Ape Escape (Ape Escape (PS))

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Product:	Ape Escape (PS)
Date:	07/02/01 (0 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: gameplay, graphics

Disadvantages: for kids so easy

The gist of the story is that a ravenous band of apes, led by the evil Spector, have captured the professor's time machine. Hell bent on wreaking all kinds of mischief, the apes travel to the past (a la The Terminator) hoping to change the future into a more 'simian friendly' place. Doing his best Princess Leia impersonation, the Professor comes to you, a young man named Spike, to chase and capture them.

Now, the professor isn't the type of guy to ask for help and not provide some excellent gadgets in return; he sends Spike off with a Stun Rod and a "Time Net". Spike has to travel through several worlds to collect and trap a certain number of apes in order to advance through each world. The stun rod is used to smack the runaway apes into a daze (no animals were hurt in the making of this game), and the 'Time Net" is to scoop 'em up when they're dazed. To be honest, I never saw much need for the stun rod… the apes are stunned for less than a second, and I found it far easier using just the net to capture them, rather than switching gadgets in order to swing the net after pummeling primates with the rod. Complicating the chase is the fact that some apes will run from you (each one has differing degrees of skill in evasive maneuvers) and most will fight to the bitter end, or until you "Toss Your Cookies" (no joke, that's how Spike's health meter works). The apes also hide in hard to reach places, like on top of a T-Rex, or in rooms that can only be accessed with special items.

One of the sticking points of this game for many people is the play control… Ape Escape is the first game that requires a Dual Shock controller to play with, which has turned a few people off because it basically requires you to pick up the pad, if you aren't already using one. I myself didn't really understand why Sony would do such a thing at first, but after playing for a short while everyth
ing became very clear. It seems that the apes can hear you approaching and much like in Mario 64, the 'sneaking' process will go much more smoothly if you gently push the left analog stick forward so that Spike will silently inch toward them. The right stick, meanwhile, is used exclusively for weapons - and there are actually times when you will use both at the same time (when rowing a boat or driving a tank).

The difficulty is average (far below forcing me into doing my best Charlton Heston, screaming "Damn you, bloody apes!" at the top of my lungs) and, although capturing certain apes requires strategy, it's nothing that can't be mastered within an about three levels (or by a nine year old, take your pick).

Now, on to the aesthetics… the graphics and music in Ape Escape are very well done, and the characters all have loads of animation, giving the game a 'cartoonish' visual flair, even in 3-D. There is quite a bit of draw-in, however it doesn't really detract from the experience, so it's forgivable. Escape's music is a unique blend of ambient and Japanese Techno loops, and call me crazy (ECM sure did), but I really liked it. I thought the tunes really fit the cartoony, wacky feel of the game and added to the atmosphere.

I'm painting a picture of a pretty complete game here, and it's packed with extras too. Capturing the minimum number of apes per level isn't going to net you everything this game has to offer. As you clear certain levels, the professor will hook you up with new weapons (such as a sling shot or a 'ape radar' system that will allow you to home in on the nearest one). You have to take the weapons that you unlock in the later levels and go back through the earlier ones to capture all of the stray apes. There is no way to catch certain rogue primates without specific weapons (like shooting down an ape in a UFO with the slingshot). There are also tokens s
cattered about each level and finding 10, 20 and 40 of them will open up three mini-games.

Extras, polish, and a cool cartoon theme are all well and good, but the most important aspect of this, or any game for that matter, is whether it's fun to play… I'm here to tell ya, Ape Escape definitely is. The list of pretty looking games with no gameplay to support them is growing longer every day, and it was fun to enjoy a solid one for once… it's not the greatest platformer ever created, but it hits the target it aims for and delivers a unique, enjoyable (though not exactly mind-blowing) experience.

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