Ape Escape is my Favorite Thing

Release Date: 1999

Developer: SCE Japan Studio

Genre: Platform

Ape Escape  is the first game that required the dual-analog controller for the Playstation. The premise of the game is that you run around as the human character, Spike, and try to collect all of the apes so that they cannot reshape history. The game uses a series of sneaking and gadgets to help collect the different monkeys that are located in the level. Each ape has light on his helmet that acknowledges how aware of you they are. 

One of the details that make Ape Escape one of my favorite games is how bright and colorful the graphics are. Some games have a bad habit of making bright games too childish, but Ape Escape is able to avoid that conflict. Since this game came out about five years after the Playstation's release, it utilizes it to the best of its abilities. 

Each level requires a specific amount of monkeys that need captured. There are always more monkeys in a level than you need to capture to complete the level. This is helpful so that if you are stuck on trying to capture a certain monkey, then you can look for another one. If fact, some cannot be captured until you receive a certain gadget later on in the game. This adds to the replayablitiy of the game. 

The gadgets also add some uniqueness to the game. They range from a remote-controlled car, a magic punch, and a sky flyer. After you receive each gadget, there is a practice level that you must complete to learn how to use the gadget. Ape Escape also has minigames that can be played. These are helpful for people who just want to get away from the main story of the game and wind down. After you have played the whole game and defeated the main boss, Specter, you must play the game again in order to capture all the monkeys. Even after you beat the game twice, you still must get a gold medal in all of the levels, plus beat each minigame. With all this, Ape Escape, can last a person a very long time, especially for those people who love to 100% games. 

Overall, I would recommend Ape Escape to anyone looking for something different. It is an innovative game that you can just relax to. It is a good way to get away from those mature rated games that seem to be all over the gaming community in this day in age.