To set everything straight, Ape Escape: Pumped and Primed is, unlike its two predecessors, a party game. As such, it's meant to be enjoyed in a party-but with such established and better party games already out there, it's not high on the party list. Gone is the absolutely ingenious control scheme of its platforming brethren; this is a whole new kind of Ape-smacking adventure. The story takes place right after the conclusion of Ape Escape 2, and the great monkey-catcher Spike has decided to take a break by entering a tournament. Little does he know that there are some Evil Monkeys^TM on the loose, trying to disrupt the tournament for their evil purposes.

The first thing I noticed when I popped in the game disc (aside from a fairly ominous piano playing in the background, following by a boom of thunder) was the cel-shaded artwork. I was really quite impressed by how well it was done; the characters actually looked like they were right from an anime. The opening animation was done quite well, although I soon found out that it was basically nothing more than scenes from the game cut together with some techno music blaring. Speaking of the music, it was actually pretty decent-meaning only that it didn't distract from the actual gameplay.

The menus were also fairly well done; I was surprised by their overall simplicity, and it was very easy to navigate through them. The first, and most frequently seen menu is the Mode Select menu; from here, you can choose to enter Story Mode, VS. Mode, Options, and three other spiffy, yet utterly useless choices. Venturing into the Options menu yields an exciting four options that you can change, all of which have to do with sound; Story Mode brings you to the game's predefined tournament where you can see the uninspired story unfold; and the VS. Mode brings you to a screen where you can customize your own tournament. First, let's take a look at the Story Mode-the mode that is central to Ape Escape: Pumped and Primed.

On second thought, let's skip that for now and talk about some of the good points.

VS. Mode is where the game really shines the most. With a multi-tap, you and your friends can have what amounts to four-player monkey-slapping duels to the death. Each player possesses a wide and varied selection of weapons, from light sabers to TNT-laden RC cars, and the person who survives the longest wins. Combine this fun-sounding gameplay with the advertised "28 arenas, 44 levels" and you have yourself quite a game. Unfortunately, what the back of the box has neglected to mention is the fact that, despite there being 44 levels, there are only eight possible mini-games. Likewise, all of the characters have the same monkey-slapping powers, and the only way to make all of the characters get unique weapons is by completing the Story Mode.

The eight mini-games are simple, yet, at the same time, surprisingly complex: there's the standard beat-the-snot-out-of-the-other-player mini-game; the game where you rotate the right analog stick as quickly as possible to gain coins; the other game where you rotate the right analog stick as quickly as possible to gain coins; the other other game where you rotate the right analog stick as quickly as possible to gain coins; the game where you simultaneously rotate both analog sticks as quickly as possible to gain coins; and, finally, the game where you steer an RC car around with the right analog stick in order to gain coins. "Wait a second, Boney!" You say. "You lazy jellyfish, you forgot to mention a couple!" Well, Mr. (or Mrs.) Wiseguy (or Wisegirl), that's because they simply aren't even worth mentioning. Furthermore, playing any of these mini-games with four people creates a mysteriously large amount of framerate issues, so grabbing all of those coins can become fairly frustrating when you're hit with lag. Aside from playing the eight games over and over (with or without a friend), there really isn't much else to do in Ape Escape: Pumped and Primed. Well, except for the Story Mode.

Okay, fine! I'll talk about the Story Mode!

Because of the fact that the eight mini-games become extremely boring after roughly twenty minutes of playing, even with one or more friends, and because the only way to possibly add some spice to the VS. Mode is by playing through the Story Mode, it is simply the only place left to turn to for some entertainment with this game. Upon entering the Mode, you're greeted with the option to select a character. A friend, who unwittingly sacrificed himself for an unworthy cause, and I each made characters and began the tournament. We selected the first series and immediately engaged in battle.

After almost effortlessly disposing of the computer-controlled enemies, we played through three more mini-games (all of which involved getting coins with the right analog stick). Once each mini-game is completed, each player is given a point total depending on which place he or she finished in. For instance, if you get in first place, you get 1000 points, and the first to a certain amount of points in four mini-games wins. If a player manages to get enough points, you move on to the next round, which consists of the remaining four mini-games. Sprinkled randomly throughout the rounds are boss battles, which become progressively harder as you advance. Likewise, the mini-games themselves grow harder and harder the further you get in the Story Mode. Unfortunately, when the games become harder, the flaws of the game truly stand out.

First, and perhaps most importantly, the camera is absolutely horrible, and, although it doesn't really become too much of a problem in some of the games, it becomes downright frustrating in others. For instance, one game requires you to shoot targets coming at you from all directions. The problem is that you can't rotate the camera. Thus, if you need to shoot something behind you, you need to first turn all the way around, press L1, and then wait for the camera to slowly adjust to whichever direction you're facing. Unfortunately, by the time the camera finishes adjusting, you're already dead. The camera also wreaks havoc upon the mini-games that involve jumping from platform to platform, getting coins along the way. In these levels, the camera is fixed, making the already difficult task of jumping from one moving platform to another absolutely impossible. I can honestly say that I have never been more frustrated while playing a game as I was trying to get those rings. It's just pure pain, baby.

Thankfully, the control scheme from the previous two Ape Escape games is mostly intact, but unfortunately it just doesn't work here. Sure, when you're just trying to whack some monkeys around with your saber they work okay, but try rowing a boat, shooting, and collecting power-ups all at the same time-it's guaranteed to give you carpal-tunnel syndrome after mere minutes. If anything, that is one aspect where the game truly succeeds: it never fails to make your hands and wrists extremely sore.

Combine the poor controls with the shoddy camera and extremely poor AI (it's the first game I've played in a long time where "free for all" means "all computers gang up on the human") that gets progressively harder and you get a game that is good for, at best, thirty minutes with some friends. I can't even recommend this for fans of the Ape Escape series. For those looking for a party game, you're best to find your party entertainment elsewhere or your party will suffer a quick demise.