Monkeys in Space review for iPhone and iPod Touch

By on Dec 9, 2009 at 9:14 pm

Monkeys in Space review for iPhone and iPod TouchDid you know that the first animals sent into space, after fruit flies, were monkeys? That little bit of trivia is only slightly relevant to a review of Monkeys in Space, I mostly just wanted to show off with a little tidbit of all the useless information I have tucked away in my brain. Now, on to the review.

Review

Monkeys in Space: Escape to Banana Base Alpha comes to us from Streaming Color Studios. It’s your basic line-drawing/chaos management game, but it’s a nice departure from ships and planes to monkeys and space stations.

This is one of those pick-up-and-play-games that is fun for all ages. You simply have to draw a line from a monkey to the matching space station, activating a tractor beam that pulls the monkey home. For more of a challenge, and a higher score, chain as many monkeys together as you can before sending them to their ship. A collision between any two monkeys not in the same chain immediately ends the game. It would be nice if you got three chances before ending the game, but I guess that’s part of the challenge too.

There are three game maps, with hints that more may be added in future updates. Only the Deep Space map is available to start, with Planetary Chaos and Asteroids unlocking after you reach a certain score.

The graphics are cute but fairly simple, and I liked the satisfying pop as you connect the monkeys to each other and their space station. You can also play your own iPod music in the background, which is always nice.

OpenFeint enabled, you’ll soon be addicted as you try to complete all the achievements and show off your high scores.

The developer has obviously worked hard to bring Monkeys in Space to the app store, and in what I think is a pretty cool marketing move, he’s shared the journey via video log entries on his site, sharing valuable insight with other would-be app developers, so check that out if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

Recommendation

I enjoyed Monkeys in Space: Escape to Banana Base Alpha, you can bet I’ll be playing it until I unlock the 10-monkey chain achievement in OpenFeint. It’s a great deal for just 99 cents, in the app store now.

Gameplay Video

YouTube Preview Image

Photos

Note: A promotional code was provided by the creator for use in this article.

Please post your comments, tips, and your own reviews below in the comments area!

Share on Tumblr

Tags: • • • • • • • •

Filed: Games • iPhone • Reviews
  • yogi77098

    This is a ridiculously fun little game that has the same simplicity and finesse of line-drawing games such as Flight Control, Harbor Master, and 33rd Division, which is a little more complex than the other two, but certainly as sophisticated. Not only will this gem appeal to fans of those games and games in that genre but also to any app collectors who enjoy look for well-made and well-conceived programs that exhibit little bits of subtlety, humor, and wit – you gotta laugh every time monkeys of two different colors come near each other. There's certainly room for improvement as noted in the review above, but for what it is right now and at its price-point, you can't go wrong.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/yogi77098 yogi77098

    This is a ridiculously fun little game that has the same simplicity and finesse of line-drawing games such as Flight Control, Harbor Master, and 33rd Division, which is a little more complex than the other two, but certainly as sophisticated. Not only will this gem appeal to fans of those games and games in that genre but also to any app collectors who enjoy look for well-made and well-conceived programs that exhibit little bits of subtlety, humor, and wit – you gotta laugh every time monkeys of two different colors come near each other. There's certainly room for improvement as noted in the review above, but for what it is right now and at its price-point, you can't go wrong.