Since the original Ape Escape was a 3D platformer, I was expecting Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed to be something more in that vein. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The best way to describe Pumped & Primed is to say it’s like Mario Party, but without the board game. Put simply, it plays like a collection of mini-games.

As a game designed for a younger audience, the graphics are simple, colorful, bright, and playful. The art is anime inspired, and, unsurprisingly, the game boasts a healthy dose of cel-shading. The animations are simple and cartoon-like. It’s exactly what you’d expect out of a quirky little children’s title. The sound effects and music are in the same element. Lots of bouncy Saturday morning goodness to go around. The game even features an unsettling little intro movie after you’ve played the game for the first time that involves people running around a city in ape suits. It’s all rather disturbing in that weird, fun way.

As I said above, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed plays out like a series of mini-games. After creating your character, which primarily seems to be just cosmetic choices, you choose your mode of play. Whichever you pick, some crazy mini-game action is bound to ensue. Most stages revolve around the use of one or more gadgets, a melee weapon, a hovering gadget, speed boosting hula-hoops, a ranged weapon, or exploding remote-control cars; in addition, some of the more unique stages feature items such as tanks, boats, and scuba gear.

Each stage also offers some goal, such as destroy all of your opponents, get the most coins, or win the race. In almost any stage you also have the option of attacking your opponents to slow them down or make them lose coins. Additionally, there are power-ups in most levels such as speed and better weapons to spice things up. You can even sometimes combine gadgets to perform powerful special attacks. There are even some pretty interesting boss fights to be found if you play through Story mode. Story mode also boasts a cute little Saturday morning cartoon-style plot development.

The Multiplayer modes are what you will usually be playing this for, so the game is as difficult as your human opponents can make it. Aside from that, there is Story mode which never gets too hard, at least for an experienced adult game review. For a child, it’s probably a little more challenging, I would assume. You never know though, kids can surprise you.

While the core game is pretty simple in nature, the game boasts tons of little side features to keep you entertained. The first thing to mention is that the game does support up to four players, which is nice. You can also unlock new versions of gadgets for your characters, new clothes for them, etc. Additionally, you can unlock letters, and earn “friends” and “gifts.” Some of them are new gadgets, or new helper characters to assist your character in the game.

Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is a very simple game, perfect for children. Although, if you’re older, but still appreciate the campy action and humor of a game like this, you might get some entertainment out of the game.