Ape Escape
is remembered for being the first video game to attempt open 360-degree
attacks. X, square, triangle and circle were scrapped for one sensitive tool:
the right analog stick. With this feature players could push the stick to make
the monkey-hunting child swing his net in any direction. Though not as
innovative as it was expected to be, this highly original control style paved
the way for many next-gen games that implemented similar styles.
Several Ape
Escape titles followed the first, including a PSP port and a PS2 sequel. I
wasn’t too interested at the time they were released and have yet to play
them. After going bananas over the newest adventure, Ape Escape 3, I’m sure
I’ll seek them out.
Back in the
hands of Sony Computer Entertainment America (as publisher), the latest Ape
Escape is a game you’ll really love and slightly hate. Conceptually it’s a
fantastic parody of the film industry. Many popular films are spoofed, and
even though the story itself is lacking (typical dialogue, average voice
acting, average CGI), the subtle humor does more than most to entertain
moviegoers and gamers alike. One level is called "Monday the 16th." If that
doesn’t make any sense, count backwards to figure out which date Friday would
fall on.
The reason
for the movie madness is Spector TV, an evil organization that’s been monkeyin’
around a bit. On National Apeographic you get the chance to see the monkeys
filming each other in their natural habitat. It’s all fun and games until
someone slips on a banana peel.
Kei, an
energetic boy (game description), and Yumi, a cheerful girl (also game
description) are assigned the duty of capturing the monkeys. They’re prepared
to shut down Spector TV for good and put Spector, the evil-eyed man behind the
station, in an ape net where he belongs.
The game
kicks off with the basics: Monkey Net, Monkey Radar, and Stun Club, all
weapons and/or aids in capturing the superstar apes. The Monkey Net is your
most important weapon. Use it to capture monkeys that are oblivious or that
have been dazed by the Stun Club.
Monkeys that
are aware of the situation will first try to run away. That’s never an
effective strategy since you can just run after them. Once the Super Hoop is
acquired you can run faster and use its circular brace to ram into the
monkeys. The more power-ups you gain the more frustrated the monkeys become,
going from defensive to offensive. The Stun Club is meant to stun but will be
perceived as a painful annoyance if used too often. Monkeys’ bodies turn red
as they become enraged and attack with several slaps.
Drop the
Monkey Net and watch out – they can grab it and use it against you! Once
captured you’ll be booted from the level. However, unlike when you run out of
lives, getting booted does not mean losing the monkeys you captured in that
level. Further monkey-whacking will cause them to lose their grip, similar to
how Mario could reclaim his hat after losing it in Mario 64. (Yes gamers, it
seems that every 3D action/adventure harkens back to the masterpiece that
launched this genre into the third dimension.)
It’s
Morphin’ Time
A few levels
into Ape Escape 3 and you’ll be given the first transformation: Fantasy
Knight. Transformations are special morphs that turn your character into an
unbeatable warrior. They run on limited power (30 seconds each). That time may
be increased by destroying boxes and snatching the items that were inside.
Fantasy
Knight turns Kei into a knight in shining armor. It turns Yumi into a witch,
but her powers are the same. They’re stronger, they’re given a deadly weapon
(deadly to robotic enemies; monkeys cannot be killed, only stunned), and will
have more attacking abilities while in this form. Fantasy Knight is first
awarded to the player in order to defeat the first boss – a fire-breathing
robot dragon. Smaller, less deadly robots are encountered from the start of
the first level. They’re out to protect the monkeys so that they can continue
to run amok and fulfill Spector’s celebrity dreams.
More enemies
means more transformations. The Gunsmoke-inspired Gunfight introduces Wild
West Kid, an exciting transformation that morphs you into a skilled
gunslinger. Shooting is based entirely on the right analog stick. Push toward
the top right corner and that’s the direction where your character will turn
and start shooting. On the whole I like the controls a lot, but this is the
only portion that I would consider to be seamless. The rest is at least a
little less than seamless, and worse in some cases.
Miracle
Ninja, another transformation, turns Kei/Yumi into a Stun Club-swinging
master. This morph is mostly just for fun. As a ninja you can climb on wires
and run on walls, but there are less than a dozen instances where that occurs
in this game. Even the extra monkeys don’t require you to use the Miracle
Ninja transformation more than you have to.
Part of me
likes that aspect – that you have a choice. I personally liked the Wild West
Kid morph the most and used it to win most of my battles. However, I also
wonder why when they went through the trouble of making these morphs and
making each one integral to the game why they didn’t bother to incorporate
each one more often in other clever ways?
Miracle Ninja
Genie Dancer
lets you hypnotize monkeys into opening locked doors. It also makes it easier
to capture the apes and destroy multiple robots very quickly.
Dragon Kung
Fu Fighter is just as it sounds. Use it and you’ll be able to punch and kick
faster and with more power than you could as a regular, un-transformed child.
Cyber Ace is
bound to be the favorite by most gamers. Not does it include the most powerful
attack (an electromagnetic beam), it also lets you dash through the air. This
is the last transformation and cannot be acquired until the game is nearly
over. That sucks, but on the bright side there are dozens more monkeys to
capture after the credits roll. Monkeys are the collectibles of the game; the
more you capture, the more that appear. You’ll have to visit every level and
battle every boss at least twice to capture every single ape.
Hideous
Quirky
Ape Escape 3
has an unusual way of parodying movie titles. Now it’s my turn. This one
refers to my dislike for the music. Some of it’s great, but each
transformation has its own theme. Therefore you could be enjoying the
perfectly good in-level music and have it replaced by an annoying,
much-too-quirky theme composed for the Wild West Kid.
A History
of Falling
Jumping is
done with the R1 and R2 button. Acceptable. Falling to my death because the
double-jump feature is unreliable is not acceptable.
Camera
Wars: Now I Need Three Thumbs
What happens
when the right analog stick used for something other than camera control? You
lose all control of your camera. Ape Escape 3 gives it back via the only way
possible: the D-pad. "Dude, no way" might be your first response. "Yikes!"
could be another. This might’ve worked if I had three hands. Then I could move
my character, attack and handle the camera all at the same time. Even so, the
D-pad isn’t a very effective way to adjust the view. Every button on the PS2
controller is pressure-sensitive, yet Metal Gear Solid 2 is the only game I
know of that acknowledges that fact. Therefore you’re stuck with just one
degree of camera movement.
Camera
Wars: Episode II
L1 is
supposed to snap the camera back into place, showing you exactly what’s in
front of your character. But, depending on where you’re standing, it may or
may not work. You may not be able to see what’s in front of you (a common
occurrence during boss battles). There are times when you’ll be shooting into
the unknown, and have to capture monkeys that are not at all visible.
Transparency could’ve been applied to the environments to provide at least
some kind of a visual. This gets really frustrating when you’re trying to
double jump over perishable platforms and the camera won’t move to the desired
position.
Season
Finale
In the end
I’m left frustrated yet strangely satisfied. I’m exasperated by the pointless
flaws that didn’t have to exist. But I can’t deny the levels, which are some
of the best seen on PS2, nor can I ignore the fact that capturing these
monkeys is an absolute blast. There’s a wonderful bonus waiting for you at the
end – a mini-game that has forever changed the way I look at one of my
favorite games. I hate spoilers, but it’s a selling point I’m sure, so if you
must know more check the Overall section.
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Gameplay: 8.0
Silly or not, the
developers took the Hollywood theme to places you’d never expect. I’m reminded
of Gex: Enter the Gecko, and how its latter iterations tried to parody
classics like Titanic. It didn’t work out too well. Rather than be blatant,
Ape Escape 3 is more subtle. The environments are brilliantly designed; you’ll
be in awe of their appearance and be extremely satisfied while exploring them.
I can’t
think of a single level I was unhappy to see – a rarity in any game,
especially an action/adventure, where levels are all too often thrown together
while other aspects are focused on. Those "other" aspects are important, but
at the end of each year it is not those games with pretty colors that I
remember, it’s the ones that had the best levels and the best controls. Put
the two together, add clever objectives and you get great gameplay – you get
Ape Escape 3.
Graphics: 7.0
Cartoony 3D apes
and snazzy 2D smoke and explosion effects. Yeah, I’m thinking it too – “Been
there, seen that.”
Sound: 6.0
Great music and
voice acting is used throughout one of the bonus mini-games (see Overall
section for more). The rest of Ape Escape 3, however, does not sound that
great. The voice acting is average at best, and that’s being kind. I’m sick
and tired of games that implement repetitive whiny sounds that are triggered
every time a character jumps, attacks, or gets hit. That’s all you do in a
game like this! Therefore that’s all you ever hear. Movies taught us that for
every action there must be a sound, but in video games it’s a nuisance and
does not make me or any other gamer become more immersed in the experience.
All the great adventure games do this to a degree, even Zelda. It has to stop.
As a result
of these annoyances, I spent the majority of my Ape Escape 3 experience with
the sound turned off.
Difficulty: Easy
The mini-games
are more challenging than the game itself. Even with the Monkey Radar turned
off the apes aren’t that hard to find. Or that hard to capture. You can
sneak, but you don’t have to.
Concept: 9.0
Saru-mon’s
Castle, National Apeographic, Monkey in a Hot Spring, A Misty Evening With the
Ape-inator – explore these levels and more as you go on a journey to capture
all the monkeys.
Overall: 8.0
A solid,
well-played, highly original adventure. Players who decide to continue their
quest beyond the credits will discover one more transformation: Super Monkey.
This morph is useless in combat as it’s just a monkey suit that makes you look
like one of them. Now you can walk amongst the apes as freely and
inconspicuously as you like. Locate secret hiding places by following the
irresistible banana scent, then bust out the Monkey Net for a deceptive
surprise.
Bonuses
include a Simian theatre (watch the monkeys pretend to act!), a couple of
mini-games, several books and data on the monkeys, and the mother of all
mini-games: Mesal Gear Solid. It stars an ape, the colonel, and the one we
call Snake. But wait, could there be two of them!? This ingenious bonus made
me burst into laughter at least five times. It parodies classic scenarios,
provides you with a unique array of weapons (including the monkey-stunning
Banana Gun), and includes familiar music and inspired environments that’ll get
you in the mood for some tactical espionage action.
