PlayStation Move Ape Escape

PlayStation Move Ape Escape

European cover art
Developer(s) SCE Japan Studio[1]
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment[1]
Series Ape Escape
Engine Havok
Platform(s) PlayStation 3
Release date(s)
  • JP December 9, 2010
  • EU June 22, 2011
  • AU June 16, 2011
  • NA July 5, 2011 (PlayStation Store)[2]
Genre(s) Rail shooter
Party game
Mode(s) Singleplayer
Distribution Blu-ray Disc, Download

PlayStation Move Ape Escape (フリフリ！ サルゲッチュ Furi Furi! Sarugechu, lt. Ape Escape Fury! Fury!),[2][3] simply titled Ape Escape in Europe and known in Asian countries as Ape Escape On The Move, is a 2010 rail shooter and party video game developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 video game console.[1][4] The game was originally announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2009 as one of the title supporting the PlayStation Move controller.[5] The title was released on December 9, 2010 in Japan,[3] on June 22, 2011 in Europe, and on July 5, 2011 in North American.[2] An English version of the game in Asia was also released January 31, 2011.[6]

Gameplay

A Pipo Monkey acting like Tom Cat Jr. is morphed to Thunder Ace forever.

Unlike other games in the Ape Escape series, the game is an on-rails shooting game rather than a platformer. Players view the game from a first-person perspective with the motion controller acting as a gadget on-screen which include a floating net, a slingshot and a harisen. Players cycle through their arsenal using the Move button while either pressing the trigger button or performing gestures to utilize the gadget. For example, players swing the net to catch monkeys, press the trigger button to fire slingshots and wave the controller to use the fan.

Players traverse from area to area via an on-rails method. Each area is filled with monkeys and players must ultimately catch all of them using the net. Each gadget is used for a different purpose: slingshots are used to annoy monkeys, destroy objects, and shoot banana power-ups, while the fan is used to blow away debris. To shift the camera players press either the "X" or "O" buttons to turn left or right respectively.[7]

Development

On September 24, 2009, at the Tokyo Game Show, an Ape Escape game for the PlayStation 3 (named "Ape Escape" working title) was confirmed as a PlayStation Move title.[5] Ape Club, the official website for the Ape Escape series in Europe, announced that the game would be released within the second to fourth quarter of 2010.[8] They also stated that if players liked the Ape Escape game, Pipo Saru 2001, that you would also love this game.[9]

On May 14, 2010 the first official images of the game were finally released which included a working logo for the game as well as a promotional image for the game.[10] They were part of a total of three clues given out to the public on that day with the other two being "Has something that no other Ape Escape games have"[11] and "It's a keeper."[12]

On July 5, 2010 a trailer for PlayStation Move was released. It displayed a one second clip of the game, which involved the player catching monkeys with a net, using the move controller, in first-person view.[3] Another image was released by Ape Club, not seen in the trailer on July 9. It contained a picture of the "Gadget Widget", displaying the gadgets, and a new addition showing batteries.[3] A full trailer for the game was finally released by Ape Club on September 3, 2010, which is shown at the Tokyo Game Show 2010 on September 16, 2010.[3]

On January 31, 2011 an English version of the game was released in Asian countries like Singapore along with a PlayStation Move bundle, it was released under the name Ape Escape On The Move. On March 10, 2011 the US PlayStation Blog announced that PlayStation Move Ape Escape would be coming to the US PlayStation Store during the Summer.[2]

Release History

Region Date Format
Japan December 8, 2010[13] Physical
Asia January 31, 2011[14]
Australia June 16, 2011[15]
Europe June 22, 2011[16]
United Kingdom
United States July 5, 2011 Digital Download
United Kingdom

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings46.06%[17]
Metacritic43/100[18]
Review scores
PublicationScore
IGN4.0/10[19]

PlayStation Move Ape Escape received largely negative reviews, with average scores of 46.06% on GameRankings and 43/100 on Metacritic.[17][18] IGN's Jack DeVries disliked the game and found that it was "missing a lot of shooter fundamentals like additional weapons ,[sic] co-op, and challenge," concluding that it was "an embarrassing, shovelware shooter that feels more like a bargain bin Wii title than a first party affair."[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "TGS 10: Japanese Debut Trailer for 'Ape Escape Fury! Fury!'". GameTrailers. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 US PlayStation Blog (June 23, 2011). "PlayStation Move Ape Escape Hits PSN on July 5th, Demo on June 28th". Sony. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Stephen Totilo (October 8, 2010). "This Is How You Play The New Ape Escape". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  4. ↑ Ape Club Staff. "Ape Escape Fury! Fury! Official Page". Ape Club. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Nix (September 23, 2009). "TGS 09: PlayStation Motion Controller Games Revealed". IGN. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  6. ↑ Sony Computer Entertainment Asia Staff. "Ape Escape On The Move! (Chinese + English Version)". Asia.PlayStation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ Michael McWhertor (September 18, 2010). "Ape Escape For PlayStation Move Is An On-Rails Gadget Shooter". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  8. ↑ Ape Club Staff (April 6, 2010). "Ape Escape PS3 - release date". Twitter. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  9. ↑ Ape Club Staff (May 13, 2010). "If you loved "Piposaru 2001"". Twitter. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  10. ↑ Ape Club Staff (May 14, 2010). "HINT #2 - A picture is worth a thousand words". Twitter. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  11. ↑ Ape Club Staff (May 14, 2010). "HINT #1 - Has something that no other Ape Escape games have". Twitter. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  12. ↑ Ape Club Staff (May 14, 2010). "HINT #3 - It's a keeper". Twitter. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  13. ↑ http://www.play-asia.com/Furi_Furi_Saru_Get_You/paOS-13-71-bp-49-en-70-3zxu.html
  14. ↑ http://www.play-asia.com/Ape_Escape_On_Move/paOS-13-71-bp-49-en-70-42zs.html
  15. ↑ http://www.ebgames.com.au/ps3-153522-Ape-Escape-PlayStation-3
  16. ↑ http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/games/detail/item354898/Ape-Escape/
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "PlayStation Move Ape Escape". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "PlayStation Move Ape Escape". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 DeVries, Jack (July 18, 2011). "PlayStation Move Ape Escape Review". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2014.

External links