Ubisoft Announces New Ape Escape Game!

The monkies are ba-ack! Ubisoft has today announced "Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed", a "sports-oriented fighting game", is in development for the PS2 and will be released in North America in October of this year. While I'm slightly bummed that the game is a departure from the traditional "Ape Escape" series, I'll take the monkies any way I can get them.
Read the Ubisoft Press Release and see screen shots.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ubisoft Press Release

UBISOFT ANNOUNCES APE ESCAPE: PUMPED & PRIMED™

Those Wacky Simians Are Back and Ready to Party… Ape Escape™ Style!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 10, 2004 – Ready? Set? Party! Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today announced Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed™ for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system to be released in North America. In a brand-new twist to the series, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed sets players on a fast-paced sports marathon across two action-packed game modes. A tournament-style game, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed stars everyone’s favorite heroes, Spike and Natalie, and features an all-star character line-up from the original Ape Escape™ games. Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is slated to ship in October 2004.

“Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is an irreverent, sports-oriented fighting game that continues the fun and excitement of the popular Ape Escape series,” said James Regan, Director of Business Development for Ubisoft. “Following the success of Ape Escape™ 2, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is sure to continue the legacy and entertainment of those crazy simians!”

About the Game

Original characters of the Ape Escape series – Spike, Natalie, Casi, Jake and the Professor – have decided to enter the High Tech Tournament! Set in a computer-generated world, odd things start happening when mysterious monkeys start to appear, along with archenemy Specter from Ape Escape 2. Trapped in the world by a new villain, our heroes must fight for their survival. Game features include:

*Two Game Modes: Play with up to two players in Story mode, consisting of 44 competing levels and eight boss battles, or Versus mode with 21 pre-made tournaments for up to four players. Additionally, players can create their own tournaments from the 28 stages in story mode.

*A Mix of Classic and New Characters from Ape Escape: Play original characters such as Natalie, Spike, the Professor or Jake. New characters include Pipotron, Helga and a mysterious new boss.

*Beat the Competition with a Wide Selection of Gadgets: Each character will have their own set of unique gadgets, including the Stunclub, Dragonfly, Slingshot, RC Car, Dash Hoop and WaterMech.

*More than 400 Unlockable Items: Special gadgets, clothes, fan emails, special summon abilities and movies.

Screen shots