What makes Super Monkey Ball so great is that it actually takes skill to play. Sure someone can pick it up and get a laugh at tilting around our favorite four little monkeys, but the real fun comes from the feeling of accomplishment from finishing a level that has **screwed you over for the last couple of days** (and then giving that level to your friend so they will fall to their doom consistently). Add that to the amazing controls that would catapult your monkey through the air if a pin fell on your iPhone (no sarcasm there, that's a plus), and the 110 levels to ensure that perfectionists are glued to their screens for years to come (just try getting those bananas), and you have a game that will actually last the test of time. And yes, this makes the game more attractive than any other game in the App Store since once you're done, just play ?quick play? and see how your great skills actually weren't fine tuned enough. At just 11¢ per level, how would someone not want to

is masterpiece?

I am not a big video game player. I bought this game because it looked cool when they showed it at the Developers Conf. For me, it is very hard to control. It takes a lot of patience to do well. I keep falling off the sides of the game. It actually makes me a little sick because of all the tilting and movement. I think someone who is more into playing video games will enjoy this game more than I do.

The curiosity is both in its game controls, and in how in the hell it manages to stay so popular in the store. I guess SEGA has a few pennies in Apple's back pocket, or something. It's a very simple game for how complex & sensitive a control scheme it has - you might spend 20 minutes just learning how to avoid falling off of the floating world you're on. You have to hold the iPhone in landscape at about a 10 degree incline in order for your monkey ball to stay stationary. You could probably get used to it eventually, but it seems like it's more suited to a kid's patience and motor control. The graphics are fairly rich and smooth, and it's good for a laugh if you have the $10 to spare, but I would say save it for another day.

Since Super Monkey Ball was demoed at the WWDC conference, it has received almost as much hype of the iPhone 3G itself. People were stunned by the graphics of the game, and the gameplay looked very promising.

However, once users had a chance to buy it, some were rather disappointed. They reported that the controls of the game (titling the iPhone, using it's accelerometer) were extremely hard to use and took the fun out of the game. However, I found that with patience and practice, the game can be very fun.

When first playing, you get the impression that by tilting your device. you are moving the Monkey Ball - this is not the case. You are actually tilting the course the ball is on, which in turn moves the ball. This knowledge alone makes playing the game much more enjoyable. After you've had a few days of practice with the game, it becomes much easier to play.

As was expected, the graphics of the game are amazing - it looks as if you're playing on a gaming console. The UI is clean and very responsive with movements and sounds. The controls are tough, but don't make the game unplayable. All in all, Super Monkey Ball is a very good game, especially considering that you're playing it on a cellphone.