MONKEYING with party games seems to be the trend with developers but so far, few are making their mark. Hail To The Chimp is yet another release that, while fun, is forgettable.

With politics as a backdrop, animals like a monkey or a hippopotamus, each with a cynical personality, vie for the top spot as head of the animal kingdom.

Given that this is election year in the United States, Wideload Games probably meant for the game's premise to be a satire, but any irony is lost when winning means having to collect clams.

Players have to fulfil objectives to win the level, from collecting the most clams, to collecting them in sets and giving them away after that. Each game is a four-way battle and you can defend and attack the other players to gather your clams.

No one explains the importance of the shellfish.

Each level has a different layout, so there are some dangers inherent to the location. For instance, you have to watch the rising magma as you collect clams near a live volcano.

As with party games, the fun is always in playing in a group. The one-player mode of facing off against three computer players is nothing to shout about.

It does not help that the graphics in the PS3 version looks as if the game was being played on the Wii. This is fundamentally a kid's game - the backgrounds are simple looking, with blue water, lightly textured rocks and shrubbery.

The controls are also rudimentary: Move your character and hit a button to pummel your opponents.

As a simple and somewhat fun party game, Hail To The Chimp scores. When it comes to a sophisticated platform like the PlayStation 3, though, gamers are paying $60 for what is no more than $20 worth of fun.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 20 August 2008.

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