Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz – review

Monkeys? In balls? Which are super? What's not to like? A few things, as it happens.

To be fair, Sega's latest entry in its surprisingly fruitful puzzle/mini-game series is a lot of fun. Dozens of challenging single-player maps see you navigating the chosen ensphered simian through a series of obstacles, grabbing as many bananas as possible on the way. Elsewhere, eight mini-games – with old favourites such as Monkey Bowling joined by newer additions such as Monkey Bingo – allow players to battle for multiplayer monkey dominance. There's even a capable level editor, to maintain interest with original creations long after everything has been mastered in the core game.

The problems come from an inconsistency of control. The Vita's motion-sensing proves perfect in the puzzle modes, tilting the world with remarkable precision for ultimate monkey manipulation, yet the same finesse is conspicuous by its absence from some of the bonus games. Elsewhere, touchscreen input is mostly used for menu selections and little else, while traditional button controls fill in the gaps. It's mildly frustrating at best.

However, the whole package does boast the same charming aesthetics and goofy visual humour the series has become known for, and the progressively testing solo game will be more than sufficient to keep purists happy.