Intelligent apes are taking over the World and no Charlton Heston in sight, We are doomed I tell you! ... DOOMED!!!
One of the first elements that defines Ape Escape 2's lively and cheerful nature are its colorful graphics and character animations. While said graphics may look underachieving for the PS2 standards, everything that is represented by them are permeated with an overall sense of lightheartedness and humor.
Each of the cartoon world locales in the game spoof sites such as Giza, Seville, Venice, Paris and many more. But you'll also find a healthy heap of fantasy and scifi inspired levels as well. These levels, as expected, will increase in size, complexity and number of apes to catch as you advance throughout the game and unlock them. But said levels must be visited at least twice to achieve a 100% capture rate. While this may seem as a repetitive task, each incursion into them must be approached by the player in different states of mind. First as a sneaky hunter and later on as a meticulous explorer. As for each ape sitting on plain sight, there is another in hiding.
And be certain that said apes will do everything in their power to avoid being netted. Thankfully, you'll be equipped with more than a simple net to face the simian menace at hand. From the RC car, Stun baton, bananarang, electromagnet, to land and sea vehicles as tanks, snow bikes, submarines, even mechs will be at your disposal. Each and every single one of these devices are a delight to use thanks to the spot on, dual analog control scheme, specially designed to fit each one of them.
Add to this some of the most creative, amusing and downright hilarious boss fights of any title of this genre. The battle against Pink (the local pop idol wannabe) must be seen, and heard, to be believed!
To compliment the core gameplay, there is a whole collection of unlockable minigames, comic strips, music samples, art galleries and video clips.
But above all of the previously mentioned, one of the key elements that makes of this game an absolute must have, is its fun factor.
From capturing the apes and watching its prior reactions, the gadgets, the locales, the minigames, everything, just exudes a sense of joy and amusement that, ironically enough, should be the rule and not the exception on a genre that used to be the bread and butter of the video game industry.
If there is anything negative that can be said about Ape Escape 2 are the unnecessary amount of tries required to unlock all the extra content that the game harbors. But really, in comparison to all the good things it offers, it is mere nitpicking.
As a side note and as further proof of the game's quality and appeal, even the lofty Hideo Kojima played tribute to Ape Escape 2 on Metal Gear Solid 3. If that isn't the best letter of recommendation a game can get, I don't know what is.
Don't let this one escape.