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Time and gravity are your enemies: failing to cross the goal line before the timer reaches zero or falling off the edge will result in a lost life, however your monkey can collect bananas to earn more lives... and you will certainly need them. The main game consists of 100 stages set across 10 different worlds, with difficulty levels graduating from simple through to fiendishly frustrating. If you are having problems with a particular stage in Challenge mode you can slip into Practice mode and put your monkey through its paces until you can continue with confidence. Completing ten stages in Challenge mode will unlock other worlds, opening the door to further challenges.

Your monkey-in-a-ball is obliging and tireless in its efforts to follow your directions via touch screen or control pad, and the responsiveness of both is generally good. Certain stages require the softly, softly touch of the stylus, whereas others worked better with the control pad. Whichever option you prefer, you will find them dead simple to learn but difficult to master, with later stages requiring a level of precision and timing that a brain surgeon would envy.

While the main game can only be played in single-player mode, there are six party games on offer for single- or multi-player gaming, the latter using wireless or download play - which requires only a single game card for up to four players (note that the screenshots below do not correspond with the mini-game descriptions).

Monkey Race: Pit your monkey against other players in a single race or a series of races on different courses. Points are earned according to your placement in each race, and you can pick up items on the track to boost your chances against your opponents. In single-player mode you can also race against the clock, although this is far less entertaining than blowing up your fellow racers, or watching them spin out of control on a banana peel.

Monkey Fight: Your monkey dons an oversized boxing glove and attempts to pummel the opposition off the stage or into unconsciousness - which ever comes first. The action is fast and furious, and power-ups regularly appear on the stage to help give your monkey the edge over his opponents.

Monkey Bowling: Play a match of ten pin bowling, using your selected monkey as the bowling ball. Each monkey has different attributes, e.g., GonGon has power but very little spin, whereas MeeMee is quite the opposite. For those playing solo there's a challenge mode which sets up the pins in different patterns, and your goal is to knock them down in one go. The stylus is very effective here in determining ball trajectory and power.

Monkey Hockey: Played across both screens, you can choose from either classic table hockey or Line Smasher, where you use the stylus to draw your own mallet (smasher). The puck's physics are pretty accurate, although it's a little tricky keeping track of its trajectory from the upper to the lower screen - especially when it's travelling at speed.

Monkey Wars: Hunt down your fellow monkeys in a maze-type map, using fruit and other edible ammo to hinder or take 'em out. This mode utilises both the control pad and the touch screen, and takes a little getting used to. There are only three different maps available, more's the pity.

Monkey Mini Golf: Your standard 18-hole mini golf game. The touch screen is used to determine direction and stroke power, with your monkey playing the role of golf ball. In single- and multi-player modes you can choose from stroke play or time attack games, the latter being a race to sink your ball; there's an additional match play game for the multi-player mode, where the player with the least strokes wins the hole, and the player with the most holes wins the match.

Background music for the game is upbeat and easy on the ears, with a different theme to complement each of the 10 worlds. The monkeys' high-pitched exclamations of concern, dismay or victory let you know how well you are doing, and in the main game a cute animation on the lower screen gives a visual representation of your how hard your monkey is working. The graphics are of a very high standard, with detailed, realistic backgrounds contrasting nicely with the colourful and cartoonish characters.

While much of the game is largely a portable re-hash of the larger console versions, Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll is a treat to play and contains sufficient new features to make it attractive to fans of the series. If you've never played Super Monkey Ball before, this would be an excellent starting point.