No good old-fashioned monkey chasing, but a potential alternative to Mario Kart.
Depending on what character you choose to play as, there are different weapons available to you. You can change weapons by pressing the face buttons, and used by the right analog stick.
The learning curve may be a bit higher due to mostly the unusual use of the right-analog stick. In arena battle levels it's basically used in slingshot fashion. The player pulls back on the stick in the opposite direction in which they want to fire/use their weapon, and then lets go of it, letting the stick snap back into its default position. Think of a catapult lever, maybe.
The levels also aren't presented in a very linear way, so if you've played previous ape escape games, it could mean unexpected menus and confusion. Even though the gameplay is a big departure from previous games, that doesn't mean that it's too difficult to just pick up and start playing.
I'm unable to describe all the different levels and bosses, because frankly, I was bored very quickly and disappointed that there would be zero monkey netting. Apparently there are 44 levels plus 8 boss battle levels. There is also apparently some monkey fan club functionality that works as a reward system. Sort of like earning badges.
Past Ape Escape games were platformers, and notably good for the way they tried to really tighten up and perfect the simple platform gaming genre. Ape Escapes weren't innovative or artistically amazing, but were very well done and highly enjoyable. In branching out to a different game type, what made Ape Escape games so enjoyable is greatly diminished.
That said, Pumped and Primed might easily serve you well if you're looking for a different Mario Kart-style party game (because you and your friends already know all the Mario Kart maps).