

One of the unique things about it is that you are unable to get all the monkeys the first time through each level. You will find yourself maneuvering ledges, running through ice (which unfortunately was not slippery), swimming through water and even battling it out inside a dinosaur. They also did a great job on the level design. Each of these gadgets will help you in your quest to save all the monkeys. Other gadgets you will earn include the Slingback Shooter, Super Hoop and the Sky Flyer. Once it locks on, the screen zooms in to the location of the monkey and shows you the statistics on that particular monkey. You have a little radar that spins back and forth trying to home in on the location of the monkeys scattered across the levels. Speaking of the Monkey Radar, I thought this was one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. You will quickly earn the Water Net and Monkey Radar. You start out the game with your standard issue Stun Club, which looks a lot like a light saber, and the Time Net which looks like a butterfly net. It is best to avoid them altogether if the light starts to flash.Īnother really neat part of the game are the different gadgets that you can earn. Finally, if the light is flashing, this means that they are hunting you down and getting ready to attack. This causes the monkeys to run around in a panicked frenzy. If the light on the helmet is red, you have been spotted. If you wait a few minutes without being seen, the light will change back to blue. If the light is yellow, they know you are around but don't know where you are. You can use this to your advantage by sneaking up and netting the unsuspecting ape. If the light on the helmet is blue, the monkey is oblivious to your presence. These lights will help you determine if the monkey knows you are around. All the monkeys wear helmets with lights on top. The further you get into the game, the higher the monkeys are rated in these categories, making them more difficult to capture. They are ranked in three different categories: speed, attack and alert. These apes all have their own unique personalities and abilities.

The basic premise of the game is capturing apes.

It takes a little getting used to, but before long you will find yourself wondering how you ever managed to play games any other way. This game makes the most extensive use of all the functions and buttons on the analog controller. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Ape Escape. Turns out I was actually pushing the sticks down and firing them. The only reason I knew this was because Road Rash 3D used this for the turbos and I could not figure out why my turbos were disappearing. I would bet that the majority of gamers did not even realize that you could push either of the analog sticks in and it acts as a button press. To me, this is a great feature because I feel that the analog controllers have not been fully utilized. The game will not play without an analog controller. You could still use the old d-pad to control your actions (why anyone would still be using this is beyond me). Up until now, analog controllers were always a luxury but not a necessity. Get used to using this thing because without it, you will just be wandering around with nothing to do.īefore I get into any more of the gameplay, I feel that I should mention that this is the first title to require an analog controller. Actually it is a time net that warps the monkeys back to the time station. Yep, that is right-you capture the monkeys in an oversized butterfly net. There is plenty of jumping, climbing, swimming, flying and shooting going on, not to mention some monkey netting.
#Ape escape playstation free
It follows the free roaming formula allowing you to feel that you are actually immersed in the game environment. GameplayĪs I mentioned above, Ape Escape is a 3D platform game. All that really matters is that you will travel to a ton of different locales trying to bag you some monkeys. Like most games these days, this one has a typically lame story that involves a time machine, a scientist and some kids. Okay, maybe you will start to get a little tired of chasing the damn monkeys after about number 125 or so, but if you invest that much time you might as well see it out to the end. Ape Escape is a 3D platform game at its roots, but adds plenty of other novelties to keep the game fresh from start to finish.
