Super Monkey Ball rolling to DS

Katamari Damacy still hasn't been officially announced for the Nintendo DS, but owners of the handheld looking for some ball-rolling fun have other outlets on the horizon. The latest issue of Famitsu reports that Sega's Super Monkey Ball series is also headed for the portable system, in a game creatively titled Super Monkey Ball DS.

Slated for a December release in Japan, Super Monkey Ball DS retains the series' simple gameplay that even a monkey could understand. The objective of the game is to roll a transparent ball with an ape trapped inside through the stage, collecting bananas on the way to the goal. While the original arcade game was played using a banana-shaped joystick to tilt the stage and guide the helpless monkey to safety, it seems that the DS version will have the player roll the monkey ball using the DS stylus. The upper screen shows the game's main screen, while the bottom screen features a drawing of the main monkey, which reacts to different situations during the game.

Super Monkey Ball DS will feature more than 100 different stages and six different modes for playing with other DS owners via a Wi-Fi connection. For a look at what happened the first time the series went portable, check out GameSpot's review of Super Monkey Ball Jr. on the Game Boy Advance.