Ape Escape 2 sports the simplest gameplay around, with you zipping around brightly-colored worlds using a variety of gadgets to stun and capture the crazed batch of monkeys, who vary from simpletons to super-geniuses. The gadget collection is one of the better than you’ll see in a game, with everything from aquatic net-throwers to the monkey-irritating RC Race Car. The gadgets aren’t just clever in their design, they are actually useful, and you’ll need to use them in combos to capture the smarter and faster monkeys. As you progress through the 20 levels, you can expect the monkeys to get smarter and significantly faster, so you’ll need to be on your toes at all times.

Just like the original, the controls in Ape Escape 2 are simple to pick up for gamers of all ages. The left analog stick controls movement, while the right controls your weapons and gadgets. Through an innovative gadget assignment system, you can choose your favorite four gadgets and assign them to individual face buttons for quick access.

After each round of monkey nabbing, you’ll be returned to home base to choose what to do next. At the base, you can choose from the Gadget Trainer, mini-games, Gotcha Box and the Entertainment Center, or you can jump right into another round of monkey hunting, which frequently begins with you earning a new gadget. The mini-games are unlocked by finishing levels, while the Gotcha Box offers immediate rewards in exchange for 10 gold coins, which you pick up throughout the levels. The Gotcha Box dispenses little prizes like comic strips, concept art and info about your enemies, all of which can be viewed at the Entertainment Center. The three mini games include dodgeball-soccer, a variation of Dance Dance Revolution and a bizarre climbing game that has you avoiding tomato-shaped birds while trying to snag bunches of bananas.

Ape Escape 2 doesn’t push the PS2’s graphics engine in any way; it simply looks like a smoother, shinier version of its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a huge improvement on the original, and the cartoony graphics are certainly appealing, but the character designs are an almost exact copy of the originals. While there are some new characters and items, their designs maintain a very simplistic look and feel. Although the characters aren’t all that complex, they all have a fluid sense of motion, though sometimes the camera is so sluggish you won’t be able to enjoy all the on-screen action. The camera can be adjusted manually, and you’ll frequently find yourself doing just that in order to stay alive.

Sounds and voice acting are both pretty sparse in the game, with little quotes such as "All done" punctuating near silent levels. The monkeys got the better end of the audio deal, with plenty of squeaks, yelps and screams to make them sound a little more like the evil monkeys that they are. Musically, the game sounds like an old school console title, where everything was done on cheap keyboards and borders on obnoxious in its cheeriness, yet somehow, it still makes for enjoyable listening.

If there’s one glaring weakness in Ape Escape 2, it’s the relative ease with which you’ll finish the game. Sure there are 300 monkeys to capture, but once you figure out the best attack combos with your gadgets, you’ll storm through the levels in no time flat. This ease-of-play means that you won’t come back to play through the game again, unless you’re obsessed with the few available unlockables and mini-games.

Ape Escape 2 is definitely a good game, though it’s a little easy to finish, much more so if you’re one of the many who played the original. The additional gadgets and vehicles add a little spice to the pretty standard gameplay, but it’s still not terribly complex. While the game is really fun, it’s too short for me to recommend it as a purchase, however, you can’t go wrong by renting it.