A rare 3D platformer that is both fun and innovative. On top of that, it's got monkeys. Lots and lots of monkeys.
During the 90's, things were in a similar state with platformers, with every new platforming game following the same blueprint laid down by Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot. However in 1999, Sony produced Ape Escape, a fresh and original game that was unlike any other platformer for its time (and to be honest, still is)
Ape Escape follows the story of Spike, a young boy who is best friends with a professor and a tom-boy girl. Apparently the professor created a helmet that enables increased intelligence and unfortunately a monkey named Specter has gotten hold of it and is now travelling back in time to change history and enslave humanity.
As Spike you must travel through time in order to capture all the monkeys and save the world. The plot works well in the context of the game but unfortunately it is told through some terrible in-game cutscenes, with horrendous voice acting and poor pacing.
Thankfully the gameplay makes up for it. Ape Escape is unique in that it requires the use of the dualshock controller and while the controls feel awkward at first, they eventually become second nature.
Spike is given a whole assortment of gadgets to use and each one makes good use of the second analogue stick. Swinging your net, firing your slingshot, driving your R.C car (which is just pure genius) and many other gadgets are more fun to use thanks to the control scheme and it never feels gimmicky.
The level designs are nice and varied with plenty of platforming hazards, fun puzzles and enemies to defeat. Of course you also have to catch monkeys and as soon as you catch one, you want to catch them all.
Graphically Ape Escape looks decent but compared to other platforming offerings such as Crash and Spyro, it looks kind of messy. Character models look like they were poorly stitched together and the levels always feel like they are falling apart, with certain objects disappearing when viewed from a certain angle. The draw distance is pretty poor too as you can't see that far off into the distance.
The music is good with some catchy tunes however they get repetitious far too quickly and the voice acting, like mentioned earlier is just...no!
To summarise, Ape Escape is a really good platformer and one that is both a lot of fun and innovational at the same time. The core gameplay mechanics and level designs are top notch but the graphics and sound aren't as good as the rest of the package. Despite it's flaws, it's still one of the best platformers to come along for the Playstation and everyone who owns one should definitely pick it up.