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Developer: SCEA
Publisher: SCEA
Genre: Adventure
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 31 May 99
User Rating
9.8 (5 votes) -
Overview
The Professor has been hard at work on yet another one of his wonderful inventions. First it was the Peak Point Helmet, with the ability to give the wearer intelligence enough to rival that of a Einstein's seeing-eye dog, then it was the Bow-Flex, and now, under the company of his assistant Natalie, the Professor is nearly ready to unveil the nuts atop all the ice cream of previous inventions: the Time Station. Apparently it is similar to a time machine in every respect, except that it's a station.
Eagerly awaiting Spike's (that's you) and Jake's arrival so that the show can begin, Natalie and the Professor are suddenly ransacked (I looked it up; legally I can use the word ransacked) by an entire infantry of monkeys, all sporting the hip fad that is the Peak Point Helmet. Led by an especially sinister looking monkey named Specter, the hoard immediately goes to work so as to use the Time Station to there own devious benefit. And with Peak Point Helmets on head, the task is easy like microwavable pie.
So obviously, the first thing a group of ill-tempered simians are going to do is try and rewrite history by using the Time Station to travel back to the days where, I guess, people weren't smart or strong enough to defend against a monkey. Well, probably first would come the use of flea and tick spray, and then maybe a more effective way of throwing feces, but after all that would definitely come the world domination thing.
As is customary in the world of platformer video games, the burden of global happiness and world peace now lies on your shoulders. Luckily you have an array of gadgets at your disposal to help you send the monkeys back to where they belong - locked away in dirty amusement parks. I suppose it's a good thing, though, that all these monkeys escaped and are trying to take over the world, because otherwise that Time Net, which sends whatever it catches back to the present, would have continued to sit on the shelf collecting dust. The Professor always wondered why he made that thing.
Gameplay
Truly one of the most innovative games I have seen, Ape Escapes starts at the root of all games in order to capitalize on what makes a great game. Of course I am talking about the controller. Originally, Ape Escape was designed to be released simultaneously along with the, then new Dual Shock analog controller, as a platform to demonstrate the controller's potential.
Sadly, one thing led to another and production of the game was pushed back just enough to allow the controller's release and the game's release to no longer coincide. Thus, the genius of Ape Escape was never fully realized with the majority of the game buying public.
What genius might you ask? Since I went on a bit of a rant considering the controller, I suppose I should start there. Ape Escape is the first game to fully utilize the "Dual Shock analog" part of the Dual Shock analog controller. The left stick moves Spike around, and the right stick uses one of the eight gadgets that is acquired throughout your quest. This may seem ridiculous using an analog stick to activate a weapon but when you need the four action buttons to switch between gadgets on the fly in order to capture a particularly crafty primate, you'll be thankful of its ridiculousness. It may sound a bit complicated, and honestly it is a bit so, but in no time you should be well versed at rowing a boat to shore and jumping out with RC car already in hand ready to chase a monkey out of a cage and hit him with your stun club just hard enough to make him easy prey for your time net. Next would come what is sure to be a somewhat awkward rendezvous back at Time Station with the Professor and Natalie.
Aside from the seemingly straightforward task of catching some monkeys, Ape Escape goes deeper than many games would even if covered in cement and dropped in the East River. A replay value offering much more than has been the tradition with platformers, will keep you staring at the television set much longer than once through the game. Three mini games including Ski Kidz Racing, Specter Boxing, and Galaxy Monkey (the latter of which is by far the most fun) can be unlocked upon acquisition of a certain number of Specter Coins. These coins, by the way, are cleverly hidden in out of the way areas which should keep you from doing your homework or going to work for quite a while.
Also, so great is the idea that the game can be completed without capturing all of the monkeys. You need only collect the bare minimum number of rascally rascals in order to continue on your trip through time. But hold on there Mr. I-must-have-100-percent-in-ever-game-I-play. In effort to keep up with your namesake you will need to go back to previously passed levels so that all the monkeys can be acquired with new found gadgets.
Helping you with your task (besides the gadgets and stuff) is a Monkey Book that lists all of the monkeys you have captured. Included with each monkey is a quite an impressive bio. The name, statistics on speed, attack, and alert, the degree of difficulty in catching the particular monkey, and even any items the little havoc-wreckers might be carrying such as binoculars, machine guns, and rocket launchers are all included. As icing on this already hefty helping of icing on the cake, each monkey bio also includes a small phrase about its personality or mental state. Some examples are "skilled horseback rider," "ate some yellow snow," or my personal favorite "afraid to fly" while it sits in a flying UFO thing. This Monkey Book serves more of an extra element than something that can truly help you during your quest, but whenever a little pep talk is needed, looking back through these pages can certainly boost an ego. Unless you haven't captured many monkeys, then you will probably feel worse off. Oh well, not my problem.
As the final piece in the 100 percent puzzle, a time attack mode forces you to go through each one of the levels again and capture the first few monkeys in the shortest amount of time possible. This is the one that got me. It still keeps me awake at night.
Graphics
Considering they are the product of a surpassed console, the visuals here aren't anything above average. Even for a PSOne game, my impressed-o-meter registered just below "old dog learning new trick" and slightly above "old dog takes a big dumb in the back yard." Sharp, blatantly obvious polygons were the common brick here, as would be expected, but what hurt worse than that was the terrible dislocation of edges (I'm sure there is a technical term for such an occurrence, but if you expect one you are forgetting to consider the fact that I am a moron). Essentially, Ape Escape has a horrible problem with those thin gaps that appear between poorly connected polygons. I like to pretend they are peepholes into the girl's locker room. Under normal circumstances where it happens only once in a while, this wouldn't be a concern, and even here in the glow of wonderful gameplay it can usually be blinded out. But understand that it does happen more often than it probably should.
The graphical glitches do surprising offer up an unexpected benefit, though. A "glitch cheat" occurs when you press the L2 to use the binoculars button near a wall. When close enough, the zoomed in view actually allows you to see through walls to get a peek at what's happening on the other side.
While this isn't purposefully done and not entirely useful all the time, a few points pop up during your adventure through time in which the "X-ray" vision helps. But more importantly, it brings truer to life the game of peek-a-boo into the girl's locker room.
Fun Factor
On very few occasions have I had this much fun playing with a monkey. Ape Escape is my vote for the all time most underrated game. More fun is to be had here than a barrel full of…sorry I can't do it. Maybe if I thought for one second that a barrel full of monkeys would in any way be figurative of a good time, then perhaps I could agree with that overused cliché. Chances are, however, that all the monkeys would be very uncomfortable during shipment of said barrel and turn out to be rather angry. Or worse yet, they could all die. Rotting monkeys does not sound like much fun to me. Either way, this game is honestly fantastic and I suggest you grab it now.
Overall
Ingeniously combining the greatest elements of platformers from the heyday of the 'gamers-easily-amused' era (honestly, how well would Kiwi Kraze and A Boy and His Blob fair with today's shut-in youth) and the skill required for modern masterpieces such as Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2, Ape Escape manages to provide a varied experience that is every bit as integral to a gamer's fun-o-meter as the first two games wish to be, and the second two have proven to be.
It's truly sad that a game as great as Ape Escape hasn't sold the numbers it is deserving of. I suppose until it does, this game will be my little secret, and the secret of all others who are smart enough to buy it after reading this review.
- Gameplay
9.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
9.0
