What game are you most looking forward to playing next week, and why is it the 1999 triumph Ape Escape?
We’re fast approaching the local release of Sony’s largest refresh to their online Playstation Plus service since it began, and it has been quite a ride. A launch of this magnitude didn’t even appear to be on the cards a mere year ago, despite expectations being set by both Microsoft and Nintendo with their own take on the Netflix-style subscribe-to-play service. Sony will be the last of the three to join this particular market next week, and their plans are certainly ambitious. Boasting 400-500 games from most Playstation consoles available at launch and more rotating monthly, the new model could be both a huge financial success and a celebration of all that came before if it manages to hit the ground running. I personally have my eyes on a few games from the initial lineup, but I will lie to no one when I say I’ll undoubtedly play through all of Ape Escape before the anything else.
As a marketing tool, nostalgia is my absolute kryptonite. Full remakes of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon? Sold. Vaguely polished ports of the old Final Fantasy games? Add to cart. Ocarina of Time rises again? Take my money. There’s something I can’t resist when it comes to a classic I know and love, and I’ve stopped trying to fight it. I can almost always look past the aged visuals, controls and themes because these games and I have history. I know them like the back of my hand, and each of them were legends of their time. Ape Escape is, admittedly, a little different. I personally have a soft spot for the time-travelling, monkey-catching adventure, however it’s understandably not to everyone’s taste. Without that nostalgic pull, it’s not as easy to recommend this one as some of the games previously mentioned. In fact, I’ll just come out and say it – playing Ape Escape today is a rough time.
Japan Studio & Sony Computer Entertainment, 1999
You play as Spike, a boy caught up in the accidental release of dozens of apes who have since fled across time and space. Thanks to helmets that boost their intelligence, each monkey has its own personality, strengths and abilities. As you travel through time to catch them, some will defend themselves by training dinosaurs, flying UFOs or turning an assault rifle on you in chilling Planet of the Apes fashion. While the plot is absolute marbles, the visuals also haven’t aged too well over the decades. Ape Escape has plenty of polygonal points and bright colours across its environments, and then there’s the trademark PS1 fog that hides everything until Spike comes within a few meters. Some of us can look past these flaws as a sign of the times, but the toughest pill to swallow is still the inexplicably difficult controls.
The game was initially designed to help familiarise Playstation owners with the new Dualshock controllers, given thumbsticks weren’t rolled out for PS1 consoles until the late 90’s. While we’d later perfect how these thumbsticks should be used, Ape Escape made a right mess of it. Picture this: a weapon wheel tied to the face buttons on the right of the controller. To use one, you need to push the right stick in the direction you want to strike. Where’s the camera then? The d-pad of course. Don’t forget the jump button as well, hidden back there on one of the triggers. Nothing is where your brain would like it to be, and it adds a whole extra layer of difficulty to even the most basic tasks. Add occasional first-person shooting and steering cars into the mix, and you have a recipe for sheer chaos.
Japan Studio & Sony Computer Entertainment, 1999
I fear at this point that I’ve not presented much to like about Ape Escape, but rest assured the real magic comes from the gameplay itself, and the pure moment-to-moment bedlam of it all. Once you’ve wrapped your head around the controls and graphics, the game opens up into a charming roller-coaster of platforming and puzzle solving that rewards you for sticking with it. There’s a monkey based on Rambo, another a simian Schwarzenegger. Some are tame, while others have backstories that would most certainly not make it into a game of this rating today. The entire package is a zany, colourful and bizarre adventure that tricks you into looking past its shortcomings in favour of finding out just where it could possibly take you next.
Or maybe that’s just me. In a sea of hundreds of other games launching with the service, there are plenty of options that are far easier to look at and to physically grapple with. My rose-tinted glasses are my own, and I’m sure many will have their own nostalgic weaknesses that come calling at one point or another. But as you scroll past Ape Escape in the new catalogue next week, at least spare a thought for me out here in the trenches. Despite everything else on offer, I’ll be staring at a pixelated “Game Over” screen, unsure of which emotion to feel after being done in once again by a well-armed chimp in cheap sunglasses.
Playstation Plus Essential, Extra and Deluxe tiers are available in Australia from June 22nd on PS4 and PS5.
2021 seems to be the year of Spider-Man, with the trailer for the web-head’s latest outing No Way Home shattering records and the announcement of the sequel to 2018’s Insomniac-produced game blowing fans’ minds with the imminent arrival of series favourite (not always, as you’ll see below) Venom. With that we thought it was the perfect time to swing through the web-slinger’s filmography – Avengers appearances and Venom spin-offs notwithstanding – to come up with the definitive ranking of Spidey films.
8. Spider-Man 3
Columbia Pictures, 2007
The film that tanked Sam Raimi’s otherwise perfect trilogy, Spider-Man 3 will long be remembered as one of the most unintentionally hilarious superhero films. Emo Peter Parker? Already an odd choice. Having him strut his stuff through a crowded New York street shooting finger guns at horrified women? It’s the stuff of ‘so bad it’s great’ legend. But apart from these moments of unintentional levity, Spider-Man 3 is a largely dull affair, taking the characters we loved from the first two films and finishing their arcs in haphazard, unlikeable ways across the board.
James Franco’s Harry Osborn should be the big bad that the series was building toward, stepping into his father’s legacy and forced to make monumental choices between family and friend. Instead he loses his memory like a bad episode of an 80’s soap opera and does the twist while making omelettes with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). Enter Topher Grace’s woefully miscast Eddie Brock (AKA Venom) and an actually decent Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman to fill that villainous void. It all descends into an incomprehensible mess of a final action scene but the brief glimpses into Sandman’s sweet relationship with his daughter hint at the emotional connection Raimi excelled at in earlier instalments.
7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Columbia Pictures, 2014
The image really speaks volumes about The Amazing Spider-Man 2, taking the solid groundwork laid in Andrew Garfield’s introduction as the character and cluttering it with villains and downright stupid creative decisions. The relationship between Garfield’s Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy continues to be the highlight of these two films, with an easy, natural chemistry between the pair and some solid obstacles thrown at them that forces Peter to confront that fundamental Spider-Man issue: balancing his wants and needs as an everyday teen (now college student) and the larger responsibilities of Spider-Man.
Gwen’s death (spoiler alert) might just be the most heart-wrenching moment out of all these films but for every step it takes in the right direction, Amazing 2 counters with scene after scene of Jamie Foxx’s Electro muttering about his birthday through weirdly blue teeth, Dane DeHaan’s painfully annoying Harry Osborn and so much forced setup for a Sinister Six film that never came that Peter Parker gets buried in his own film.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Columbia Pictures, 2012
Andrew Garfield’s first outing as skater-boy Peter Parker announced him as a far superior version of Spider-Man whilst under the mask, firing quip after quip alongside the webs as he took on the villainous Lizard (Rhys Ifans). His Parker might have been a little too good-looking and charming for the usually reserved and awkward nerd audiences knew from the Raimi trilogy and comics but made up for it with great chemistry with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Far more than the constant damsel-in-distress Kirsten Dunst’s MJ found herself as, Gwen gets a lot more to do in the fight against the Lizard and endears herself to the audience in a much bigger way because of it.
Martin Sheen and Sally Field shine as Uncle Ben and Aunt May but the film stumbles in its over examination of Peter’s parents, tying his origin as the web-slinger to a scientific conspiracy further expounded on in the sequel. It never quite clicks together in expanding Peter’s character; positing his desire for a father figure as the basis for a friendship with Ifans’ cold-blooded scientist is a clunky way to bring the pair together. Ifans, for his part, isn’t given a whole lot to do other than whine about his missing limb and provide a physical opponent for Spidey; a wasted opportunity for one of the all-time greats from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery.
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Columbia Pictures, 2019
The burden of carrying the first post-Endgame MCU film falls on Spidey’s shoulders in Far From Home and it largely works despite the drastic shift in scale from the world-ending threat of Thanos. The film takes a while to get going, walking us through Peter’s (Tom Holland) desire for a break from web-slinging and a chance to declare his affection for MJ (Zendaya) on an upcoming European school trip. Things pick up with the arrival of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio, a worthy foil who plays upon the teenagers naivety to gain access to Stark-level weaponry and present himself as Earth’s new defender.
Gyllenhaal and Holland’s bro-ish chemistry is fun to watch, with Peter leaning heavily on another potential mentor after Tony Stark’s recent passing, and the big reveal of Mysterio’s evil intentions provides a big moment to drive his character forward. By the end of it all there’s lessons learned, tears shed and the fully confident Spider-Man we all knew Holland could be taking centre stage as he defeats his greatest enemy to date. Still it’s hard to ignore the significant chunk of what feels like filler as we move through what is largely a stopgap on the way to the more MCU significant crossover in the upcoming No Way Home.
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Columbia Pictures, 2018
Fans waited a long time to see Ultimate comics’ Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) take up the mantle of Spider-Man and it turned out to be worth the wait, with Sony Animation delivering a visually stunning film that looks as though it as been pulled straight out of the pages of a comic. Miles’ origin story on its face isn’t hugely different from that of Peter Parker, but the way in which the film fundamentally understands Spider-Man on a character level ensures that this origin story is anything but unoriginal, delivering the message that anyone could be under the mask; that it is the fundamental goodness he brings to life that enables Miles to succeed as the web-slinger – a universal lesson for audiences young and old.
With strange new takes on iconic characters and a phenomenal voice cast all around – Jake Johnson’s schlubby Peter B. Parker and John Mulaney’s hilarious Spider-Ham are particular highlights – this is Spider-Man for a new generation: a bold new direction that we can’t wait to see where it heads.
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Columbia Pictures, 2017
Having won audiences over with his unexpected debut in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland cemented himself as the next great Spider-Man for the MCU generation with solo film follow-up Homecoming. Being the first Peter Parker to actually look like they belong in school turns out to be one of Holland’s greatest assets, as the film is able to believably tackle the homework vs. hero angle, whilst still leaving plenty of room for MCU-sized action. Downey Jr.’s supporting turn as Iron Man is able to further Peter’s developmental arc, strengthen that father-son bond on the way to the devastating “I don’t feel too well Mr. Stark” payoff and provides some real stakes to Peter’s antics other than the always present threat of death.
Michael Keaton’s Vulture joins the pantheon of great on-screen Spider-Man villains along with the next two to be named, gleefully turning a profit cashing in on the fallout from Avengers level incidents before a certain Spider proves a thorn in his side. That pivotal twist – that the Vulture is actually the father of Peter’s crush – is a perfect Spider-Man story beat, seemingly insignificant in the larger scheme of things but completely shattering Parker’s world. But the defining moment? Peter psyching himself up to shift a pile of rubble; the kid from Queens and the audience joining together in chants of “Come on, Spider-Man” as he steps into the responsibility thrust upon him and becomes the hero we know and love.
2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Columbia Pictures, 2004
A somewhat controversial placement, Sam Raimi’s beloved middle film in the trilogy takes all that he built in the first film and doubles down, adding another iconic villain in Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, more complications to Peter’s (Tobey Maguire) relationships with Harry (Franco) and MJ (Dunst) and the quintessential representation of the struggle between Spider-Man duties and the yearning for a normal life. Maguire builds upon his iconic performance to include layers of exhaustion and jealousy as Peter must watch the woman he loves marry someone else all the while knowing he could never give her the life he feels she deserves.
The “I am Spider-Man no more” line hits like a ton of bricks as you actually feel like this could be the end, that Peter has finally had enough, and while this may all sound like a dour, overly serious Spidey adventure, Raimi is able maintain that balance of heavy, real stakes with camp and humour, whether that be Bruce Campbell’s hilarious cameo or the memed-to-death ‘pizza boy’ scene. Dock Ock is the perfect mix of over-the-top maniacal villainy and affecting backstory, his turn to evil borne out of tremendous grief and suffering. He might even be the best of Spidey’s foes, if it weren’t for…
1. Spider-Man (2002)
Columbia Pictures, 2002
The Green Goblin. We’ll get to the webhead himself in a minute but let’s take the time to recognise one of the best superhero villain performances of all time in Willem Dafoe’s gleefully unhinged performance as Norman Osborn, AKA Green Goblin. It’s a performance that simply couldn’t exist in today’s film landscape, so whacky and hilarious whilst being downright terrifying at the same time. Raimi presenting Norman’s development into the big bad in tandem with Peter’s only adds to the audience investment; making his turn into Spider-Man all the more courageous when you can see the dark path that sudden increase in power could have sent him.
But as for Spider-Man, this is the definitive telling of his origin story, filled with iconic scenes that have stood the test of time within the superhero genre. That first wall-crawl. The upside-down kiss. The first glorious swing through the buildings of New York. Tobey Maguire became a superstar off the back of his performance as the dorky teen living out every dorky teen’s fantasy and even if his Spider-Man didn’t have the most personality, his Peter Parker has yet to be beaten, hopelessly pining over the girl next door and coming into his own through sheer determination. This is the reason that superhero films exploded into the mainstream culture and for good reason: Spider-Man is spectacular.
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has rolled around again for 2019, bringing with it a ton of new info, teasers and reveals of all that’s coming soon in gaming. The Los Angeles gathering gives developers and publishers a chance to show off their work and drum up excitement for releases both right around the corner and a bit further down the track. With most of the industry’s biggest names holding lengthy press conferences across the week, we’ve put together a bit of a highlight reel of all the standouts we’ll be lining up for on release.
Electronic Arts (EA)
EA had the first conference slot, opting to deliver their show through a livestream rather than their traditional stage appearances. Known mainly for their many hugely successful sports games, EA spent a decent amount of time showing off their next FIFA and Madden NFL titles – each flashing their highly realistic visuals and various new features. Yet what the people really came for were some much awaited details on Respawn Entertainment’s upcoming single-player Star Wars game. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order certainly didn’t disappoint, giving us a lengthy glimpse of some real dynamic combat, characters and environments that look like they were cut straight from a movie. The game’s original story and lightsaber action is set to place you in the shoes of a Jedi come November 15th this year. EA’s conference also covered some upcoming expansions to their existing catalogue, including Battlefield V, Apex Legends, Sims 4 and Anthem.
Respawn Entertainment / EA, 2019
Microsoft
With Sony choosing to give E3 a pass completely this year, all eyes were on Microsoft for some of the biggest reveals and updates during their presentation. Recognising this, the company covered around 60 titles on stage – plus they made time to show off their insanely technical new Elite Series 2 controller and their plans for Project Scarlett, the new supercharged console they’re looking at releasing next year. Microsoft also went over their growing ‘xCloud’ game streaming service, while also expanding the Xbox Game Pass service to cover PC players as well. One of the biggest gaming items on the list was definitely Cyberpunk2077 – the upcoming action RPG title from the creators of TheWitcher series. With a trailer starring none other than Keanu Reeves, the game received a release date of 16th April 2020 from the man himself as he appeared on stage to surprised fans. Microsoft’s conference ended with a nice teaser for HaloInfinite – with Master Chief’s next big outing set to roll out alongside Project Scarlett next year. Microsoft also touched on a number of their upcoming indie titles, an interesting Blair Witch game and a Lego crossover coming to ForzaHorizon4.
343 Industries / Xbox Game Studios, 2019
Bethesda
The team at Bethesda spent much of the first chunk of their conference fleshing out their many incoming mobile games, including ElderScrolls: Blades (now coming to Switch) and the cartoon free-to-play CommanderKeen. The main events followed soon after, launching with another trailer for the upcoming Wolfenstein:Youngblood – a slick co-op shooter dropping in July for all major platforms. The new Doom:Eternal also got to show off its frantic, bloody gameplay and an expanded multiplayer mode – looking infinitely bigger and badder than its 2016 predecessor. Players can drop back into all the gory action once again when it releases on November 22 this year. Bethesda’s presentation also featured some interesting new titles, such as the time-bending Deathloop and the horror/sci-fi combination of Ghostwire:Tokyo – as well as some massive Fallout76 expansions for good measure.
id Software / Bethesda, 2019
Square-Enix
In the Japanese publisher’s second year in a row as a solo act, Square managed to completely raise the bar over the competition. Featuring several back to back announcements, the show finally gave the crowd a decent look at the FinalFantasyVIIRemake – and it’s looking good. With a bunch of scenes featuring Tifa and other crowd-favourite characters, we also got a bunch of time looking over the game’s new, action-focused combat system – with it all releasing in early March next year. Rounding out the showcase was the long awaited trailer for the new Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game. We were given a quick look of the opening scenes and gameplay with each of the 5 main characters (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Black Widow), as well as some quick videos from the designers and the well-known voice cast. This one is sure to get people going wild when it drops mid-next year, but it certainly looks like it could use a few more coats of paint before it hits shelves. Square-Enix also made room for multiple ports of their classic games (including FinalFantasyVIII), another chapter in the LifeisStrange series, the incoming expansion to their online FinalFantasyXIV and the sequel to 2016’s DragonQuestBuilders.
As usual, Ubisoft put their biggest players forward this year during their time in the spotlight. While also touching on some left field items – such as a TV show on Amazon and their own game streaming service – this presentation was all about WatchDogs and their various TomClancy franchises. Set in a not-too-distant future London, WatchDogsLegion has some slick visuals and some real out-there gameplay designs happening based on what we were shown. Expect to see permadeaths, near limitless playable characters and a fully realised cyber London when the game drops on 6th March 2020. The other headlining act here was the new GhostReconBreakpoint, slated for release in early October this year. The game admittedly looks decent with an interesting set up, and if Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Punisher) can’t sell it to you live on stage, nobody can. Ubisoft also gave some time to their new developments: Gods& Monsters and Roller Champions, while also bringing yet another Just Dance entry and some expansions to the multiplayer Rainbow Six – Siege.
Ubisoft Paris, 2019
Nintendo
Last but certainly not least, Nintendo delivered their livestream Direct video to the world as they have the past few years. Despite not having the great Reggie Fils-Aimé running the show for them this time, the company still managed to bring some solid reveals and details on upcoming Switch titles. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is shaping up to be a great time, introducing a bunch of new mechanics and multiplayer elements for its release later this year. The next Animal Crossing – despite being delayed until next year – is looking like it will do right by series fans and newcomers alike. We also saw some new gameplay for the upcoming Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which is shaping up to be a solid mix of old and new for its launch this September. Some nice surprises came in the form of new additions to the Smash Bros Ultimate roster – with The Heroes from Dragon Quest and returning N64 tag team Banjo-Kazooie coming later this year and early 2020. To cap off the end of the stream in style, Nintendo gave us a fleeting teaser of what is set to be a direct sequel to the magnificent Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Buried in the Nintendo stream were also the incoming ports of Resident Evil 5 & 6, some further details on the definitive edition of Dragon Quest XI and the seemingly impossible feat of moving The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and all its DLC onto the Switch later this year.
Nintendo, 2019
All in all, the 2019 E3 presentations had a great mix of reveals and details to cover just about every audience. Make sure to check out some of the shows in full if they’ve caught your interest here – we’ve barely scratched the surface and haven’t even mentioned the interesting stuff coming out of the Devolver Digital and PC shows. The only thing left to do now is work out where we’ll find time for everything that’s coming – the next twelve months are stacked.
