Super Monkey Ball Deluxe Hands-On

TOKYO--Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is Sega's upcoming Xbox conversion of the popular GameCube series that puts you in control of a monkey who rolls around in an enormous Lucite ball, collecting bananas and solving puzzles. The series' unusual premise and fast-paced gameplay have been received well by GameCube fans so far. Upon seeing a that a work-in-progress build of the Xbox version--which will be a compliation of both GC games--is on display here, we quickly rolled over to the kiosk to see how Microsoft's console handles a whole lot of monkeys.

Rather than simply port both GameCube titles to the Xbox and the PS2, the team opted to toss in some new stuff. Super Monkey Ball Deluxe will feature all the different modes, stages, and options from the two GameCube games, plus exclusive content. Specifically, Deluxe will feature 300 stages--114 from the original game, 140 from the sequel, and 46 brand-new boards. The control in the game seems as solid as ever and holds no surprises. The graphics seem on par with the GameCube versions, although they appear to be a bit darker in hue than the eye-popping GameCube games. Other than that, the new courses look fine, as do the original ones. The same holds true for the minigames you'll unlock using points you'll earn as you go.

There isn't anything to shocking or surprising about Super Monkey Ball Deluxe's performance on the Xbox. The game seems to look good, play well, and retain the appeal of its GameCube cousins. The addition of extra content is a nice bonus for Xbox and PS2 owners. Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is scheduled to ship late this year in Japan and early next year in the US. For more updates, be sure to check GameSpot's coverage of Tokyo Game Show 2004.