3D platformers are now an established part of the gaming community, but at the time of Ape Escape's inception, they were still being improved upon and made as playable as their 2D forebears. Ape Escape is a step in the right direction then for the genre, as it provides a very playable and enjoyable platformer that is very japanese and different from other established icons like Crash Bandicoot and Mario. Despite it's very tongue in cheek intro and kiddy facade, Ape Escape provides a rather challenging and well thought out platforming adventure, charging you, as Spike to save the world by going back through time to save it from being over run by simians. As it turns out, Specter, the main amusement at the local fair has had enough of parading around in a cage and now wants Monkeys to be the most dominant species on the planet. To do this, he has stolen the Professor's time machine and placed his monkey friends all throughout time, in the past, present and future, in the hope that they will rewrite the hostory of the planet. Okay, so the story is just an excuse to go through different time periods and capture the monkeys. However, it is the presentation and overall zaniness of the plot device that really strikes a chord with the player. That is coupled with some of the most well implemented control ever accomplished on a 3D platformer making this a joy to play. Passing a level requires you to capture a set amount of monkeys. You will capture them with your trusty time net, and to reach them, you wil be required to do all the platforming nuances, such as running, jumping, climbing, flying and swimming. You will be provided with a number of tools throughout the game in order to get the harder to reach Monkeys, such as a stun blade for knocking out the monkeys, to a slinghot and even a remote control car. All these are controllable through the second analog stick, while Spike can freely move through the left. It is not uncommon to be running one way and using one of you gadgets in the other. This provides incredible control, and at the time of it's release, was very innovative. In addition to catching monkeys, there are many secret tokens throughout the world which you can try to obtain, opening up mini games. Although not integral to the games storyline (not that you will be paying much attention to that), it does provide some entertainment and variety from the constant hunting down of your simian friends. Graphics are on par with what the Playstation can offer, and although not perfect, they have a great quirky style their own. There is little in the way of pop up and the frame rate is solid. Spike himself looks great, but some of the Monkeys look very iffy. However the graphics are for the most part - very good. Sound is again quirky and definately japanese. The sound of you capturing the monkey in your time net (along with the general pyrotechnics) is a highlight, and that is just one of quite a few. While the sound doesn't excel, it is competent and entertaining. Music is mostly forgettable, and the voice acting is simply terrible. Overall this is quite an amazing feat. Depite its strange appearance and unusual title lies a very fun and decidedly different game that will engage you with its quirky playability. If you can still find this on shelves, I recommend you pick this up for some light hearted platforming fun.
Ape Escape came out shortly after the DualShock controller was released, as a way to demonstrate the controller's potential. To this day few games live up to what a DualShock controller should feel like playing. With uni... Read Full Review
This game was great I like the gadgets the levels the mini games the game . It was so fun the monkeys were a little tough. The game was easy not bad. The story was not bad either. The coins were cool. Overall, this game... Read Full Review
