Quick Look: A Tail Of Two Monkeys
Because of limited funds and the fact that I already own more iPhone games than I’ll probably ever play, I’m not much of an impulse buyer at the App Store. However, when I happened upon the thread for PeeMonkey Jungle Fire at the Touch Arcade forums, I had to give it a try on name alone. Amazingly, I wasn’t disappointed. While not the most complicated or by any means thought provoking game, it actually provides a good challenge as the levels increase, and the game is just plain amusing.
PeeMonkey Jungle Fire
The premise is simple. Fire is reigning down on your jungle, and as a good little monkey you must help put it out the only way you know how – by peeing on it! Of course, all the little girl monkeys are running around in a panic, so make sure you put them out if they catch on fire as well. The game ends if all the girl monkeys get burned too badly. I suppose there might be a level cap as well, but if so I haven’t found it yet. You tilt the device to move your monkey around, and press the left and right sides of the screens to aim left and right respectively. Your fire dampening supply is limited, so make sure you collect water droplets to keep recharged.
Put The Fires Out
Ideally you want to shoot the fireballs while they are in the air, as you get the most points that way. If you can’t do that, try and shoot them on the ground before a girl monkey gets to them. You get the least amount of points for having to put the fire out once it’s on one of the girl monkeys. Also, you lose points if you get hit by fire, so try and stay away from anything that’s burning. As the levels progress this gets to be more difficult, because not only does more fire fall from the sky, but the fires on the ground begin to shoot flames upward.
The graphics are nicely done. The background looks good, with the rays of sun breaking in between the treetop foliage. The expression on PeeMonkey’s face is great, whether it’s the pleasure of putting out a fire or the contortion from being hit by a flame. Even the steam emitted from puting out a fire was a nice touch. The sound effects all work well within the context of the game. While it’s not conducive to racking up your score, it’s almost worth it to let the girl monkeys catch on fire every once in a while to hear their giggles of glee when you put the fire out. The music is well done and suits the atmosphere of the game in terms of the jungle theme, though something a little more chaotic to suit the mood of the game might have been nice.
PeeMonkey Jungle Fire is one of those games that strikes you as a novelty but actually doesn’t wear off as you continue to play it. And for 99 cents, it’s hardly a bank breaker. On the other side of this tale we have the “sequel” to this amusing game, called PeeMonkey Toilet Trainer.
PeeMonkey Toilet Trainer
You know those sequels that seem to have nothing to do with the original except for a name and sometimes the same character? Welcome to PeeMonkey Toilet Trainer. Gone is the hectic turmoil of the burning jungle, replaced with the docile environment of the bathroom down the hall. PeeMonkey’s floating cloud has been replaced with a bar of soap, and your firey targets are now a single porcelain adversary. Basically, you must continually fill up the toilet bowl with pee. When it’s full the gratuitous girl monkey flushes it, and you start again. However, when you miss the floor starts to fill up, and if the pee level rises to cover the electrical outlet it’s lights out for you. This was really the only amusing part of the game for me.
Hit The Bowl!
The left side / right side screen press mechanic for aiming has been replaced by simply tilting the device left and right, and you no longer control the movement of PeeMonkey himself. Personally, I found this a bit awkward compared to the old control scheme. Honestly, the whole atmosphere of the game itself just isn’t amusing like it’s predecessor. The one redeeming factor was the hee-haw style music playing in the background, which for some reason struck my fancy.
The moral of the story? Not all PeeMonkey adventures are created equal. This is definitely a case of “you get what you pay for”. If you’ve ever considered either, get Jungle Fire without a doubt. If you have room on your device, get Toilet Trainer at your discretion. At least it won’t cost you anything.
PeeMonkey Jungle Fire
Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link
PeeMonkey Toilet Trainer
Final Verdict: Not Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link
[Note: images courtesy of App Shopper]
Tags: Comprehensive Reviews, Eric Pankoke, Exoweb Ltd., PeeMonkey, Quick Look, review, technobrains
