Planet of the Apes Review
Planet of the Apes is one of the classics when it comes to the sci-fi genre. It spawned five movies, a TV show, just recently a film remake, t-shirts, toys and now a Game Boy Advance title. Let’s go face to face with our ancestors on a freaky planet, where it’s apes versus humans in this latest installment in the POTA franchising saga. And remember that monkey’s rule!
You assume the role of Ben on a mission to locate a lost astronaut, Captain Taylor. Ben lands on a planet where humans are pets and apes rule the kingdom of the world. Using your wits and items found, you’ll battle your way through the army of apes in over 10 different levels all the while trying to unlock the secrets to Planet of the Apes.
To help him on his quest, Ben has a health meter and inventory for his weapons and items he has found. Hidden throughout all of the levels are ten flags which you must collect, and if all ten flags are collected, Ben will be awarded with a health pack at the tally screen. These health packs are very handy on your quest as they act as extra lives so you have another chance just in case a certain something happens…however, once your health meter is empty, you will have to restart the level and this can become very frustrating if you get stuck in a certain place like someone we all know. Having only one life until you collect ten flags in one of the levels can be a greater challenge then it seems. Or instead, just make your frustration levels go higher until you bash the crap out of your brother to make it go down! Also at the tally screen you will be awarded with medals for the amount of time you have taken, apes killed, flags collected and some other statistics if your lucky.
Ben is very nicely animated and has a variety of moves such as running, rolling, jumping, climbing and crouching which all seem very basic! Though still there’s not much he can’t do, he is quite like action man. The same can’t be said for the apes though as they usually will follow a predictable pattern that takes around 1 second to suss out and then all you have to do is simply wait for them to run into your trusty knife or pop them from afar with your gun. Not being smart, the apes aren’t offering much challenge at all and don’t take long to kill or use other means. The D-Pad controls are quite responsive, especially when it comes to performing tricky jumps over chasms and other obstacles. The backgrounds and colors are elaborate but have a tendency (probably due to the darkness of the GBA screens) to mask some of the obstacles and flags. A black wild boar running along the ground of a dark forest can also be extremely hard to make out.
The games appeal (like most character or movie licenses) is likely to boil down to if you think the concept of visiting the Planet of the Apes is cool or not. Would you want to play Batman Vengeance if you don’t like Batman?, I doubt it. That being said, this is really a choice up to you.
Visuals: 7.5
Sound: 6
Originality: 7
Replay: 6
Overall: 7