As you juggle the flappy-limbed fellow, there's somehow a tangible sensation of gently pressing a tiny bellows to nudge him upwards. It works because there isn't a button but it feels like there is. It's not because of his endearingly excitable hoots whenever a female comes into view, either, or that the birds flapping in to obstruct your ascent tweet so vociferously that you'll swear you've temporarily wandered into an aviary. It's not because the fruit splats and squelches in a gratifyingly gooey way, and not because the monkey is simultaneously cute and unnerving like all the best monkeys are. And it works not because it's as wonderfully garish as anything PomPom has previously made. Kissing the female monkeys coyly peeking out from the sides of the screen increases your score multiplier while collisions with falling coconuts drop it. Run out of juice - which is easily done, as your meter depletes without a regular intake of Vitamin C, and when you're hit by marauding insects - and it's game over. In it, you tap the screen to propel your simian avatar up a never-ending tree, collecting fruit along the way to keep his energy up. Monkey Bump is a game from PomPom, makers of Bliss Island and the Mutant Storm series. And if you're wondering where all this is going, then fear not, because I'm about to explain why it applies to Monkey Bump.īirds are more hindrance than help, but bumping into them does boost your score quite significantly. We both laughed, but if there's a better way to describe that particular phenomenon, I haven't heard it. "The best single button-press on iOS is probably Canabalt," he said. We talked about a shared dislike of in-game buttons in titles like League of Evil, and then Chris said something that initially sounded really stupid, but turned out to be actually quite brilliant. We discussed the way you get a real 'feel' from apps when you press their icon similarly, both of us felt the swiping motion to unlock an iDevice was somehow incredibly satisfying. Opening with a discussion about Friz Freleng and Robert Palmer - like any good conversation should - the topic then turned to in-game buttons on iOS, and how some are much better than others, even though the interaction itself is no different.
Recently I was chatting to fellow Eurogamer contributor and official Nicest Man In Games Journalism Christian Donlan about the important issues of the day.