Monkey Hero Screens Look Slick

Game developer Blam! recently gave us a preview of its upcoming PlayStation and PC title Monkey Hero.

The game is a 3-D adventure title viewed from a three-quarter overhead perspective, perhaps most similar to titles like Legend of Zelda III and Alundra.

The story is loosely based on the Chinese folktale The Legend of Monkey King, in which a young hero named Monkey must restore harmony among the Three Worlds by finding the missing Eight Chapters of the Magic Story Book.

These Eight Chapters are scattered across the countryside, and Monkey must gather magical items and conquer various enemies to get to them. These magical items are the sort where they'll help you during the game, but more importantly, they'll allow you to progress forward in the game. For example, a certain dungeon may not be open to you until you obtain the Titan Gloves, just like certain areas in Zelda games are inaccessible until you find key items like the boomerang or grappling hook.

Monkey Hero boasts over 2,500 screens of gameplay, 16 dungeons, 45 different enemies and 14 special bosses. But all of that is trivial. It's the fun factor that counts. If Monkey Hero can come anywhere near Zelda's level of addictiveness and fun, then Blam! knows it has a winner on its hands. The title will be released in Europe and Japan through BMG Interactive in April, and though no US publisher has been signed as of yet, it is assumed the US version for the PlayStation and PC will arrive around second quarter.

Expect a full preview of the game on the site soon.