Those damn dirty apes have done it again. Specter (who has become just another circus attraction) has found his way to the Pipo Helmet yet again. This time though, Ape Escape: On the Loose has you traveling across time in search of Specter’s hench-monkeys and stopping them before they carry out the white hairball’s fiendish plan.

The models and levels of On the Loose are slightly disappointing. Since the launch of the PSP, I’ve been playing game after game that mimics the detail and feel of the PS2 without a problem. But the latest game in the Ape Escape line seems to find its place closer to the graphics of the PSOne. Basically, the character models and levels are angular and blocky. Maybe this was done to keep the feel of the original Ape Escape, I’m not sure – I just know Ape Escape: On the Loose doesn’t push the system’s graphics capability as much as the other games to have come out for the PSP, and it shows.

That isn’t to say the game’s graphics are bad or unpleasant to look at. Each level is filled with life and energy. The monkey expressions are carried across very well as they jump in surprise and start running around the field (mostly by their exaggerated gestures and yelps). These very active levels let you almost overlook the angular graphics (typically because the jumping monkeys distract you from looking really hard at the textures and characters).

Happy-go-lucky, that’s the best way to explain the music of Ape Escape: On the Loose. The high-energy techno-ish tunes are crisp and clean, giving you lots of energy as you race your character across the landscapes trying to nab those monkeys. The voice-work is on par with the music, and thankfully the random comments Spike and Jake make throughout the game don’t get too repetitive, though there are times when it comes close.

Like I said above, Specter has broken free from his circus-prison and has once again recruited a bunch of helmet-clad monkeys to help him take over the world. This time, Specter breaks into the Professor’s lab and activates his time machine. But all hope isn’t lost. In the confusion, Spike and Jake are also sucked through time.

Now it’s up to the two fourth graders to save the timeline and capture all of the escaped apes before it’s too late. Along the way, the Professor provides gadgets of many shapes and sizes for you to use on your quest. You start off with the Time-Net and Stun-Stick. You use the net to transport the militia mammals back to the present, and the Stun-Stick is your defense against the various villains that cross your path. Other gadgets included are the Water-Net and the Monkey Radar.

You complete a level by collecting a specified number of monkeys. But just because you’ve gotten past it, that doesn’t mean that you’ve found all of the apes in that level. In order to find and capture all of the monkeys in the game, you have to retrace your steps several times (after getting new inventions). And even if you do find all of the monkeys in a level, there is still a reason to go back. After fully completing an area, you can try to find them all again, but this time you’re racing against the clock in an effort to get the fastest time. It’s the little things like this that add replay value to Ape Escape: On the Loose.

Between levels, you warp back to the Time Station. The Station has a central area and two wings. The central area lets you select your levels, save your game, and view the information you have on the various monkeys and enemies you’ve encountered. One of the wings portals you to training missions that you go on whenever you are given a new gadget. This is great if you feel like you need to hone your skills with a piece of equipment before you tackle the next area. The other wing is where you find mini-games which are unlocked by collecting Specter Coins found throughout the levels. On the Loose lets you play against an opponent either in the immediate vicinity or across the net via a wireless access point. You can take to the boxing ring, play ping-pong, or even snowboard.

Ape Escape: On the Loose starts off easy with just a few standard monkeys to hunt down per level. But with each world (err... I mean time), you have to find more and more monkeys. And to top it all off, some of the prime-apes are armed. You have to dodge rockets, bullets, and lasers in your hunt for those amuck-running monkeys. That’s when it starts getting difficult, though there isn’t a sudden jump to the more difficult areas. As you progress, you get introduced to these new types of apes little by little, making the difficulty gradient nice and smooth.

Ape Escape: On the Loose has simple controls, but still takes some getting used to. You control your character with the analog stick and jump with the X button (basic stuff there). You use the left shoulder button to adjust the camera (either have it face the same direction as you or go into first-person mode). This got to be a little cumbersome because I wanted to use my right thumb to swing the camera around when I needed it to face a certain direction. Unfortunately, the L button is basically the only way to control the camera, but with the PSP being limited to only one analog stick, it is kind of hard to fault the developers for not having a smooth camera system. I just hope some development team out there figures something out soon. Otherwise, these third-person games are going to become aggravating fast.

The top three face buttons (Square, Triangle, and Circle) use whichever gadget you have assigned to that button. For example, if you have the Time-Net on the Triangle button, you can swing the net (or pull it out if it isn’t selected) by pressing that button. The right shoulder button is used to crouch, letting you sneak up on unsuspecting apes.

Like I said, there are some slightly unusual aspects to the game’s control scheme. At first, I found myself stumbling over the buttons trying to pull out a gadget, only to pull the wrong item out or not get one at all. But by the end of the third of fourth level, your fingers should feel right at home.

Though Ape Escape: On the Loose isn’t the smoothest looking game to come out for the PSP, it is still a lot of fun and is a great addition to any platform gamer’s collection.