It's back again, with no cheap knock-off.
Anyway, this is not a cheap rip-off of the series, this is an actual game, not like Pumped and Prime. And I have to say, this is the best in the series.
*The Story*
The same old story with a new twist. This time, those apes are broadcasting their own TV shows. Because those shows turned the Professor, Spike, and Jimmy into mindless couch potatoes, it's up to two new heroes, Kei and Yumi. In the beginning of the game, you choose which character you want to play through the game as. But Yumi has an edge over Kei: she is a pop star and some of the monkeys are apart of her fanclub. Therefore, the monkeys fall in love whenever they see her (when I finish the game with Kei I'm going to play the game as Yumi).
*The Graphics*
Not really a big improvement over Ape Escape 2. Same graphics.
*The Controls and Camera*
The controls are still as easy as ever to use (except for the boat which we all hate). You can also choose gadgets this time without going to the Pause screen. You can press the button you want to assign it while you're using the gadget and push that button to scroll through which gadget you want to use.
The camera is, unfortunately, still the same. Still as annoying as ever.
*The Music and Voiceovers*
Once again, an entirely new cast (these people can't last two games with the same voices). Sometimes the voices can get irritating, especially with the character you're playing as. But the music is the same. It sounds a lot like the music in the original Ape Escape in some of the levels and the main menu.
*Other Stuff*
This game has a lot of added things to it. Like Ape Escape 2, there's a lot of unlockable material but different. In AE2, you had to use a thing called the "Gotcha Box" to get items and cookies and other things. But this time, it's called the "Shopping Center". You leave the TV Center and go to random shops and buy what you want to buy. Another great thing about this is that after levels and you don't have use coins over and over and wait for a Giant Cookie or a regular cookie. You can buy them along with Jackets and pellets for the Slingback Shooter.
Another new part of the game is the "Transformation Mode". Throughout the game, you get costumes that you can use in levels that give you special abilities. Like the Miracle Ninja lets you use navigate on a tightrope that you wouldn't normally be able to use. Unfortunately, it's only 30 seconds unless you get green diamonds that extend the time.
Another good part, and bad at the same time, is that the levels are a lot longer. This is good because you get to catch more monkeys each time you go to the level and there's a lot of space to get them. The bad thing is when you get a game over or finish the level and you have to get the remaining monkeys, you have to go all the way to where you left of instead of you being teleported right there.
One other thing that sort of annoyed me was that the monkeys can steal your weapons and use them against you. This is different and sort of amusing seeing your character get beat up by the monkey using your weapon, but when you're caught in the monkey net (as funny as it is), you are teleported back to the TV Center and have to catch all the monkeys again.
*Overall*
Even with it's flaws, this game is this game is the best in the series. I like the fact that it's longer because I wont spend three days playing it and be done with it. With 400 monkeys, you'll becatching them for quite a while.