Bananas. Not only do they provide you with one of your 'five-a-day' and taste sublime with a bowl of Weetabix in the morning, they also make a fantastic weapon!

If you've ever had a snowball fight with your friends, you're likely to have experienced the joy of planting one of your frosty white missiles into someone's face from forty feet away. As the ice-cold remnants of your perfect aim trickle down your mate's neck while you run for cover, you may find yourself in one of two scenarios.

If your friend is forgiving, you may well get a congratulatory handshake as you laugh and joke about it while warming up in front of the fire. If they have a vengeful streak, however, chances are you'll have your face held down in the nearest portion of yellow snow to wipe away that smug grin. If the latter doesn't sound like your cup of tea, or indeed a strangely tangy ice tea, you'll be thankful to know there is a safer way to throw missiles at your friends.

Manic Monkey Mayhem gives you a choice of eight wacky monkeys to pit against competing simians in an assortment of banana-flinging scenarios in single player, multiplayer and online modes. The range of activities available includes Survival (evade an onslaught of bananas from your opponents until the time reaches zero), One-on-One Banana Fight (throw bananas at your solitary opponent while dodging their counter-fire), Deathmatch (be the last surviving monkey), Pass the Parcel (throw an explosive box at your rivals and hope you are not holding it when it goes off) as well as several variations of these basic scenarios.

The controls required to undertake these challenges are relatively simple yet require a certain amount of time to master. Although the Balance Board is supported in Manic Monkey Mayhem, the basic controls only require the Wii Remote. The pointer is used to turn your monkey towards the direction you want to face (generally an adjacent platform, populated by a rival monkey), the A-Button locks this position in place and allow you to throw a banana with a thrust of the Wii Remote, B enables you to jump over to an empty platform and the D-Pad is used to apply swerve to your projectiles as well as dodge rival bananas (with the direction of their impending arrival kindly illustrated by an on-screen indicator). The Balance Board can be utilised to dodge enemy fire, if you have one, but it adds an unnecessary extra level of complexity to an already hectic game, though it is nice to see the option included!

The power of your throw is related to how hard you thrust the Wii Remote. With practice, you will be able to reach your desired target the majority of the time but the fact that motion is employed means there is a level of uncertainty attached with each throw you make. In the heat of battle, this lack of precision can result in frustration as you frantically move between platforms, dodge incoming bananas from all directions and try to turn to face your opponents. Another minor gripe is that you have to point rather close to the edge of the screen before your monkey will turn resulting in turning which can feel too slow when you're in a rush.

When you get to grips with the slightly fiddly controls, aided by the helpful tutorial, there is a lot of fun to be had throughout the single player campaign and, perhaps even more so, the multiplayer modes for up to 4 combatants. The reason I say "perhaps" is because it was impossible to test the online portion of Manic Monkey Mayhem. Logging in to search for a random opponent online was, unfortunately, a wasteful endeavour on every occasion as there was seemingly nobody else available to play at any time. It would have been nice to test my skills against another player via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but I was restricted to split-screen multiplayer on a 14-Inch screen. Although this was far from ideal, playing with other players in the same room really adds to the mayhem! Thankfully, you can also play with friends online if you exchange Friend Codes.

The missions in single player, whilst relatively tricky towards the end, are over quite quickly which basically leaves the multiplayer to carry the flag for much of the games enjoyment. Playing alone, however, will allow you to hone your skills before diving into the battle arena with your mates but the lack of solo longevity only goes to highlight the unfortunate lack of opponents online. This criticism cannot be levelled at developers The Code Monkeys though as they provided all the options necessary and it is up to the public to download the game and get online.

The graphics, although somewhat bland in places, hold up well enough and there is a nice variety in the environments ranging from desert landscapes to icy lakes. The change of locales is purely visual, though, as each location has basically the same layout of eight podiums arranged in a circular fashion with which to jump between and battle. Having said that, it is pleasant to have the option of selecting your favourite location when playing with friends.

The menus are bright, colourful and effortless to navigate with the Wii Remote pointer. Stressing the effort the developers put into the game are the banana silhouettes falling down the screen in the background as you make your menu selections. These can be interacted with by pointing at them and pressing the A-Button. It doesn't particularly add much to the game, but it is a nice touch.

When it comes to the game modes, there is some variety in the objectives, such as attacking single, or multiple, enemies with bananas or power-ups which include coconuts and a "Bazookanana", destroying a certain number of targets within a time limit, surviving enemy fire until the clock runs out and others. The most disappointing mode is "Pass the Parcel" which involves throwing an explosive device to any opponent when it is in your possession and hope you are not holding it when it explodes. The fact that it can go off at any time certainly adds tension, but the random nature of the game makes it feel unfair and frustrating. The others modes are good fun in general, though, apart from the uninspiring boss battles which seem to lack inspiration.

While it may not be a particularly deep experience, Manic Monkey Mayhem is certainly a fun WiiWare title with a frantic multiplayer component. The attention to detail in some areas is refreshing and it is great to see support for the Wii Balance Board and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you're looking for a chaotic game with lacklustre, repetitive, yet inoffensive music to play with friends in short spurts, you could do much worse than Manic Monkey Mayhem at 1,000 Nintendo Points.