Puzzle Monkeys

Game Info

 

Tetris has been a long time favorite of mine and millions of other gamers alike and so I had the opportunity to check out Puzzle Monkeys which is basically the same concept.  There are 2 modes to choose from which are plainly labeled Mode A and Mode B.  Once a mode has been chosen, then an options type of deal is brought up to where you can choose your speed of play and your level of difficulty.  After you have chosen the speed and difficulty,  then you are also given a choice of the background and the music.

Whether you choose Mode A or Mode B you will get to choose the speed of the game, the difficulty of the level, the background of the stage and the music during your challenge.  There are 5 speeds to choose from, 9 levels of difficulty, 5 backgrounds and 3 types of music to pick from.  The music is pretty good and catchy, I liked number 3 the most but song number 1 was pretty cool too.  The backgrounds are pretty cool, with the visuals being in a clear pool, in the sky of a starry night, on the beach in the night, flying high with the clouds or on the beach on a bright sunny day.

The 2 modes that can be chosen both are played very different from each other.  Mode A is played just like one of the greatest games ever known as Tetris.  There are differences and similarities between the two games.  The similarity of the 2 games, you will match colors to eliminate the blocks.  There are only four colors in the game and they are light blue, red, green and yellow.  The blocks already in place as the game starts has monkey faces on the blocks.  Each monkey face will be on a different color block and in order to beat the levels you will have to clear every block with monkey faces on them.  To clear each monkey block, you must get 3 blocks of the same color in a row up and down, left or right and even diagonally.  There is a new take on this as well, the blocks will fall down in a square of four mini blocks and they will come in all sorts of colors.  There are also big versions of the blocks in each of the four colors on the both sides of the stage that can be pressed and will destroy that of the color you chose to press.  Once you blow up the color of the block of your choice, the rest of the blocks that are falling will fall in place at a faster rate and can’t be moved left or right anymore.

 

Mode 2 is a lot more difficult and challenging.  There are less blocks to start with but instead of the block falling to drop into place, they will scroll across the top of the level in different patterns.  You can choose to let the blocks go across til they fall wherever they are in place and will fall to that spot on the bottom.  You can also choose to use those useful blocks on both sides of the level and destroy blocks that are not helpful.  Once you choose to destroy whatever color block you want, they blocks that are already floating above will fall from wherever they stand.  This will go on until you rid the level of all the monkey blocks.

Puzzle Monkeys can be played on the t.v. screen or on the Wii pad.  The it is somewhat possible to play the game using the television but to be honest, it is almost pointless.  First off, trying to tap the right blocks to blow up the color isn’t all that easy.  When playing you will use the touch screen and the D-pad so that makes it a little more difficult as well touching the screen while using the t.v.  The game is best played just using the Wii pad without the television.  You will be looking at the screen you have to touch to make the right moves so it all comes together a lot easier.  The sound plays through Wii pad pretty clean and clear as well and I only mention this because I have played a few games where the sound doesn’t come through but it does on the television.

The Recommendation

The game is pretty challenging but it is nothing that will hold you over for very long.  It is fun if you have a quick few minutes to kill but outside of that, there isn’t much to keep your interest alive in the game.  Mode B is pretty challenging and might keep you going a little bit longer only out of frustration that you can do better than the last time.  I like the different take on the game with being able to destroy blocks as they are falling but the way its all done is still kind of frustrating.  The game can be played on the Wii pad itself just fine so if you parents are looking for a game for the kids to play so you can watch television then look no further.  If you like those Tetris type of games then this is right up your alley but if not then do not bother because you will probably get bored fairly quickly.