"Slips Over On Its Own Banana Peel"

Introduction:
Ape Academy is a spin-off from the Ape Escape series of platformers that debuted on Playstation and sequelled on the Playstation 2. Ape Academy differs from the previous two titles in that is not a platformer, but a party game, a genre that has been quite popular by games like Crash Bash and Mario Party. There are more than a hundred different games to play and each one is completely different, but are they any good?

Graphics:
The game is very unrealistic and this is reflected in the graphics, they are very cheesy, though they do fit the theme of the game. The game is also on the PSP, which means the graphics will not be as good as the Playstation 2 platformer. On the plus side, the menus are quite inviting and the mini-games are detailed simply but effectively.

Sound:
The thing I always hate the most about cheesy games is the sound. Ape Academy is no better and no worse than any of its counterparts in this department, having terrible background music that is often off-putting and annoying, what's worse is the vocals for the characters, some aren't too bad, but some (The guy who voiced yellow monkey, I hope you're reading this...) are absolutely unbearable and repetitive.

Gameplay:
If I'm being generous - the best area of Ape Academy is the gameplay, it's still pretty bad though, repetition, difficult controls and a lack of variety all add to the games negativity. Two lines is all I can give to something so bad, I'm afraid.

Lifespan:
Depends on how often you can stand the same thing over and over, whilst a minority of the games are fun, even these get boring pretty quickly and if you find yourself getting stuck on one it's going to be an unpleasant experience. If you can put up with repetition, this category fares pretty well, there's lots of different games to unlock and you could always try starting from scratch.

Extras:
There's lots of games and figurines to unlock, as well as add-ons for the games you unlock.

Final Recommendation:
Although it was one of the most appealing PSP launch titles, Ape Academy is fairly disappointing, with it getting repetitive and boring after just a few hour's play. All in all, the game is probably not worth the full price that store's want for it, but if you're stuck for choice, it's worth a rent, I guess. (can you rent PSP games? I'm not sure)

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/05, Updated 12/04/07

Game Release: Ape Academy (EU, 09/01/05)