Feel like monkeying around? One word to describe Tiki Towers 2 by GameHouse is plain crazy, out-of-control mayhem. The monkeys in this case have taken over the zoo, so to speak, in this ‘Planet of the Apes’ style of world you enter into called the Monkey Republic. You will be helping the monkeys escape to their goals and reach onto statues — from a box they are trapped in at the beginning of each level — by building structures that comprise of towers and bridges. These structures are used by the monkeys to climb over but you only have a limited amount of bamboo poles to build them. These poles attach themselves in to coconuts and metallic beams suspended in mid air. This review is coming from someone who hasn’t played the original title but the two games should be quite similar outside of additions like special items and tools at your disposal.

Review
Tiki Towers 2 is a physics based puzzle game with a lot of humor thrown in. The monkeys jump, hop and react in all kinds of ways to the wooden structures you build for them. By building these towers and bridges for the apes to climb on, you must make sure they reach their destination statues without any of them being left behind or falling to their doom. Be warned though, this is a pretty challenging game that can get frustrating at times. The amount of wooden poles you can use for building purposes are usually very limited and the structures are very unforgiving to weight; when a bunch of monkeys all start jumping on one structure at once it is prone to falling or the poles will start breaking as the monkeys swing on them.

The presentation and graphics are very well done with all kinds of charm. There is an ape dictator you want to overthrow and a bunch of comical cutscenes showing you the game’s light-hearted storyline. An overworld map shows you the way to the dictator’s mansion with levels to go through that sometimes have multiple pathways that branch out of a level. Sometimes, you must build structures so the monkeys can collect various items or tools in certain levels to gain access to new areas on the overworld map. An example would be collecting an inflatable boat to be able to swim and across a body of water to an island. At other times, there will be more than one statue or destination point to reach thus paths will branch out on the overworld map.

The way structures are built is by the touch of your finger. You will be attaching bamboo poles to metallic beams already suspended in the air on the outset of each level; the bamboo pieces attach themselves via coconuts. You don’t just build a structure by placing bamboo pieces however but sometimes use other items that also take up bamboo supplies like long vine ropes that attach to the poles — thus holding the structure in place and keeping the monkeys from overwhelming it with their weight. There are various tools at the player’s disposal and challenges to overcome as well. You can also collect bananas (or the monkeys will do this for you as long as they can reach them with your structure) along the way for added points and accomplishments.

Levels are varied with sometimes lots of swinging by the monkeys to get to new heights and ledges and other times the monkeys just needing small but calculated structures to cross their obstacles. The physics are really well done with a lot of variations in the way structures swing or drop due to gravity as well as the way the structures react to monkeys putting their weight and swinging on them. The monkeys have great facial expressions and different gestures or cheers depending on what they are doing. For example if you failed to build a structure they can reach or the poles are too far away from the ground they will express their disappointment with frowns or confusion. If they make it across, they start to hop around and cheer. A nice touch is being able to pinch with your fingers to zoom in and out of the levels.

One thing I dislike about the game is how poles are sometimes hard to position the way you want them and you end up erasing the plank near your finger instead of placing a new one. What I mean is that there is only a limit distance-wise of how far away from the structure you can add on a section or place a new pole. When you drag your finger further out no blue or virtual placement appears so you know you can’t build it that far out. However, sometimes even when you should be able to it won’t let you and you will try putting your finger closer to the structure only to erase a bamboo pole. The other complaint is that sometimes the monkeys behave unexpectedly and might all jump at once on a pole or might not jump at all. But I think this adds to the charm of the game as they are monkeys after all.

Overall though, Tiki Towers 2 is quite an engaging, fun and intuitive game with a lot of variables and different ways to build your bridge-structures. There are a couple of issues that may frustrate you but the game should be right up your alley if you enjoy tower building while not minding monkeys jumping all over the place and destroying your work.

Tips
Be prepared for gravity to make the structure fall down before the monkeys even get on them since after you click on the box housing the monkeys to unleash them, the level will essentially play out and structures may react differently than set up originally. Sometimes, if you put too many poles in the center near the metal beams the structure will be too heavy to support itself. I recommend making sure your structure will have poles reaching at least one of the ledges so it can remain upright.

Recommendation
Tiki Towers 2 is recommended for any puzzle-game fans that enjoy physic-based puzzles and manipulating structures so they stand the test of gravity and weight. It is also a lighthearted and hilarious game with bright, tropical-themed colors and charm. The game is currently available on the App Store for $2.99 and a Universal App.

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Note: A promotional code was provided by the creator for use in this article.

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