PlayStation 2

Ape Escape 3

Ape Escape 3 is arguably more of the same, but there is nothing wrong with that when the original games have already achieved cult-classic status. There are plenty of clever enhancements like the new morphing ability, and the spoofing of movies and TV is a great premise for creating plenty of entertaining levels. And with 400 monkeys, tons of bonuses, and a chance to play a reinvented version of Metal Gear Solid with a simian-twist, this is one ape game that will be nearly impossible to escape.

Ape Escape is back with Ape Escape 3. Fundamentally it's still the same game at the core but it's faster, more frenetic and the new content really mixes things up. If you liked running around trying to capture monkeys in a net, you're not going to be disappointed with Ape Escape 3

As you can probably gather, this game is downright hilarious, rarely offering a moment where you won't have a smile on your face. It's a spirited throwback to the glory days of platformers, a time where this genre could just be wacky and fun, and didn't need troubled protagonists and guns. Now we just need Sony to bring us another Tomba.

Bref, Ape Escape 3 est un jeu amusant, point. Ce n’est pas un jeu réinventant quoi que ce soit, ce n’est pas non plus un titre époustouflant au niveau technique ou bien du côté de sa jouabilité, mais il s’agit d’un jeu tout simplement divertissant que nous propose Sony sur la PlayStation 2. À tout le moins, lorsqu’on le compare avec Ape Escape : Pumped & Prime, on se rend compte que faire dévier de leur trajectoire certaines séries n’est pas synonyme d’excellence et qu’il vaut souvent mieux, après un tel échec, revenir à la base afin d’offrir à ses amateurs un style certes plus classique, mais qui leur conviendra davantage.

Ultimately, that is what is important about Ape Escape 3, though. It's just plain fun to play. The graphics may be nothing special (they work, but in this latest outing, there are regular framerate drops for no discernable reason) and the soundtrack provides no more than whimsical background music, but it is the gameplay, length, and difficulty that need an overhaul. That said, you simply can't deny the charm and light parody afforded by these monkeys. Besides, the action does get quite good near the end; the rest of the game just needs to catch up. Ape Escape 3 is a delight of a game despite its unchanging flaws and its nearly worth it for Mesaru Gear Solid alone.

Ape Escape 3 is a wonderful rendition of the series and I’d say probably the best version to date. The game is great on so many levels including wonderful controls, a great look with solid graphics, plenty of replay value, well-developed mini-games, hilarious pop-culture jokes and of course great platforming that has been a staple of the series. The only fault in the game is a slightly agitating camera and forced backtracking. Despite that, Ape Escape 3 is a great game that is definitely recommended for any PlayStation 2 platformer fan.

This 40 hour game is great fun and good value with lots of bonuses and ‘time-trials’ on all the stages to keep the game going well after you’ve beaten it. Although this game is very simple, it still provides an extremely enjoyable experience.

Ape Escape 3 is één van de zeldzame spellen waarbij een later deel in een reeks succesvol alle eerdere opties heeft geïmplementeerd, verbeterd en uitgebreid. Het spel is een en al meligheid, met een goede en mooie grafische stijl die perfect past bij het aapjes vangen. De muziek en geluiden zijn ook goed uitgewerkt en passen goed bij het spel. Ook het apen vangen zelf is erg leuk, met veel verschillende items en leuke gedaantes om in te morphen die ook daadwerkelijk een extra dimensie toevoegen aan het spel. De pakjes van de apen en de situaties waarin ze zich bevinden zijn erg grappig, en de setting van elk level is mooi uitgewerkt. Dankzij de verschillende spelmogelijkheden en extra collectables en minigames zal je zeker lang doen met dit spel, waarna je je vrienden uit kan nodigen voor een potje one-on-one aapslingeren of monkey-boxing (helaas het enige multiplayer aan dit spel).

Everything is better with monkeys. Need a butler? You basically have your choice of either an old man or a monkey. The old man might serve you better, but the monkey will provide for better stories at social gatherings. But if you had 400 monkeys, oh, the stories you'd have... and thrown feces I suppose, but that's what the main butler monkey is for.

Sony has no shortage of first-party-developed platformer franchises. But amid glory hogs like Ratchet, Jak, and Sly Cooper, the Ape Escape series has quietly plugged along since the PlayStation era, providing consistently great platforming experiences peppered with generous amounts of bizarre humor and colorful aesthetics--albeit with minimal recognition compared to those juggernaut franchises. Ape Escape 3 for the PlayStation 2 is the most refined entry in the series yet. It doesn't stray far from the monkey-nabbing concepts found in the previous games; rather, it simply tightens up the whole package, adding a boon of new content, new abilities, new minigames, and lots and lots of those loveable monkeys. It's no giant step forward for monkeykind, but it's pretty much exactly what you would want from an Ape Escape game.

A lot of work and love has gone into every inch of this game and while it’s not without a few annoyances here and there, it is one of those rare games that everyone, regardless of past experiences with the franchise, should set aside their reservations and give a chance to. I’m glad I did and I’ll keep playing it long after this review has been written. The best Ape Escape game yet and a fun platformer for anyone with a sense of humor.

"Ape Escape 3" não representa nenhuma mudança radical em relação aos seus antecessores, apenas uma atualização típica para justificar um novo número depois do título. As transformações trouxeram um pouco mais de variedade neste que é um dos títulos mais casuais da Sony. Ainda consegue divertir, mas também já mostra sinais de cansaço, um alerta de que é preciso pensar em algo além de pequenos ajustes na próxima vez.

Relentlessly goofy, the 3D platformer Escape 3 has brains enough to parody classic actors and their works: a monkey prances in black-and-white as Charlie Chaplin, another sits on a huge bed and spins its head in homage to The Exorcist. The game also knows to keep things moving; simian targets are usually bunched together to prevent levels from becoming extended hide-and-seek sessions—and it’s all done with enough saccharine sweetness to give Cindy Brady diabetes. An actively pokey camera requires constant readjustment to center the heroes on important stuff like switches, fleeing monkeys, and goodies. Under normal conditions, the camera serves only as a minor nuisance. During chases (especially those with obstacles providing cover for the apes), however, it’s a feces-flinging bastard, and no leniency may be extended when it hampers play.

In the end Ape Escape 3 is more of the same old same old. With not enough new content to pull in the casual fan, this is a title strictly for the true AE fan. More like a Mickey Dolenz than a Mike Nesmith, Ape Escape 3can be summed up in one word: Bananas.

All of these activities in Ape Escape 3 are fun. The chase, the items, the mini games; it's all a lot of fun. But there isn't a whole lot here that is brand new. We're still dealing with the same control, a lot of the same items, and even a few familiar faces. It's just all too familiar now and needs to be shaken up. What Ape Escape 3 does it does it well; it's just unfortunate that it doesn't aspire to be even bigger and better. In the end this is still one heck of a platformer, but maybe it's time to throw us for a loop when Ape Escape 4 comes around.

Ape Escape is remembered for being the first video game to attempt open 360-degree attacks. X, square, triangle and circle were scrapped for one sensitive tool: the right analog stick. With this feature players could push the stick to make the monkey-hunting child swing his net in any direction. Though not as innovative as it was expected to be, this highly original control style paved the way for many next-gen games that implemented similar styles.

It would seem that this is a pretty big month is you're an ape. Sony has not one, but two new Ape Escape titles out now so that you can start the new year off with a mess of monkeys. Unfortunately, when I recently reviewed the not-all-that-great PSP game, Ape Escape Academy, it cast a dark shadow over the simian celebration. Had the normally quite good Ape Escape franchise lost its monkey magic?

Troisième volet de la série, Ape Escape 3 reste une valeur sûre en dépit de sa formule finalement strictement identique. Efficaces, les quelques nouveautés de cet épisode justifieront son achat par les fans de la série et lui permettent de se placer en parfait candidat à l'initiation pour ceux qui souhaitent la découvrir.

Before Jak teamed up with Daxter, before Ratchet hooked up with Clank and before Sly Cooper banded together his gang of thieves, Sony’s platform business was pure monkey business thanks to Ape Escape. It was the first PlayStation game to require a Dual Shock controller and is best remembered for its novel analog control scheme. The third installment of the series on PS2 still contains those same unique controls, and the similarities don’t stop there. Except for a few minor tweaks, Ape Escape 3 is essentially the same game from five years ago with lots of new levels and even more monkeys. Having the same tried-and-true monkey formula from a generation ago means that the series hasn’t really matured. Then again, when the theme involves a lot of wild apes running around, that’s the same light-hearted demographic you want to attract, if you think about it.

Ape Escape 3 may not set the platformer genre alight, but to dismiss the game (or indeed the series as a whole) would be incredibly short-sighted. Although over-familiar at times, the title is always highly enjoyable and imaginative. It may not be seen as an essential purchase by many but it certainly is a lot more fun than many games that are deemed to be. Ape Escape 3 is a good game filled with several tons of extras, three very good mini games and comes at a cheap price too. For some stress free monkey-catching antics, it's hard to think of a better place to look.

Sometimes Sony just has the gall to do the right thing. There, I said it. Sure, I've never really gotten over the company rejecting the release of Capcom Generations for the original PlayStation while garbage like Punky Skunk slipped by for approval, but the company made a wise choice when they decided to pass on releasing Ape Escape 2 and Ape Escape: Pumped and Primed to US shores. Granted, that didn't stop Ubisoft from giving the games a go on the market (and watching them fail), but at least Sony recognized that the two follow-ups just simply weren't as good as the original PlayStation game that graced systems years ago with its charming gameplay and innovative smarts in ape-catching.

Nur für Kids: Nach dem stimmigen und durchaus putzigen zweiten ’Ape Escape’ bietet euch Teil drei außer den verlausten Hauptdarstellern und einigen beschmunzelnswerten Passagen hauptsächlich seltsam langweilige Levels samt fragwürdigem Gadget-Overkill.

Given the number of games in recent years which have ill-advisedly attempted to base combat around the right analog stick (Death by Degrees: Nina, Rise to Honor, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, to name a few), it's a wonder more haven't looked to the originator of the style to see how it's done properly. Ape Escape 3 upholds the series tradition of having analog-stick combat with a difference: it's fun.

Maybe if the characters were more iconic. Maybe if this would’ve been a true sequel instead of a party game. Maybe if the game were fun. Maybe if monkeys could tango. But as it stands, this one definitely falls short of any monkey lover's reasonable expectations. We would say it’s disappointing, but we can’t say we expected this new spin to really light up the gaming world