Funky Monkey

If the primate conservation efforts of the seaside amusement industry have taught us anything, it's this: a monkey loves to wear a fez. For that reason, HandyGames has adorned Funky Monkey with just such a thing, and it's an indulgence he sorely needs. Jungle tribesmen have kidnapped the nappy-wearing junior members of his monkey tribe, and he has no alternative but to rescue them one by one before they all get eaten.

Due to the game's egalitarian view of animal taxonomy, which describes humans and primates as members of different 'tribes', the grim feast in prospect smacks of cannibalism, and the infants on the menu are moist-eyed and lovable enough to invoke a swift and earnest rescue mission. As long, that is, as the game doesn't get in the way.

And to some extent it does. The lead character sets out to rescue a series of kidnap victims – fine. The lead character is a monkey that swings from platform to platform on lianas and collects bananas – excellent. It would be possible to exhaust this review's word limit ten times over by listing the titles of games that have successfully contained these elements. Unfortunately, though, Funky Monkey makes a few errors in its reproduction of the formula.

We might as well start with basic movement. The soul of a great platformer is the motion of the avatar – the skid and slide of inertia, the degree of control mid-jump, the momentum and timing of swings and elevators. Funky Monkey ignores the lessons of its better ancestors. When you stop pushing right, Funky Monkey abruptly stops too, and getting around is a pedestrian experience.

If motion is the soul of a platformer, then, the graphics are its clothes and make-up, and here Funky Monkey takes a second stumble. There's no animal more innately charismatic than a monkey, yet Handy Games has failed to tap this abundant natural resource. While the kidnapped babies may be just about short-limbed and pudgy enough to make a schoolgirl coo, Funky Monkey himself lacks personality. The jungle through which he swings, meanwhile, is dully monotonous, like ugly wallpaper.

Nevertheless, the game makes an effort to ingratiate itself with a few innovations. The fez, for instance, isn't purely an aesthetic device. Pressing '5' during a long descent prompts Funky to remove the hat from his head and use it as a parachute, to drift into floating bananas. Movement from left to right is strictly confined to two diagonal axes, removing any sense that the avatar is really drifting, but it's a start.

Also evidence of effort is the superswing feature, which enables you become a whirling dervish on certain lianas, lofting yourself high into the air. Not much use, but fun all the same.

Unfortunately, though, these streaks of glimmering promise don't bring much sheen to an otherwise lacklustre game. It's worth a look if you're a devoted fan of both platform games and monkeys, but even then we suspect you'll end up leaving most of the infants to the natives.