Super Monkey Ball Deluxe - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe has been given positive reviews, particularly for the Xbox version of the game. On the review aggregator website Metacritic it has an average score of 81/100 for the Xbox version and a 78/100 for the Playstation 2 version. Another review aggregator website, GameRankings, gave similar results, with the Xbox version scoring an 80.48% and the Playstation 2 version scoring a 77.48%.

Gamespot gave the both versions of the game 7.9/10 commenting that: “The Monkey Ball series has always been about establishing a whimsical, energetic feel, and that still comes across in Deluxe.” 1UP gave the Xbox release of the game a B+ has citing that: “If you enjoy and are up for the challenge, the adrenaline rush and controller-clutching is all yours”. Eurogamer, which gave the game a score of 8/10, noticed that the game’s Story Mode is easier and the mini games are unlocked by default, which they think is: "the developer's determination to open the game up to a much larger audience." As a port of its previous games, Gamespy considers it as: “the "Director's Cut" of the series, crammed with bells, whistles, and other trinkets of awesomeness.” giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars for the Playstation 2 version of the game. G4TV, which gave the game a score of 4/5 for the Xbox version, have commented that the game provides a lot of content for its retail price, expressing that it is “A whole lot of monkey balling to be had for your buck”.

Critics have commented on the lack of online functionality as a missed opportunity, especially when it comes to multiplayer in the mini games. IGN, which gave the game an 8.4/10 on the Xbox, have said that: “It boggles the mind to think of the possibilities of online Monkey Ball tournaments and leaderboards.” This publication has also criticised the sound effects, that they are “almost abrasive and will quickly annoy anyone within hearing distance who isn't playing.” Gamespot has criticised the game’s graphics as they “don't feel as crisp as they did when they first arrived on the GameCube”. Critics have deemed the Playstation 2 version of the game as inferior to the Xbox. Gamespy said the Playstation 2 release “suffer from the frankly ridiculous load times and slowdown”. G4TV have also commented that the game doesn’t offer anything for fans of the Super Monkey Ball series, stating that: “If you’ve played it before on GameCube, you’ve seen it all before”.