You take control of the (space) ship-wrecked Ulysses, one of the American astronauts that made it through the crash. The question is, where are you? What planet is this? Wait... people! Just then, you hear some thrashing through the corn stalks. Unable to make out what is causing it, you follow suit and run. But in grim reality, you soon realize that it's not humans on horseback, and you've landed on
The Planet of the Apes!
From the moment I saw the first cinematic cut-scene, I knew this game was going to kick ass! If the above story sounds familiar, it is. It's from the original movie, slightly varied. But it is from here that we see a whole new story line (including talking humans) as you begin your search for a way home. But where is home?
In Planet of the Apes, you need to accomplish a variety of goals: search, infiltrate, defend, destroy, help humans, and solve loads of puzzles. Basically, the things you do would put Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) to shame. Armed only with your hands and your mind, Ulysses has to figure out numerous puzzles and is able to kill apes and steal their weapons for his own use. Weapons include everything from a club and knife to various guns. And, yes, even a fire poker. You'll really need to use your head along with your weapons, however, to make it through this game. Stealth is much more important than a machine gun ever will be.
Along the way, there are many things and people that you will have to interact with. The people, for the most part, will be presented to you solely in cinematic cut-scenes that actually have some pretty good voice acting. Interacting with objects varies from simply picking something up or dropping it to looking things over for clues/answers or moving machinery to accomplish your goals. Some things are obvious, while others are not. That's what makes Planet of the Apes so much fun! I spent multiple hours trying to solve certain pieces of puzzles or to find my way out of a level, only to have to search the Internet for clues (and, no, there are currently no walkthroughs yet!). But this frustration is good, because it kept me clamoring for more!
After you pass each checkpoint (essentially), you are given the option to save. Some levels can be quite short, while others will take some time. The biggest thing that will help you survive is to learn when to fight and when to sneak around or run. Sleeping guards are usually better left sleeping. Roaming guards are better off roaming. Killing guards are better off... dying. But, just when you think you have figured everything out and you know what kind of puzzles Planet of the Apes involves, the game throws something at you that you've never seen before. And let me tell you, Planet of the Apes has got more original puzzle elements than any game I've ever played before. Awesome!
