PlayStation Move Ape Escape Review

Ape Escape started back in 1999 as a way for Sony to show off their new Dualshock technology to gamers everywhere. What started out as a mere tech-demo turned into a fun and addicting game that gave players humor and unique gameplay due to the requirement of a Dualshock controller to play. After multiple sequels and spin-offs, we have finally landed in 2011 where Sony has released a new title that uses the abilities of the Playstation Move.

Playstation Move Ape Escape is a downloadable title off the PSN store that requires the player to use a Playstation Move controller in order to play the game. Along with that comes a few big changes to the series that affects the gameplay in big ways that differentiates it from previous titles. But are these changes for the better? Or do they hinder the games ability to entertain the player? Here are the Hots and Nots of Playstation Move Ape Escape.

Hots

Animation

The one good thing about this game is that the cutscenes are all fully animated cartoons that tell the story of monkeys crash landing their ships on Earth and causing mass hysteria and chaos throughout the planet. The cutscenes are well drawn and play out like a cool cartoon that tell a weak and bland story. The most surprising part? The cutscenes are the best part of the game.

Nots

On Rails

How do you go from a game that gives you free 3-dimensional roam of a level to giving players a repetitive 3D experience on rails? I’m pretty sure they could have made a fun and engaging experience with the Playstation Move had they just taken the time to craft a game that was more like the original Ape Escape than just giving us a rushed on-rails move game that gives the player no freedom whatsoever. Instead we get to watch as the camera moves to different areas for us as we shoot bananas and monkeys along the way. Pretty boring.

Story

The story included in this installment of the game has the monkeys crash landing on Earth and emerging to cause mass hysteria and chaos all over the world like I mentioned earlier. They then crash into your house and you are tasked with capturing them using your handy dandy Playstation Move controller that turns into a the various items you need to capture the monkeys. After completing the first level, you are approached by two girls who urge you to catch all the monkeys just because their grandma went missing because of a monkey she had. Yeah that’s the story. It sounds like a bad insurance scam if you ask me.

Along with being very diluted and boring, the story offers nothing else to the game. You are essentially doing the same thing over and over again until you reach the end and the credits roll. Not very fun or entertaining at all.

Repetitive Gameplay

What may seem like a fun and entertaining experience for about two levels slowly turns into a wild swinging frenzy as the game loses its fun factor. You start out the game with all your weapons without having to work at all to earn them. You start out with a net, slingshot, fan and vacuum and end with the same things. Hell, the monkeys even get firearms. You will soon find in the later levels that the net works poorly as half the time you can’t even capture the monkeys you swing at. On top of that, the boss battles even boil down to the same exact tactics which further drives the game into a boring and tedious adventure that would make the most patient gamer quit and find something else to do.

Graphics

As colorful and eye catching as the levels may be, they just look like watered down versions of what they could have been. The game does not scream next-gen one bit and it seems as if the game came from a last gen console rather than being made for one in 2011. It deters from the experience and makes the player that much more distant from a game that already doesn’t have a great deal going for it.

Verdict

In all, Playstation Move Ape Escape is one that should have never escaped its cage and came out into the light. With boring gameplay, last-gen feeling graphics and a story that will not hold your attention, this is a game that not even long time fans of the series will truly enjoy. But hey, if you are starving to dust off the Playstation Move and give it a new purpose in life, then by all means shell out the precious cash required to play this game. Otherwise, avoid it like a monkey carrying the plague.