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Originality is the name of the game and if isn’t, it’s definitely part of a memorable and addictive experience. Originality is definitely part of the game “Space Monkey”, which promises it in spades and is only available on mobile phones such as the iPhone. It’s a simple game, but one that manages to be clever and can make a person smile – which is a pleasant surprise. It’s a game that’s meant to be played in five minute bursts.

There’re some strange going –ons in space – well, not so much strange as filthy as planets are surrounded by junk. With all that jazz going down in space, it’s not surprising that the space program is the one to get saddled with the job. Of course, the next logical move would be to get an ambidextrous (or is it quadridextrous?) monkey into space to clean it.

Your job is to spin the little monkey around as it glides around space to let it grab stuff with its hands and feet while avoiding all the bad stuff floating around. It’s a simple game – predictably, you only need two buttons to play it: left and right or 4 and 6. Like most things in life, you don’t need to do each stage perfectly, you just need to reach a quota. Adorably and strangely enough, there are half-eaten donuts going around in space that you can use to fuel your monkey.

Playing a game with a donut powered monkey seems too simple for most people but it actually has more depth than that. You can grab toys with his hands, such as a yo-yo that adds points while you use the feet to keep doing the job. For his feet, the monkey likes, er, playing with blue balls. Let’s go with juggling. Yeah, juggling blue balls. It can be difficult to keep that chain of points going, as getting hit with junk knocks the toys right out of the monkey’s appendages.

There are plenty of other things to consider about the game, but as with any game, the most important aspect is the fun. The fact that the monkey is so cute with a wide array of expressions – the monkey even reacts differently to the various things that happen to him. The background is detailed quite well. If you want to zoom into the background, you can.

It’s a nice action game that can provide a light distraction for both hardcore and casual or relaxed gamers. A game that can be played in quick doses or for a good half hour, Space Monkey earns its keep on any iPhone.