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Reviewed by Pink Lady A | 10.29.05

Introduction
Catching monkeys is fun! Who can reset Sony's adorable Ape Escape?! Even though they are cute these monkeys are a tricky bunch and you will have to work for your catch. In my first review I'll give you the bottom line on this classic PSP port.

The Game
Ape Escape: On the Loose is an updated port of the original from the PSX back in 1991. As you can suspect a game with apes has to be fun and cute and fun to play, that actually is a good description of his PSP game. Oh, and I forgot to mention that it's highly addictive. Since I've had the PSP I can't stop playing this one, even though I have new games, the apes always come back in my handheld.

The Story
The story in the game is really boring and bizarre and it seems like like candy coating over top of the real fun. I guess they had to make something up to make it more like a standard game. The story involves a scientist and and you the monkey catcher named Spike, and you have to catch monkeys. Simple enough, I guess. I would of been satisfied by catching monkeys for no reason at all. I think all those monkeys are asking for it anyway's with those flashing sirens on their heads. Does that has something to do with Dr. Evil's shark lasers?

Easier then it Looks
The gameplay in Ape Escape is fun and at the same time challenging. Each level you will have to capture a certain amount of monkeys and it gets harder as you continue. The formula doesn't really change but it does get tricky and you can end up chasing a single monkey from upwards to five minutes. I have had a hard time with the game and I wish they would have lowered the coin requirement level so I could unlock some mini games easier. Not all gamers are wizards and the mini games really seem like fun. They are listed as Snowboarding, Boxing, Racing and Ping Pong. If I would of unlocked them I could of given you a description on them, but they are pretty self explainitory.

Camera Issues!
The difficulty isn't all because of it's hard to snag high level apes, it's has to do with the fact that the camera is slow to rotate and hard to control. This is a minor bug in the gameplay that really hinders more then you would think. Ape Escape is still playable but the camera control makes it frustrating at times. This has nothing to do with the graphics because they look pretty good. There are a fair amount of jaggies, but over all it's an average looking game.

More Fun then A Barrel of Monkeys
The coolest thing about Ape Escape besides capturing monkeys with lights on their heads is all the gadgets. They really make this one fun to play and gives you reason to revisit old levels just to run around with a new gadget. Ape Escape also supports Wi-Fi wiressless and Ad Hoc connectivity, so if you have friends with the game you can link up and play some of the mini-games.

Lowdown
Aside from the camera issues Ape Escape is a fun and addictive, two important qualities to any game. Ape Escape is a great game for a quick romp and can provide a challenge for experienced gamers. Ape Escape from Sony is worth picking up especially if you can find it at a discount price. I would like to see a more updated version to come out for the PSP, after all everyone loves monkeys with lights.

The Good:Fun Addictive Gameplay, Monkeys are Cute, Gadgets are Cool

The Bad:Bad Camera Angles , Unlockables are too Hard to Unlock, A little too Challenging

Gameplay: 7.5, Graphics/Sound: 7, Innovation: 6, Mojo: 8. Final: 7/10

FEATURES:

  • The Ape Escape franchise, made popular on the PlayStation game console and PlayStation2, expands its horizons as it debuts onto the PSP, featuring crisp graphics and fun gameplay.
  • Featuring Wi-Fi wireless Ad Hoc connectivity, Ape Escape On The Loose enables gamers in close proximity to utilize the multiplayer mode and play a variety of mini-games with friends.
  • Mini-games such as snowboarding, boxing, racing and Ping Pong makes
  • Ape Escape: On The Loose fun for the entire family!
  • Help Spike capture more than 200 monkeys throughout eight vibrant worlds spanning more than 20 levels.
  • An Enemy Book tracks all of the enemies that gamers defeat. Once a player defeats five of the same kind of enemy, they will get an entry in the Enemy Book of that enemy along with a description and an image of the adversary as it appears in the game. Players can then rotate and view the images from different angles.



Ape Escape: On
The Loose

 
Publisher
Sony
 
Developer
Sony
 
Genre
Action
 
Released
March 2005
 
ESRB
Everyone




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