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Ape Escape 3 Review
Playing through Ape Escape III has been a strange experience to say the least. It still features the same unique control scheme that has hallmarked the series and there’s definitely no shortage of insane mind controlled monkeys. What has made this experience more peculiar than most is how entertaining the game manages to be, without making a whole lot of sense from one scene to the next. Its story is simple and while aimed at the younger crowds, it does manage to provide enough references to keep the older gamers involved. It also features simple but fun gameplay that makes the most out of the often ignored right analog stick, something that not many other games have managed to utilize as well as this series. Its safe to say that with each new crazy character, random pop culture influenced world and wacky song, that Ape Escape III is a ride that will toy with your mind just as much as you toy around with that controller. It’s still beating on the same formula from the very first game, but unless you’ve held a grudge against the series since day one, it won't matter much at all.
This new adventure stars siblings Kei and Yumi. When the game begins, you have the choice of which character to play. Depending on whom you choose some dialogue and morph costumes will change to compensate for Kei being a boy and Yumi a girl. Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be any differences in the game that are notable (except the alluring effect that Yumi seems to have on some of the apes). Specter, the evil leader of the pipo monkeys has returned with a revitalized goal for world domination. He also leads the Super Monkey Five which are the five bosses you will encounter throughout the course of the adventure. In a change from the last game, Specter has decided to take over the television broadcasts all over the world to turn all humans into zombies which would render them defenseless during a takeover. Unfortunately for Specter, Kei and Yumi have been recruited to save the world with the famous monkey net. The game has you traveling through many different television and movie themed settings that range from spoofs on the Titanic to adventure films in the vein of Indiana Jones. As you can see, the story isn't something out of a literary masterpiece, but it makes for some of the most preposterous situations that this series has known.
The series is known for its inventive use of the right analog stick to control the action on screen. As with most games, you maneuver Kei or Yumi with the left analog stick but instead of using the typical game pad controls to perform basic actions, it’s all handled by the right stick. This creates the opportunity for more fluid control and a few interesting gameplay ideas. The object of the game is to catch all the monkeys before Specter can complete his plans. To do this, you are given the monkey net which is controlled by the right analog stick when equipped. By tapping the stick in any direction the net will act accordingly no matter which direction you happen to be facing. This helps to give you the feel of being in control of the net in a way that simply pressing a button can't achieve. Along with the net, you are equipped with other gadgets like a mini-copter that lets you boost yourself up or glide across gaps by rotating the analog stick rapidly to get the blades moving. Other gadgets include the RC Car which has you moving your character with one stick and driving the car with the other and the sling shot which is used by pulling the analog stick back and then letting go. The sling shot can also be equipped with different types of ammo.
In between each level, you return to your home base to prepare for the next mission (or to return to others to find remaining monkeys). With the coins you pick up from each level you can buy music tracks for personal listening, game hints and a few equipment upgrades. It’s possible to complete the game without really spending any coins but for an easier ride it wouldn't hurt to get items that extend your life or provide you with ammo for your sling shot. Each level is filled with not only monkeys, but many different obstacles placed in your way. The level design is quite impressive and things rarely feel repetitive even though each level essentially has the same goal. There are two enemy types, the monkeys and their random robotic creations. In cases where you are forced to engage them you are equipped with a baton that allows you to destroy them as well as stun monkeys briefly so you can then pull out your net and make the catch. The monkey AI, like in the last two games is often entertaining, if a little fixed. Quite a few monkeys are obscenely easy to capture, but others will put up quite the chase. Monkeys will jump up to higher grown, hit the water for a wet getaway or hop into giant robots to take you out of the picture. It’s often thrilling and even after many hours playing the game, one little monkey can still find a way to surprise you. I understand that if one swing of the net were able to catch every single monkey, the game would get pretty boring after awhile, but the way the game handles close encounters is a little annoying. Certain monkeys will dodge your net swings and cause you to fumble, and while this seems acceptable, the game only does this when it knows you have a perfect swing going. You will basically find yourself missing, when you should be netting, so it seems the game is actually punishing you for doing everything right. This nitpick isn't very significant and it actually makes the chase more entertaining for the most part, but sometimes it does peck at the nerves. Once you capture the specified amount of apes in the level you're in, you are sent back to your base to make the next move.
After every couple of levels you will encounter a boss from the Super Monkey Five. The monkeys are all titled by their defining colors and they should all be familiar to those who are veterans of the series. What’s not the same is their actual encounters. Each of the bosses has a specific weakness that is either triggered by things in the environment or by the various morph costumes you can wear. I have to say I was generally disappointed by most of the bosses. Almost all of the encounters were over far too quickly. Once you locate their weakness, the fight basically becomes a game of timing. The morph costumes that were just mentioned are probably the most significant change to the series. Every once and awhile your aunt will upload new "morph data" into the program and once in a level you can transform into various personas. The best thing about this concept is that every transformation is fairly useful and has puzzles and encounters specifically designed for use with them. The costumes could have simply been a one time gimmick but I found myself often using transformations like the Ninja and Cowboy more than my regular character. It seems the developers also knew how popular the costumes would be as well, since they added a constantly depleting energy bar next to your health. So unless you collect the energy capsules found mixed in with the coins scattered along the levels, the transformation will be quite brief. In some situations it’s possible to breeze through several areas with how much more powerful you and your monkey catching abilities become as a result of the morphing. The costumes definitely have the ability to ease the game's difficulty and if the timer hadn't been added, it could have actually done more harm than good.
Ape Escape III retains the pastel color scheme and quirky animations the previous games have been known for. At first glance it could be mistaken for Ape Escape 2, but there is a noticeably heavier use of special effects that while impressive to look at, end up contributing to a generally shaky framerate that plagues most of the game. The slowdowns occur most when there’s a large amount of action on screen or when the environments are especially large (which is actually most of them). With my time playing the game, it never created a significant disturbance and its not a serious issue but considering how polished the series usually is, its a bit disappointing. While many platform games seem to pick one type of look for a level and then simply paste it around, Ape Escape 3 is rarely the same from one room to the next. Each environment sticks to the theme of the television program it represents and when a level is titled as broadly as these are, its no surprise that an Arabian themed level not only takes you around a majestic palace, but underground in dank caves as well. Noting that the Playstation 2 is up for mainstream retirement in the not too distant future, it’s nice to see a game that still manages to take some chances, even small ones. The apes are pretty much the same as you remember them from past games but expect to see a few more interesting disguise designs and hulking mech machines that they now have at their disposal. The cut-scenes are well produced and the in-game animations are as smooth as can be expected from small monkeys.
The music, voices and sound effects featured in Ape Escape III are unsurprisingly faithful to the crazy and unpredictable nature of the game. The voice actors bring the characters to life with cheerful but mentally distant tones. It’s rare that any of the characters acts like they are in a situation of serious danger and even Specter seems to be lost in an emotional fog. It doesn’t hurt the game and the younger crowds will definitely take a liking to some of the wackier boss characters. To sum up the head splittingly bad pop songs, crazy ape tunes and exaggerated sound effects: This is a game about intelligent monkeys, what did you actually expect?
It’s nice to see that Sony decided to publish this latest Ape Escape game, because it shows that they have faith in the series. It’s well placed faith and for such an odd and quirky game, it’s also nice to see that this game has an audience among a sea of gamers who tend to prefer more sane and comprehensible scenarios. The game will last most people fifteen to twenty hours and it’s filled with quite a few extras (can anyone say Metal Gear Solid?). It’s definitely replayable but because of how structured and linear the level design was, the environments often feel hollow a second time around. Because you achieve some costumes and gadgets later on in the game, some earlier levels will make use of the abilities allowing you to go back and catch extra monkeys you missed the first time around. This is a crude way to force people to return to past levels because some people prefer to scope out and clear each level as they go along. Putting the miniscule issues with framerate and monkey netting aside, Ape Escape 3 is another solid and entertaining entry in the series that should please fans and casual browsers alike. It’s doubtful it will be long before we see these crazy apes hit the next generation Playstation 3, and for all of those hardcore monkey catchers out there, it couldn't come soon enough.
Written by Joseph Bennett. Posted year 2006.
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Released on
January 17, 2006
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