Ape Academy - Review

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Ape Academy
Ape Academy – Review - PSP

Ape Academy – Review - PSP

The joy of a handheld console is that you can pick it up here and there for a quick bit of fun when you're doing something that doesn't require your full concentration. Like when your missus is watching Eastenders, when you're waiting for a bus or sitting or in the loo. In this sense Ape Academy works very well as it's a game filled with a large selection of very short little games.

The basic idea is that you are a monkey who is aiming to graduate through Ape Academy by passing each of the school grades from junior to senior levels. To pass a grade you play a combination of 9 games on a tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses) board. Same rules apply; if you get a line of noughts then you pass. With over 40 different games there is plenty of variety to keep you interested at the beginning and after that there's a hearty number of un-lockables to keep you going. There are different styles of game such as technical, skill, quiz, athletic? etc. So you're bound to find at least a few games which you enjoy and want to play over and over again. You can do this by entering the mini-game collection instead of the academy once you've unlocked them. This is a bit more like doing time-trials to perfect your skills at a certain game and set a personal best.

All of the games are well groomed with chirpy, cute graphics and a good bit of comedy value (everyone loves a comical monkey) so it's a game that will appeal to all ages. As you move up the grades the games become a little tricky but they always let you get close enough to winning to frustrate you. Normally leaving you eager to have another go rather than throw the console against the wall. Not all of the games are great quality but the majority of them are and there's definitely enough entertainment and stuff to collect/unlock to hold your interest for a while.

Here's a quick summary of the type of games: Monkey balancing – walk an acrobatic group of monkeys standing on each other's shoulders to a finishing line. Not as easy as it may sound as you have to account for momentum and tipping the balance. 1metre dash – be quick off the mark to tap your button as the race is only 1 metre. Spot the difference – 5 monkeys roll out Oriental-style words on scrolls, you walk behind and smack the monkey's who get the words wrong on the back of the head. Ask Darwin – multiple choice Q&A, just watch out for the odd trick question.

There's a mass amount of collectable monkey statues that randomly pop up as you play the games, and these can then be played for in multiplayer battles. All of which is a good idea and I imagine that there'll be hot contests kicking off in playgrounds and offices across the country for certain rare monkeys. I just hope Michaela Strachan doesn't hear about it and get the wrong end of the stick

The happy music and sound effects are what you'd expect from a family friendly game about monkeys. Nothing offensive but they haven't been too imaginative either.

Perhaps the main issue with Ape Academy is they seem to have gone for quantity instead of quality. Don't get me wrong, some of the games are very entertaining and challenging but on too many occasions you spend more time waiting for the next game to load up than you do actually playing. This can make you lose interest if you're losing a little too often. There is more than enough taxing gameplay and fun in Ape Academy if you're in the mood for something a bit different. I think it is definitely worth a look.

6.5 out of 10

Leeroy

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