Is there a plot to the thing?
Oh yes. A group of monkeys are threatening to take over the world. You take on the role of young Spike who, guided by a kindly (and brainy, naturally) professor and his female assistant, must capture the aforementioned primates by means foul or fair. Ape Escape is the first game to be Dual Control - only because it demands use of both of the pad's sticks (remember that dingy?). The right one moves Spike about the place, the left swishes his stun club, net (to bag the chimps), monkey radar, remote-controlled car and various other boosters he garners en route. The radar utilises a special camera which closes in on the monkey to make it easier to locate him (there are training rooms where you can test out each new gadget, too).

Does it look as good as Mario?
Not quite. It's certainly not bad though (bar one or two glitches in the early version), and there's a raft of neat visual touches, from the huge sea monsters and shoals of fish to the Venus flytraps, towering castles and roaming dinosaurs. Like Mario, you get to explore underwater - to dive to the depths, you press vertically down on the left analogue stick. Which is a first.

Will it be the best PlayStation platformer?
Ape Escape is certainly 'more like Mario' than Spyro the Dragon. The protagonist Spike has more manoeuvres than Spyro in his armoury (though not nearly as many as Mario), and the levels are better by design. It's certainly promising (hey, it's developed in Japan and they're good at this type of thing), if rather derivative.


*Innovative character control
*Huge gaming area - 25 levels
*Loads of gadgets and on-screen help
*Camera dynamics a bit dodgy
*Hugely based on Super Mario 64