Nickelodeon releases top-notch iOS physics trajectory game Monkey Quest: Thunderbow for free
With added connections into Monkey Quest kids' MMOG
It's hardly surprising, given its success, that 2011 has seen plenty of variations on the Angry Birds theme.
Nickelodeon's Monkey Quest: Thunderbow - developed by InMotion - is one such trajectory action game.
Still, as part of the kids' MMO franchise, it's not just relying on its own gameplay to find a place in the market.
Pulling back the stringCertainly, first impressions are good, with top-quality presentation in terms of graphics and audio, and plenty of explosions as you take control of Thunderbow the monkey's thunderbow - blowing up environments, collecting bananas and destroying the zombies, scorpions, mummies and skeletons in each level to progress to the next.
Most of the 'levelling-up' occurs as you unlock better arrows, which range from direct explosives to three-way splitting munitions and fragmentation pineapples.
Levels are arranged into three sets of 10 via themed worlds - infernal desert, ghostly ruins and cursed tombs - with two more worlds promised soon. There's also a bonus zombie level.
But Thunderbow isn't a standalone game; it has various connections to the Monkey Quest MMOG so you can import your monkey avatar, and unlock bonus items that you can then use in the MMOG.
Monkey Quest: Thunderbow is available now in separate iPhone and iPad versions, and it's free.