The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we indulge in a spot of monkey business by taking a peak at the PSOne Classic, Ape Escape.
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Developer: SCE Japan Studio
Region(s) available: Japan
Price: 600 yen
Marsupial mascot Crash Bandicoot may have flown the unofficial Sony flag during the PlayStation’s infancy back in the mid-1990s, but by the tail end of the decade a new series rocked up that would ultimately supplant Naughty Dog’s efforts as the premier PlayStation platformer – Ape Escape. Conceived by Kenkichi Shimooko, the game boasts the distinction of being the first PSOne game to feature mandatory DualShock control functionality, hitting shelves in summer 1999 to colossal critical acclaim. Indeed, few predicted that the series would spawn some of the most successful platform endeavours of the past decade, but that’s precisely what it did.
Ape Escape follows the exploits of a young time-traveling chap named Spike, who, along with the aid of his professor chum and sister, must subvert the plans an evil gaggle of pesky primates as they plot to control the globe. Insert appropriate Dr. Evil quote here. As you might have expected, this involves capturing a mountain of Monkeys. Yep, each level is chock full of the little blighters, and it’s up to Spike and his swanky set of gadgetry trickery to tag n’ bag the whole lot. Ape Escape turned quite a few heads upon its release, particularly its application of dual analogue sticks, which were highly derivative of pretty much anything on the market at the time. Critics lapped it up, extolling the game’s intuitive, user-friendly controls as an invigorating step forward in the platform gaming space.
As mentioned, Spike has access to a gaggle of gadgets, which he’ll need in order to hoover up all the apes. Still, it’s not always an easy job. Whereas some can be nabbed in your Time Net, others require the use of extra tools to capture; as such, you’ll have to revisit the stage at a later date after you’ve expanded your repertoire to catch ‘em all. The game’s difficulty is further accentuated by way of your fury friends’ three skill levels (Attack, Alert and Speed), forcing you to employ some diligent hunting work in latter stages. Amusingly, Sony’s also given each monkey their own name, personality and unique fact sheet, the latter of which contains some cheeky pop-culture references that would later go on to become a series staple — nothing like a spot of monkey catching combined with a good old, thigh-slapping chuckling session to round off the day. When you’re done with the main quest, there’s also a deluge of distractions to keep you chiseling away at the cutesy platformer, such as mini-games and the chance to rack up precious extra lives. Now, if only Sony would cough up that long overdue PS3 iteration…
Join us again tomorrow as we take another gander Inside PlayStation Network.