Ape Escape 2

Decided to take a look at GameSpot during a dull moment, and what do I see; the REAL sequel to one of the most entertaining platformers ever is finally coming out.

Click here for the article + more pics.

[EDIT] Even more pics, from PSXextreme, better quality.








Doesn\'t look much better than the PSOne original, but at least cleaner than Ape Escape 2001. It\'s coming out on July 18th in Japan, so they better hurry if they wanna make it look a bit better before release. But I really couldn\'t care less about how the game looks, I just wanna catch some more monkees!

[Bobs_Hardware]

hmm.. special effects look yummy.. should be constant 60fps (im hoping, i havent read the article yet).. so they add to an aotherwise horrible looking game

but who cares, fun awaits!

The special effects in the first game were fabulous already, for a PS game that is. I remember gawping at the screen filled with delight back then...

ToTheGame.com\'s got a few more screens, and more details about the game, and I quote :

The Professor, away on a trip, leaves a video message for Hikaru, telling him to transport a large delivery of monkey pants to Monkey Park. Hikaru accidentally manages to include a number of Peak-Point Helmets with the pants. Peak Point Helmets and monkeys don\'t mix: they increase their intelligence and give them ideas above their station. Needless to say, as soon as Specter, the monkey leader, puts a Peak Point Helmet on, he starts hatching plans for world domination, to make a society fit for monkeys to live in, and declares war on humans. Meanwhile several other monkeys also don the helmets and escape from Monkey Park. Hikaru is scolded by Natalie for allowing this to happen, and ordered to catch all the monkeys.

• As soon as you complete a stage, you\'ll be able to load that stage at any time and try to better the time it took you to complete it, with the Time Attack mode. (wasn\'t this possible in the original too? -Hawky)
  
  
• In addition to the 20 main levels, there are eight different bosses to fight on their own, specially designed levels. Tougher and more complex than the boss fights in the first game, each requires special methods and tactics to be defeated. Five of the battles will be with the Wooky Five - Specter\'s gang of monkey goons - another with a Wooky transformed into a gigantic version of himself, and two will be showdowns with the evil Specter.
• As well as the nine monkey-catching gadgets from the first game, (such as hoops, nets and stun clubs) Ape Escape 2 has three new fabulous objects to help you in your ape-hunting escapades. All three have multiple uses:
• The Water Pistol puts out fires, can be used to drive items in the game (such as the windmill) and even repairs damaged vehicles.
• The Banana Boomerang acts like monkey fly-paper: they\'re attracted to its smell, but then get stuck to it. It can also hover in the air, emitting sweet monkey-attracting scents, be used as a weapon and to retrieve difficult-to-reach objects.
• The Magnetor attracts metallic objects, can steal metal items from an enemy and is so powerful it can even lift whoever\'s wielding it toward heavy metallic objects.
• In addition to the boats and tanks from the first game, you now have new vehicles to help you in the new environments, including a nippy snowmobile for the freezing wastes, a miniature submarine for underwater exploration and your very own robot - always handy for robot fighting.

i do not endorse this game, thank you

http://www.jp.playstation.com/theater/ram/saru2_b.ram

Nice song! Saru, saaaru!

Wow, those new gagdets sound great!  If the game is structured like the first one, then every gadget will find its use throughout the game.  I\'m also thrilled to hear about the boss battles.  This is turning out to be very sweet.  Is there any word on a US release date?

cool, cos the sequal i saw ages ago, had you getting underpants or something??!!! lol

Oddly enough, ToTheGame lists a EU date (September 27.), but no US release date. Elsewhere I couldn\'t find any release dates at all (except that Japanese release)... for some reason I find it most probable that a US version would be out quite a lot earlier than the PAL equivalent... let\'s just see.

Dang I\'m pumped up for this game.

Maybe it\'s already been explained in this thread, but does anyone know what purpose the little monkey on Spike\'s (is that Spike?) back serves?  Or how it got there?

1. That is not Spike, his name is Hikaru, but I think that will probably change for the western releases. (to something like, "Charlie" or "Bob"...) He\'s Spike\'s cousin or something...

2. I think the main reason for baby monkey Pipocchi\'s (wanna bet this name is on the "change this stuff to appeal to western scum" -list?) existence is that he\'s :cute:! He seems to have numerous uses in game, like helping Hikaru get across pits if he stuffs up a jump, or reviving him when out of health. I bet there\'s more to it... but even I don\'t want to know all the details before I get the game..

Looks alright. Nothing special (especially compared to Ratchet and Crank or even Sly Cooper). Still, from the sounds of it, could still be a fun game.

Never played the original though (just the demo that I didn\'t really play much of).

No monkey pants for us?

Oh well, Ape Escape 2 will have to do if they decide to bring it over to the US. Nevertheless I was interested in playing Ape Escape 2001, even if it was untrue to its predecessor. Something about collecting monkey pants just turns me on.

I never got into the first game, maybe the second will offer something that appeals to me

the gadgets were fun, though

well i saw a vid of rachet and clanck today. only 40% done. looked very good, but something i dont like about it. cant sat excactly what though......


saw the ape escape 2 aswell, looked good, but i couldnt work out one thing, on the origianl one, each button, x , o etc was a diferent weopon.... and you changed it in the pause menu.... but on this  x went throught all the weopons etc..... just seemed better the other way


also saw sly racoon??? looked very good,


but platformers aint  really my thing