E3 06: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Preshow Report

With its winning combination of monkeys, bananas, checkerboards, and brutally tense puzzle action, the original Super Monkey Ball proved to be one of the most bizarre and likable games to launch with the Nintendo GameCube. Sega is now poised to bring AiAi and friends to the Nintendo Wii with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.

You can expect all-new puzzle levels., which in the past have challenged players to roll a monkey trapped inside a giant hamster-ball from one end of an obstacle course to the other as they raced against the clock, collected bananas, and tried not to fall off the edge. Multiplayer party games such as monkey boxing and monkey soccer have also been a Super Monkey Ball staple, and Banana Blitz will feature a wealth of all-new party games, including a ring toss game and a Whack-a-Mole-style game. Sega also promises that the game will make extensive and varied use of the Wii controller's unique capabilities. For example, flicking the controller in an upward motion will cause your monkey to jump--a significant new ability for Super Monkey Ball and one that will surely influence the overall puzzle level designs.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is currently being developed internally at Sega, with the Nintendo Wii being the only confirmed platform at this time.