Battle Monkeys

Battle Monkeys is a very original strategy game for the Mac. As its name suggests, it features monkeys of different types, and they are all pitted in a battle to death.

Before each round, the monkeys are put on a big board. The game is turn-based, so, in each turn, you can jump to an adjacent platform. From the top of the board, powers will start coming towards the bottom. They will advance one platform per turn. You can pick what power you want to use by jumping to the platform where the power will be the next round. You can use those powers to regenerate your energy, get an extra jump on your next turn, get bonuses like vanishing from the board, and kill the rest of the primates with a variety of weapons, like meteorites, shotguns, axes, etc. The number of powers, bonuses and punishments available is truly great.

There is both a single player and a multiplayer game mode. I did most of my playing in the single player mode. There are three difficulty modes. The easiest one gives you better powers and gives you more time to decide where you want to jump. If you choose the medium difficulty mode, you are given less time and the powers are not that good, most of them are punishments that will take some of your health when you land on them.

Battle Monkeys features very nice 3D graphics and the animations are well done. The monkeys look and act funny. There is music and sounds and you can disable them if you want.

I really like Battle Monkeys, mainly because it is original and fun to play. There are achievements that add replay value and the multiplayer mode can be fun as well, but you have to spend your coins to get lives to play that mode.