Mashed Up Monkeys hits the iTunes store today promising to take you swinging through the jungle in search of stars and fruit. Add to the simple mission some burping jokes, farting propulsion, and annoying sound effects and you have the gist of Mashed Up Monkeys. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m going to be the first person to laugh at a fart joke, but they have their place and using anal excretions as a means to control your game character leaves me wondering where this game is headed.
Gameplay
This mission is simple – control your favorite ape or monkey through a serious of vines, ropes, and other objects while headed to the food. In each level a small basket of hanging food is trapped and to complete the level, it must be knocked from the basket into a cauldron.
To get from rope to rope, simply tap the desired location and your monkey lunges in that direction. If you start to fall short, tap the desired location again to fart your way higher. Between each successful rope grab, you generate the ability to fart twice more. To pause a second, you would think this app is directed toward children. However, with mild language in the level names, I’m not sure I would want anyone under 13 playing this game…. now, where was I?
The touch navigation system seems to work well enough. It is not an exact science unfortunately. There are certain times when you mush slash items on the screen. For example, to drop the fruit basket, you must Fruit-Ninja-style hack at the basket to break it open. Frustratingly, I tried several times to break the basket, hacking and slashing all over it, but no fruit dropped. Likewise, there are leveled bars that move when you grab a rope on one side or the other. To prevent them from tilting further, you must slash the middle of the bar. This action also took many attempts. It appears that you must slash the items and then raise your finger from the screen for the action to register… or, perhaps, the touch sensitive areas are too small.
For extra points, collect the three idol heads throughout each level. Three monkeys are available at the beginning of the game and you earn your way to new levels and monkeys. If you prefer, the other monkeys and levels can be purchased immediately using the IAP system.
Conclusion [rating: 3/5]
If interested, grab Mashed Up Monkeys for $0.99 and try it out for yourself! (App Store link). This is the first game for new indie dev team Scaredy Cat Games and I look for them to make progressive and positive updates to the app as they learn the ropes. It is an honorable first attempt, but you will not finding it giving any of my stand go-to apps a challenge for play time.
Pros:
- IAP can buy your way to upgrades and levels without a learning curve
- Challenging but fun
- Potty humor
Cons
- Difficult play controls
- Lude and unnecessary humor
- Missed actionable areas in gameplay
