Ape Escape: On the Loose Review (no fat)

Game Description

Ape Escape is a typical RPG story of a world threatened by destruction...though in a funny kind of way. It all begins with a mischievous albino monkey called Specter. Specter comes across an experimental helmet created by a professor. The Peak Pointed helmet is designed to give the wearer super human intelligence.

However, after putting it on, Specter’s evil side takes over. Bent on ruling the world, Specter escapes from his cage and frees all of the monkeys which are at the zoo. In a bid to rule the world, they escape to a laboratory where the Professor has made another invention, a time machine. Stealing the time machine, the monkeys go back in time to set history straight…err…awry.

Little Spike, with his spiky hair, goes back in time, armed with some interestingly varied gadgets, to catch each of the monkeys and send them back to the future…where they belong.

Ape Escape: On the Loose - Gameplay

Spike travels to 8 different worlds in different time periods, and throughout different levels, to complete his quest. The gadgets at your disposal, such as the Stun Club and the Time Net, are aimed to knock the monkeys senseless and then return them to the future with the Time Net. However, this isn't always as easy as it seems, so you have long range attack gadgets and monkey tracking gadgets at your disposal as well.

Ape Escape: On the Loose – The Monkeys

Dotted throughout the levels are monkeys you must send back to the time and place where it belongs. You do this using the Time Net, and all of the other gadgets at your disposal. Each type of monkey has a unique personality, which adds depth to the whole game and makes playing the game more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

Also, when you send 5 monkeys of a type back through the Time Net, you get the monkey stored in your log and you can look at the details about their kind.

Ape Escape: On the Loose Controls

The controls for Ape Escape have been heavily modified since the original was released on the PS2, since there is no right analog stick on PSP it isn't possible to use the gadgets as they were used on PS2. While this makes capturing the monkeys much harder than it was on the PS2, the controls wouldn’t bother a newbie who wouldn’t know how good they were with PS2. It’s the veterans who will notice that you can only use you club and net right in front of your nose instead of making it come down with a sweeping movement that made it easier to bag your catch.

As with most platformers, the camera lags behind quite often during the action. While it can be refocused easily, it is a nuisance the game could do without.

Ape Escape: On the Loose Mini-Games and Multiplayer Gameplay

There are a few mini-games help to break up the monotony and provide a diversion when you don't feel like catching monkeys or battling regular foes. Whilst the mini-games are a good idea on the surface, it soon gets boring because there is no big variety of mini-games in On the Lose. Also, other than ping pong between some fun loving monkeys, most games just aren't fun enough to play for long hours…not even with buddies.

While there is no team play option in Ape Escape: On the Loose, you can connect your PSP with a friend using WiFi and play the mini-games. However, the multiplayer value of On the Lose is not much value at all.

Ape Escape: On the Loose Graphics

The graphics on Ape Escape have been seriously revamped since the original, the characters and the world looks alive and full of color, which really brightens up the game and makes it more enjoyable to play.

Ape Escape: On the Loose Audio

The sound has also been revamped, there are now plenty of sound tracks for you to listen to throughout your adventure and there are also sound effects for most things that you can do in the game, whether it be jumping around, or hitting a monkey with your club! While, there are some rather shrill, cartoon-ish voices, the sounds quality overall is good. The sound can be played at high volume while still retaining its quality…a feature not many similar games can boast of.

Ape Escape: On the Loose Verdict

The only problem with this game is the lack of a good multiplayer option, so if you are buying the game for multiplayer fun with your friends then this probably isn't the game for you. However, Ape Escape: On the Loose is a vibrant platformer with a lengthy play time which doesn’t allow you to get bored…or exercise your grey cells too much. Buyers would probably get their monkey’s worth

Ape Escape: On the Loose - Cost

Ape Escape: On the Loose currently retails for an SRP of $39.88.