Sony's Ape Escape for the PSOne was cool because it was the first game to put Sony's dual analog controller to good use. It was also a pretty good game, with tons of puzzles to solve, whacky monkey's to capture, and gadgets to fiddle with. It was cool enough to spawn a sequel, and now, courtesy of Ubisoft, another game has just been released, but it's far from enjoyable. Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is a party game gone awry, and is best left on the store shelf.

Instead of including a challenging single-player adventure, this Ape Escape is largely a party game for up to four players. What's left of the single-player is merely an extension of the multiplayer stuff where you complete various challenges against the AI in order to gain fans (monkeys will actually write to you), uncover new gadgets, and somehow defeat the evil monkeys. Most of what you'll play are deathmatch challenges that take place on foot, in tanks, or submarines, so you're always trying to do the same thing. It's just that the scenario has been altered in some way. At least the multiplayer is somewhat varied, as the game has 44 levels to play with friends (which are 44 out of the 52 single-player levels, the other eight being boss battles). There are also over 400 different things to unlock including movies, outfits, and gadgets, and said gadgets, like the stun club, slingshot, and RC car are fun to use.

While the game's concept has been drastically changed, its controls remain the same as in the first two games. You still control your character with the left analog stick while operating the weapons (gadgets) with the right. The system works rather well, though vehicle controls are very clunky and more difficult than they need to be.

In addition to the controls, characters from the other games also pop up, so you'll be able to select from monkeys as well as Spike, who's the main character in the previous games. You can even create custom characters.

Ditching its more polygonal look, Pumped & Primed features cel-shading that looks all right. The characters look good enough because they were never very well detailed to begin with, but the environments are sparse and are for the most part uninteresting. The sound effects are fine, but the music is memorable only for being pretty bad.

If you're going to mess with a good formula, you need to avoid criticism by producing a quality product, something the developers of Pumped & Primed haven't done. In fact, unless there are some big plans to reinvent the franchise, this series is as good as destroyed. There's enough here to entertain you and some friends for a few days, but you should question why you're even bothering.