“What is that?”
“Something’s coming. Run! Run!”
Astronauts, on a deep space mission,
are stranded on an ‘alien’ world in a hostile environment. Too late to avoid
capture, they realize the danger. Now, led by one human, mankind must raise
itself from the foul mess it has created and reclaim the planet.
That is the premise. UbiSoft’s Planet
of the Apes monkeys around with a third-person role-playing game, but in spite
of decent fight graphics and a solid audio track, this PC release manages only
minimal intrigue, and game play that stagnates in the dark corridors that play
out as the game’s map board.
The action and hot key structure of
this game is awkward. Rather than give game players some sort of comfort zone in
terms of controllers, Planet of the Apes strays away from them and instead
reallocates controls to other keys.
For example, if in a combat situation,
tap A to lock on the target, then repeatedly hit the Alt key until either you or
your simian opponent is defeated. Arrow keys help you navigate Ulysses (the
astronaut which you will control) through the game, but in order to use the
action key, you have to be in exactly the right location.
The intro begins with Ulysses waking
up in a cell, deep in the caves. This is a medical center where humans are
dissected and generally toyed with. As you may imagine, the guards are mandrills
and gorillas. An ape slips Ulysses a key and note. The note says to go to the
medical lab, and the key releases Ulysses from his cell. In order to snag either
one, your character has to be in the right position. No straying to one side or
the other. This is a procedure that takes some getting used to.
In spite of the control elements,
Planet tries to offer an action-packed story. In some ways it succeeds. The game
is filled with combat, and some puzzles. And while the fight elements are well
rendered (simply lock on a target, move side to side, back and forth and tap the
Alt key to attack), the puzzles are a little simplistic.
This is a polygonal-rendered game in
the vein of Rune (Gathering of Developers), with corridors that fade into black
to indicate a dead end, and animation that seems stiff at times. And after a
while, the game boards all seem alike, whether traversing the underground
tunnels or the subways. There is also some video breakup if you decide to forego
the cutscene into and get straight into the game.
The sound track of this game is quite
good. It reverberates with a pulsating music track and solid effects. The vocal
characterizations seem a little stiff.
If you were expecting a game that
mirrored the original Charlton Heston film, or even the recent remake of it, you
will be disappointed. This Planet is – at its simplest – a foray through
‘dungeons.’
Rated for Teens due to violence, this
Planet was probably released with the best of intentions, but doesn’t really toe
the mark in terms of a solid RPG with great replayability.
Install: Easy
The game requires more than 600 megs of
hard-drive space, but does install quickly.
Gameplay: 6.5
This program has save points – meaning
that you can only save your progress after completing a level. If you get killed
midway through the level, you will have to start all over.
Graphics: 7
In higher resolution, the game has
smoothly textured graphics. The animation seems a little stiff and uniform
(meaning one monkey will ape the movement of another almost to the point of
being the same creature with just a little different look), and the corridors
all start to look the same after a while.
Sound: 7.5
The game features a solid sound track.
The vocal characterizations – what there are of them – are a little stiff, but
otherwise this is a highlight of the program.
Difficulty: 6.5
Simple puzzles and predictable fights,
the AI doesn’t seem particularly high or adaptive in this program.
Concept: 6
This program tries to give a new spin to
the original movie and its remake, but fails to deliver the thrills of either
one.
Multiplayer: N/A
Overall: 6.5
The fight scenes are well rendered, the
environments (when you first begin) are solid, and the sound track is well done.
For the experienced fan of RPGs, this won’t live up to expectations, but for
novices in the genre, this might prove a non-threatening outing.
