Bloons Super Monkey, a Flash-based Vertical Shooter

Bloons Super Monkey is a Flash animation action shooter created by Newgrounds.com designer Ninjakiwi Games (Warnockworld), creator of the beloved and well-known Bloons Tower Defense Flash-based series. This RaidenX-styled, 2D vertical shooter was submitted to Newgrounds.com on February 22, 2010 and won a Daily 3rd Place award on February 23, 2010.

Game Background

The balloon-popping monkey from the Bloons Tower Defense series is at it again, but this time he's popping balloons in the sky while flying around in a cape.

Gameplay

If you are familiar with the Bloons Tower Defense Flash-based series, then you will understand the origins of this creation, which uses the same character and "enemy" as seen in the Bloons Tower Defense series. The objective of this vertical shooter is to shoot down all of the balloons by controlling the flying monkey.

Your bullets in the form of darts will fire automatically. Use your mouse to control the monkey. Aim at the balloons that will appear on the screen. At the right hand side of the screen, you will see the target number of balloons that you need to pop in order to advance to the next stage. Below this, you can see a red balloon with a numerical value on it which indicates the number of balloons you have currently popped. Once you have popped the minimum number of balloons, the balloon will change color, and a new goal will be set for you to reach, until you have reached Gold status, whereupon you will be challenged to reach the high score. Below the balloon is the number of power blops that you currently have. Power blops are blue spherical objects that come out of balloons that are popped. They are attracted to the monkey, so not much effort is required to acquire the power blops once you have successfully popped a balloon.

At the top right hand corner of the screen, you can view your total score. Below this is the number of the stage that you are currently on. Below this value is the number of the wave that you are currently attacking.

There is an upgrade shop in-game that can be used to help you complete the game. To access the upgrade shop, simply press the Escape button on your keyboard. The currency is the power blops obtained from popping balloons. You can purchase anything from faster dart-throwing speed to an added boomerang to help you pop more balloons to a plasma tentacle that pops nearby balloons instantly. Utilize the upgrades wisely to help you achieve the best score.

Game Review

Bloons Super Monkey is a fun-for-all balloon popping vertical shooter that is enjoyable for a long period of time. Though the game can become repetitive, the many upgrades helps relieve the potential repetitiveness. It also helps that each stage changes the way balloons enter the screen. Also, the addition of bronze, silver, and gold status balloons keeps players playing to achieve as high a score as possible.

Overall, Bloons Super Monkey scores an 8/10 for high entertainment value.