Previews

Hands on with Monkey On Your Back

It's time to make the beast with two backs…

Hands on with Monkey On Your Back

It's a sign of the world that we live in when a developer named after a giant South American guinea pig makes a mobile game based on a mind-controlling monkey. Such is the case with Capybara Games, which is preparing to release Monkey On Your Back.

It's a traditional platform game at heart starring Nim, a monkey trying to escape from an evil animal-experiments laboratory. The plan was to turn him into a bio-enhanced animal cyborg, but instead the scientists have managed to give Nim the ability to take control of humans by jumping on their backs.

"It's the classic tale of a psychic monkey and his bid for freedom, whilst exacting a little revenge along the way," says Kris Piotrowski, Capybara's wisecracking creative director. "It's not just a really cool action game, but a warning sign of things to come. It may be the most serious game on the market today, but that's for the critics to decide."

Piotrowski says that the game has already been compared to a swathe of classic console games from years gone by, including The Lost Vikings, early Megaman games, and titles from cult Japanese developer Treasure such as Bangai-O and Gunstar Heroes.

You might not know those games, but Piotrowski admits that Capybara has also been influenced by the stealthy creeping elements in the more recent Splinter Cell.

And the developer has also been taking inspiration from some more esoteric sources.

"One strong influence on the game was classic films of the '80s, specifically Trading Places, which the development team has watched a combined 134 times since its release," adds producer, Matt Repetski.

"Obviously we have great respect for monkeys as a species, as well as some of the great competitive eating champions out there, Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi in particular."

Sadly, this doesn't mean you can unlock a secret hot-dog-guzzling mini-game. At least, not as far as we know.

The strategy in Monkey On Your Back comes from taking control of the different enemies. For example, scientists can use computer terminals, open high-security doors and stun people with their Tazers, while soldiers have powerful long-range lasers.

Best of all, A-Bots are incredibly strong and can take plenty of damage – which Repetski says is because they were created by splicing whale brains with the slow-twitch muscles of Canadian grizzly bears, housed within a giant robotic exoskeleton. Make your own mind up.

Get through to the end of the game, and you'll get to throw some simian smackdown on the big boss of the research facility himself, Dr. Randolph Montague Krenwinkle.

"Dr. Krenwinkle is a mystery wrapped inside a riddle, garnished with a side order of enigma," says Repetski. "Those players who manage to complete the game and reveal the truth about him will soon begin questioning the world around them, and even the fabric of their own existence."

We're half-tempted to start a campaign to stop operators from releasing this dangerous madness. But Monkey On Your Back's blend of platform action spliced with a healthy dollop of humour has won us over so far. Click 'Track It!' to get set for the monkey mania of our review.

Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)