Ape Escape: On the Loose
Can the game that took full advantage of the Dual Shock do the same for the PSP?
Published: April 24, 2005
Back in 1999, Sony launched in the U.S. what would be one of the most definitive, and as it went, publicly-accepted controllers in videogame history: the Dual Shock. To put its new hardware to truly good use, a first-party platformer by the name of Ape Escape hit shelves that same year and redefined the word "intuitive," with a control scheme that assigned one analog stick to full character control and the other to operate weapons and gadgets in a 360 degree fashion. With its uber-pumped launch of the PlayStation Portable, Sony included right alongside its sexy new handheld Ape Escape: On the Loose, a remake of the same monkey-chasing title that put the Dual Shock to such excellent use. And while the original Ape Escape seemed to flawlessly employ its intended peripheral, On the Loose lacks the hardware mastery on the PSP. While this is the same charming platformer we fell in love with six years ago (with the addition of a handful of mini-games), troublesome controlling and camera hinder what could otherwise be a top-notch port.
For those unfamiliar with the first Ape Escape, here's the poop: basically, an otherwise tame primate at the Amusement Park named Specter has gotten his mitts on a Peak Point Helmet (better known as "that shiny hat with a siren on it") and has been transformed into an evil mastermind in the process. As maliciousness would have it, he's let loose all of the zoo's other monkeys and has hit up the Professor's lab, where a time machine is currently in the works. Fast forward a minute or two and Spike (that's you) and his pal Jake show up at the lab to find the Prof. and his assistant Natalie tied up while Specter and his band of apes trigger the time machine. And few zaps and pow, you, Jake, Specter and his gang have been scattered through time, and its up to you to round up the apes and their mastermind before they alter history. Got it?
And so goes the story. For the most part, the game has you traveling from stage to stage, each with its own unique setting to kind of mimic parts of history (the dino age, for one) and nabbing the primates one at a time. They'll be several per level, and to your use is the always-handy Stun Club, a Time Net for the actual capturing, plus several other gadgets that will become available as you progress through the game. With wacking pesky enemies and traversing through land and sea on the side, the real joy comes with hunting down each siren-capped chimp and putting your arsenal to good use in executing the catch. It's rewarding enough to give you incentive in returning to previous levels with your updated selection of gadgets to get a hold of every last monkey on the map. The one flaw in the gameplay aspect is with frequent loading times, which pop up between cutscenes and every time you enter another section of a level. Annoying, certainly, especially in those instances where, "oops, you accidentally entered a portal, and now have to wait through 20 seconds of loading before you're back where you wanted to be."
To put the PSP's wi-fi abilities to use are some rather straightforward mini-games. Ping-pong suffers from an awkward camera angle and rather limiting control and the stubborn controls peak in the racing games. Boxing, on the other hand, is rather fun, and should keep you entertained for a few rounds.
For those unfamiliar with the first Ape Escape, here's the poop: basically, an otherwise tame primate at the Amusement Park named Specter has gotten his mitts on a Peak Point Helmet (better known as "that shiny hat with a siren on it") and has been transformed into an evil mastermind in the process. As maliciousness would have it, he's let loose all of the zoo's other monkeys and has hit up the Professor's lab, where a time machine is currently in the works. Fast forward a minute or two and Spike (that's you) and his pal Jake show up at the lab to find the Prof. and his assistant Natalie tied up while Specter and his band of apes trigger the time machine. And few zaps and pow, you, Jake, Specter and his gang have been scattered through time, and its up to you to round up the apes and their mastermind before they alter history. Got it?
And so goes the story. For the most part, the game has you traveling from stage to stage, each with its own unique setting to kind of mimic parts of history (the dino age, for one) and nabbing the primates one at a time. They'll be several per level, and to your use is the always-handy Stun Club, a Time Net for the actual capturing, plus several other gadgets that will become available as you progress through the game. With wacking pesky enemies and traversing through land and sea on the side, the real joy comes with hunting down each siren-capped chimp and putting your arsenal to good use in executing the catch. It's rewarding enough to give you incentive in returning to previous levels with your updated selection of gadgets to get a hold of every last monkey on the map. The one flaw in the gameplay aspect is with frequent loading times, which pop up between cutscenes and every time you enter another section of a level. Annoying, certainly, especially in those instances where, "oops, you accidentally entered a portal, and now have to wait through 20 seconds of loading before you're back where you wanted to be."
To put the PSP's wi-fi abilities to use are some rather straightforward mini-games. Ping-pong suffers from an awkward camera angle and rather limiting control and the stubborn controls peak in the racing games. Boxing, on the other hand, is rather fun, and should keep you entertained for a few rounds.