CRISIS ON THE PLANET OF THE APES VR

A darkly brilliant ape escape

There’s a moment when I grab a gun and grumble to myself that my ape alter-ego can’t aim or hold it properly, but then I remember I’manape and they drink tea and knit, 1 they don’t shoot people.

Part game, part VR theatre, Crisis On The Planet Of The Apes VR is a wonderful rabbit hole for fans of the films to dive into. In fact, the more you act like an ape the greater the fun – for example beating my chest with the PS Move controllers calls over a guard to instigate an escape plan.

That escape is the driving force behind the game; your break for freedom from a military lab means you need to run, climb, and jump around each detailed environment. As this is PS VR you physically go through the motions, climbing hand-over-hand up pipes and swinging across ceilings. Crisis is a game that plays with the mechanics of PS VR – running is done by actually swinging your arms. 2 The cover fire mechanic is inventive – one hand holds the wall while you move to peer out from safety and shoot.

Along the way the theatre of the story interrupts the shootouts: you see apes on treatment tables, and find others being tortured to find a cure for a human disease. There’s a message in here told through an deft narrative and cinema-quality mocap.

The down side? At just over two hours Crisis is short. Any replay values come from a need to just be an ape and experience this cinematic world; there are no hidden secrets to uncover, sadly. If you’re after a good VR experience, this one’s not monkeying around. Ian Dean

FOOTNOTES1 Old person reference to the now-banned PG Tips tea ads. Ask your dad. 2 Like PS VR racer Sprint Vector, playing this will certainly raise a sweat.