Ape Escape On the Loose

File Size: 362 MB

File Type: CSO

The original Ape Escape served up a mean dish of platform goodness. Its arrival on the PlayStation marked an upswing of innovation and finely-tuned game mechanics. But that was then, at a time when 3D platformers suffered from design malaise. Fast forward to present and the latest entry in the Ape Escape series has launched along with Sony's poppin' fresh handheld, the Sony PSP. Currently one of only two platformers on the system, Ape Escape: On the Loose brings you back to the original PlayStation game, only updated with a series of extras. Fans of the series will undoubtedly feel at home in most respects, but the nature of the PSP also changes the basic Ape concept in some pretty big ways.

But first, a bit of simian lore. On the Loose mirrors the storyline of the PlayStation classic, where a monkey named Specter gains fiendish intelligence and ambition by donning the P-Point Helmet. He then sets out to re-write history by unleashing a band of wily chimps across time. Specter hopes to undo humankind's grasp on the planet, and it's up to you, a peppy redhead named Spike, to stop him. In order to do so, you'll rocket across time capturing some 200 monkeys with a bunch of cool gadgets, such as a stun club, slingshot and propeller. The way you actually used these gadgets was undoubtedly the best aspect of the original. Using the Dual Shock controller, you controlled Spike's movement with the left stick and gadgets with the right. A simple concept to be sure, but it worked remarkably well.

On the Loose features a game hub, called the TimeStation, which branches off into several rooms. Depending on which room you enter, you can access the main game world, mini-games, tutorials and the save/load area. On the Loose splits between different ages, with three stages in each. You'll play through the dinosaur-infested Lost Land and explore the watery depths of Oceana, and spend some time in Medieval Mayhem. Each stage features a certain number of escaped apes, though you only need to catch some of them in order to pass the level. The more you catch, however, the better the rewards. Each stage brims with a series of obstacles, such as spinning blades, floating platforms and frozen lakes. Of course, you also need to battle a number of age-specific foes, most of which aren't too difficult to dispatch. All in all, On the Loose sounds very much like a standard 3D platform. And that's because it is.



By today's standard, at a time when Jak 3, Tak 2 and Sly 2 all compete for space on store shelves, On the Loose can't help but come off as somewhat pedestrian. Still fun, mind you, but definitely lacking that new-game smell. Catching monkeys using your arsenal of gadgets is still good fun, especially considering that On the Loose dishes out hours of classic PS1 goodness in the palm of your hand, but much of what made it truly unique has faded. Controlling Spike using the PSP's lone analog stick and face buttons loses some of the appeal of the original game, in that you need to press a button and swing your net or stun club, adding a step. Of the eight gadgets you score in the game, you can use three at any time by assigning them to the upper-most face buttons.

It definitely works well enough, but it's nowhere near as intuitive and cool as it could be with another analog stick. So while using the gadgets has lost a smidge of its appeal, running around catching monkeys still provides a good amount of fun. Taking to the skies with the propeller calls for you to thumb the appropriate button, as does using the Super Hoop, which creates a shield around Spike and damages enemies on contact. To use the Slingback Shooter, you need to switch the camera to first-person mode and take aim. Still, you don't need to be a crack shot. The game is very forgiving of people with mediocre shooting abilities. You can seemingly miss your target by several feet and still register a hit. The most useful of gadgets, the Stun Club and Time Net, are pretty easy to use. You can catch monkeys by simply swooping them into your net or knocking them out with the Stun Club and then moving in to apprehend them. You can swing both these gadgets by holding down the appropriate face button and moving the analog stick, but catching apes the traditional way feels easier.

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