Here's the story: a monkey named Specter puts on a helmet that makes him super intelligent, sets free all the monkeys in the local zoo, and sends them back in time using the professor's time machine. You need to go back in time and capture all the monkeys. How could this not be fun? You run around these beautiful landscapes and make use of several gadgets given to you by the professor in order to capture these monkeys with your 'time net'. You actually aim the net with the right joystick and you can twirl it around, too. You also have a stun club, a 'monkey radar', an underwater net shooter, a speed-enhancing hula hoop, a 'sky flyer', an R/C car, and more cool gadgets! Sometimes monkeys are just standing around in the open and you can run up and snag them, but at times they are in a hard-to-reach place, or they actually have guns! A few of the little buggers have heat-seeking missile launchers! You must use your brain to get these guys. This game actually requires a dual-shock controller and uses every single button! I didn't think you pushing the joysticks in like buttons was good for the controller, but in this game, it's mandatory!

The control is very responsive and accurate, except for swimming underwater which is quite difficult to control. There are so many buttons that I will occasionally press the wrong one, but once you get it straight, you will enjoy having so many commands at your fingertips.

The graphics are fantastic! A far cry from the flat, texture-mapped graphics in Metal Gear Solid and Syphon Filter, this game could easily be mistaken for an N64 game thanks to its colorful smooth-shaded polygon graphics. There are a few sprites mixed in there, but they look great, too. The monkeys look really funny, and there are some graphic suprises, too (the mammoth, the "sushi temple"). The monkeys are awesome! They look really funny and the chase that ensues after one sees you is hilarious. They will try to run away and they'll look back at you nervously or (if armed) will try to shoot at you in defense! Each monkey has a personality, and using your monkey radar you can see the monkey's name, stats, and a small piece of humorous personal information. The monkey radar also makes this noise that never failed to make me and my friend laugh every time we used it. The game has really cool music as well.

This game is non stop fun! There are a few frustrating parts, but what game doesn't have those? The game also has a very in-depth tutorial that helps you out throughout the game as new skills are required or new gadgets are obtained. One important feature to keep in mind - since you start the game with only the stun club, net and one gadget item after several levels, you must revisit levels to capture ALL the monkeys in each. Also, there are coins hidden in the levels that open up mini-games that are really fun! I won't ruin the surprise. This game is like nothing else out there, and you must get it. Just when you thought the PlayStation was dead thanks to all this Dreamcast talk (Editor's Note: Hey...the Dreamcast talk is cool man!), this top-notch original game proves otherwise.

Pics courtesy of Videogames.com

· · · Racer-X