fun. The FPS is plagued by a terribly implemented control scheme. The air hockey game fares slightly better, but still isn’t that fun after a game or two.