

You only need half of the monkeys and two thirds of the coins, missing a secret ending entirely. It is simple and the platinum will be achieved largely just by playing the game. With that said, the trophy list is pure bait anyway. I was surprised this didn’t impact on trophies. Having to repeat levels because of deaths would be frustrating, and a cheeky rewind or a bit of save states take off the edge. Rewind functionality is easy to use, and benefits the game massively. Reviving a ClassicĪpe Escape benefits from several new features thanks to the PS5 emulation. However, it’s still a PS1 game with everything that comes with that. Pacing doesn’t feel great in that regard, but it depends how you want to play it.īecause of its innovative use of the control sticks and because it doesn’t overstay its welcome, Ape Escape still feels fairly fresh today. However, the later levels are time consuming, to the point where almost a quarter of your time will be taken up by them. Most levels aren’t huge, and you won’t spend too much time in any of them. Spinning the stick to imitate the helecoptor blade as you fly, for instance, is simple and enjoyable. Nonetheless, after a few levels you realise that it’s different, but not worse.

To the uninitiated, this can take some getting used to. Controls are tight, and clever.Įvery item uses either the right stick to aim, or the 元/R3 button in some way. These were largely all to show off the brand new dual analogue controller, and it does it well. You’re armed with a host of gadgets from a net that sets the monkeys hurtling through time, to an extending boxing glove. Monkeying About Through TimeĪpe Escape is a third-person action game in which you must capture monkeys across various stages.

And is a great reminder of how simple things used to be. This game proves the potential of PS5’s return to the classics. There are giant robots, touching cutscenes and no doubt nanomachines could play a part if you really wanted them to. A monkey equipped with a sci-fi helmet that turns him smart ( AND EVIL) sends his simian army through time in the hopes of becoming earth’s dominant species. That’s not a shocking team-up in hindsight, considering that the plot here is like something out of a Hideo Kojima game. My only knowledge of Ape Escape came from the Metal Gear Solid 3 cameo. This is a great chance to relive the good old days or capture a monkey army for the first time. Thanks to the new PlayStation Plus release, the original PS1 classic has found new life, outputting at a higher resolution, with a handful of quality of life features and a trophy list. Time travel, monkeys, a kid you really want to beat up – Ape Escape had it all.
