You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!

Released in 1999 and later ported to the PSP in 2005, as well as being the beginning of a series that today spans 10 games and 5 spin-offs, Ape Escape is a gem you don't have to dig deep for. However, that doesn't make it any less of a gem.

Ape Escape was the first game to take advantage of the analouge sticks on the Playstation's then new DualShock controller. With the left stick, the player would move Spike, the game's protagonist, while tilting the right stick in any direction to hit enemies with different weapons and gadgets or use the net. In this regard, the game is similar to the dual-stick arcade games of old such as Robotron 2084 or Smash TV, though, without the guns and/or killing. This control scheme works extremely well, even today, and makes the game a blast to play.

The objective of the game, in case you hadn't already guessed from the title, is to catch escaped monkeys. These monkeys have been freed and are now being controlled by the game's antagonist, Specter, a circus monkey who's fed up with being told what to do and using his recently aquired "Peak Point Helmet" gains the intelligence to take over the world and attempts to do just that. Specter then commandeers a time machine and sends hundreds of monkeys back to various times in history. Gotta catch 'em all!

The gameplay is where most of the fun lies, of course. You, as Spike, travel back to various time periods to catch as many apes as possible. The levels begin in prehistoric times and progress to a modern (or year 2000 modern) setting. Having so many different settings leaves the game open for some very interesting level designs (including one that is very reminiscent of Lord Jabu Jabu from Ocarina of Time).

Spike's grandfather, known simply as 'The Professor' throughout most of the game, also provides you with many different weapons and gadgets to assist your ape-catching exploits. These range from your standard net and stun-club (which is very similar to a lightsaber, though you cannot slice limbs off with it) to using a remote-controlled car to run down monkeys or a hula-hoop to run faster.

Ape Escape truly is one of the classics for the Playstation. It provides a unique experience and its colourful graphics still look pretty decent today (at least by PS1 standards). If you like the Playstation and Ape Escape isn't already in your collection, you're missing out.