A MULTI-PLAYER ADVENTURE!
GAMEPLAY:
The first thing I have to say about this game: it was made to be played with friends so you will have fun with them, having good times in your coach (if you have one).
There are two main modes for the multi-player mode, Versus and Sea Kind.
The first mode offers three different ways to play. They are ‘Stand by the board’ which offers a free gameplay mode, ‘Jolly Roger’ which is similar to a Capture the Flag game mode, and ‘Bananas Race’ where you need to collect as much bananas as possible, however, you will lose them all after losing a life.
This mode must be played with the Wii Motes, using the Gamepad as a second screen to show stats and information. Even when it says versus, it’s actually for one to four players.
The Sea King mode is most interesting where the Gamepad is greatly used. There are no specific goals in this mode, it’s where the fun (or the hate) will begin. While up to four players are battling on the TV screen, the fifth person with the Gamepad can watch the game in its own screen, where he is the King of the seas (just like the name of the mode).
This fifth person is able to set the goal or change it anytime, and also help or affect the players, give orders to AI boats, being the loved or the hated player of the party.
Now, the single player experience isn’t good at all, where the game offers a mediocre AI for the versus mode. Meanwhile, the challenges are not exactly fun, they are excellent training for those who touch the game for the first time.
There’s still a lot of stuff to explain about the game but I suppose I should simplify the review.
There are different objects in the game that can be used while you play, helping or affecting your experience. There are three colors: red affects your firepower, green makes your ship better and the blue ones do random things (most of them are fun). The one that most impact the gameplay is the Coconut Juice, where the screen warps and the controls are reversed.
The GamePad works for the Single Player mode and for the extra player in the King Sea mode, the rest of the game is played with the Wii Motes. The controls are great, for both controls, being really easy to use.
‘Monkey Pirates’ feature nine different stages and four unique characters in the game, where each character has his/her own special ability, being perfectly balanced. But what about the rest of the game?
GRAPHICS AND AUDIO:
The graphics of Monkey Pirates are excellently done, presenting a cartoon style that fits perfectly with the game.
The music, like the graphics, fits even better with the game, featuring an amazing work with a good variety of songs. I can say the same about the sounds, featuring a good quality.
PRESENTATION:
The presentation is well done as well, featuring great looking menus, a good quantity of multi-player levels and it makes an excellent use of the Wii U Gamepad and an excellent explanation of 11 pages about how the game works (but the Sea King mode isn’t fully explained, sadly).
I usually make a mention when the manual is simple or not, but the manual is in the game, so this time I will make an exception.
The multi-player experience is great, the single player offers some stuff to do but it’s really boring after playing with friends due to the main reason being a bad AI. Still, this game isn’t aimed for a single player experience, which is understandable.
CONCLUSION:
The game doesn’t offer a good single player experience, however, the multi-player experience is a lot of fun, it makes an excellent use of the Gamepad, the graphics are well done and the music is excellent. All in all, Monkey Pirates is really worth its price. If you have a lot of friends to play this game with, you should definitely consider getting it.
