This is a column dedicated to the most overlooked feature of the Playstation 2: Backwards Compatibility. Although we all have our sleek black Playstation 2\'s with its plethora of awesome games and sweet graphics, we also hold the key to one of the largest videogame libraries ever created totaling well over 400 games in North America alone including some of the greatest games ever devised. Each week, on Monday no less, this column will bring you an old classic worth picking up at a cheap price for your PS2/PSX that\'s definitely worth exploring one more time. Now, on with it...
This week (03-26-01):
Ape Escape
Backstory:
Ape Escape is probably one of the only Sony developed and published games that truly shines moreso then most titles being produced for the PSX at the time. It tops Spyro, in my opinion, another Sony published title by leaps and bounds thanks mostly in part to it\'s beautiful control scheme and excellent use of platform action. Ape Escape is the first title to truly utilize the Sony Dual Shock controller in so many innovative ways up to the point that the game actually requires the use of it to play. The controls just ooze with perfection and your understanding of why Sony made the second analog stick on their trademark controller becomes easily understandable just after a few minutes of play.
You play as Spike, a young boy who is friends with an old scientist who has invented a great deal of things from time machines to intelligence hats. One day, while out for a visit to the scientist, a cute circus performing ape gets ahold of the intelligence helmet and becomes freakishly, well, intelligent. Needless to say, the ape feels he\'s been mistreated by the humans and apes should be the ones on the other side of the cage making humans perform their tricks and whatnot. In order to accomplish his idea, Spectre, the intelligent ape, sends a horde of Apes back through time to change the future of humanity and establish complete ape rule over the world. Now, in this time, it\'s your job to help the professor and the people of this planet to once again restore the timeline and capture all the apes and return them back to their rightful place.
How it\'s played:
Basically, your job throughout the game is to advance level by level acquiring new gadgets and new skills in order to capture all the apes. That task alone is simple enough, but the joy comes from using each and every tool to accomplish your goals. For example, there are about 8 different tools you can obtain to assist you on your quest which becomes available as you progress through the game. My personal favorite is the helicopter blade, which, when activated through rotating the right analog stick clockwise, allows you to briefly to lift through the air and slowly drop towards the ground allowing you to cover great expanses.
Every tool in the game is used in some innovative and great way allowing ease of use as well as loads of fun to the player. Tools range from spinning super speed hula hoops to remote control cars which are controlled in great ways allowing you ease of use as well as beautiful execution. Nothing beats doing a super jump up to a high ledge and flying over it with your helicopter blade only to switch again to your light sabre stun stick at the last second before an Ape can spot you and wapping him hard so you can net him and send him back to his cage where he belongs.
Playstation 2 Enhancements:
The increased read speed adds only minimaly to the game since the load times were already pretty fast upon its initial release. However, the texture smoothing adds pretty highly to the already simplistic graphics. There\'s no FMV\'s in this title so there\'s no real glitches in that area and the game plays rather flawlessly with or without the enhancements.
Overall:
The music in this game is fair and goes with the theme of the title which is rather fun and cartoony and the graphics are rather fair. The draw distance is pretty shallow and some of the camera angles are pretty poor at times and there is a little slow down here and there when enemies and action crowds the screen, but all-in-all, the game is fairly decent for a cartoony platformer. This game is truly a show of how much ingenuity Sony can really have if they take their time with an innovative idea and apply it to a truly unique and excellent control scheme. I had, and still have, loads of fun with this title from time to time and it is definitely a great time waster on the weekends. Hopefully, Sony can apply this great formula to Ape Escape 2 with much improved visuals and maybe some type of cell shading technique which can make the game truly original and beautiful in its own right.
Price: $19.99
Availability: High. The game was mass produced by Sony.
Where to look: Anywhere. you can find the game, new or pre-owned, right now on ebgames.com.
Next week: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Topic: Backwards Compatibility Monday (03-26-01) (Read 1038 times)