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Terrible

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I enjoy many racing games . . . GT3, Burnout, Rallisport . . . but this one is horrible. Handling is fine, graphics are beautiful, replay fun, but everything else doesn't live up to the hype. Sound: you cannot hear the cars, the cheering washes out the cars and no way to adjust what sound is at what level. Tracks: are odd and irregular. And AI seem to cheat a bit . . . but that is in every game to a degree.

Could have been GREAT

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: February 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Apex definitely has a lot going for it: excellent racetracks, stunning graphics, great car control, custom soundtracks and cheesy-but-fun characters to "interact" with.

But--and this is a big one--even though the game *looks* very realistic, the gameplay is not. Not at all. Specifically, the game is constantly adjusting the other cars based on *your* performance. If you wreck badly and travel the wrong way, you can easily (very easily) turn around and catch right back up with the pack. As soon as you catch up to them, they start moving faster again.

That by itself might not be too bad, but the opposite thing happens, too. If you work your way into first place, the other cars will virtually always remain right on your tail--no matter what you do. The computer *adjusts* them to make sure they are right behind you. If you edge onto the shoulder for just a moment, expect to be passed by one car. If you get all 4 tires off the track, expect to be passed by at least a couple of cars.

So, the cars you are racing perform, not based on their stats or characteristics, but on *your* performance. Essentially, having a superb 3rd lap will guarantee that you will be passed lap 4, even if you are near perfect. The incentive--don't do *too* well until the last lap.

In most races, there ends up being less than one second difference in the top three spots. No doubt the designers thought this approach would make the game competive for all skill levels. And no doubt they thought it would make the game more exciting to always have the cars so close. But, really, it's more like being punished for doing well. (Lightly graze your bumper on the final turn... expect to fall into 3rd, 4th or 5th place.)

They have this disclaimer when the game starts: "Results of the game will only reflect the ability of the player." Why would they feel the need to say that?

The only time I was ever able to pull more than a few car lengths ahead was at the end of the Roadster level. On the track with the very long straight-ways, I was able to get significantly ahead. (My car's top speed was then apparently greater than the top speed of all others.)

For the record, I've played through Project Gotham *twice* and I've got over 260,000 Kudos. I breezed through Sega GT 2002 in a couple of days. I think I've got reasonable "ability". Sorry Apex, close but no cigar.

Ok, I'm done. :-)

really bad in some ways, really good in others

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: February 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

i got this game as soon as i could because ive been closely following its development since i first heard about it two months ago. seeing screenshots and reading the previews only brought images of grand turismo and my favorite of all racing games, tokyo extreme racer zero.

the game is beautiful. the courses are gorgeous. the cars are realistic. blah blah blah, youve heard it before and you will hear it again.

the gameplay? its very fun and challenging. Apex, however, is by no means a driving sim. true, the engine sounds are very close to their real world counterparts, and the licensed cars are meticulously cloned, but the driving is very biased, and elementary. but its very fun. imagine ridge racer with grand turismos looks. this is something that will split gamers opinions.

Apex, does have one big, and nearly fatal flaw. its AI. its the one AI in the playground that doesnt play well with others --that means you. ive played the game for 15+ hours now and i gotta say, getting started was extremely tough and the AI can become nausiatingly frustrating. if you show signs that youll ever have to attend anger management classes, consider Apex a rental first...youll save yourself a lot of money, because i was on the verge of throwing my xbox out the window. first of all, the CPU will never spin out. NO MATTER WHAT, THE CPU WILL NEVER EVER SPIN OUT. you may be able to get in front of a car and pin him against something else, but that almost never happens. second, if youre trailing, either the car in front of you will use his nitrous oxide tanks (which you dont get as far as i know) and will leave you in its rear view mirror, or get right in front of you to make passing very difficult. dont think of making the slightest mistake like a late breaking manuver, or the cars you thought were 4 seconds behind you will come out of nowhere (whoever was in charge of creating the AI should me smacked)

the music is boring and forgetable...some sort of generic, ambient, jazz techno...i dont know. but the sound effects are a lot better. their what youd expect, which is good engine noise.

despite Apex's AI with a god complex, you cant deny the unique gameplay, or its enthralling nature. from the start i was immersed and couldnt get enough. you get to name your company and choose a logo for it. the characters you hire for your production company are all charasmatic and quirky (as charasmatic and quirky as game characters get).

personally, i think rallisport challenge is the ultimate xbox driving game. the graphics are very detailed, and even ambiant at times (but you knew this). and the gameplay is a lot better. but what apex has that rallisport doesn't, is a very personal element that more than makes up for the things it falls short on.

oh yea, this game would have been rad with xbox live support.

** i recommend this game to anyone, even non racing fans, but if you are at all easily irritated, rent first**

So near greatness but gets lapped to average

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When I first loaded this game it looked great. The graphics are extremly good. The feeling of speed is there and both the tracks and cars are very detail. it works alot to drag you into feeling like racing.

It has a really great feature. You get this run down metal shack. As you win races and do well this building changes. Constant upgrades and soon you can have a complex. That coupled with personalities within. The builder, the designer, the pretty secretary and sales all goes towards adding that something extra. The cars themselves have 3 levels with the end one fully decked out in racing colors. you get to chose which cars are built. This made the game immensly fun.

But where it really counts the game falls short. The racing. Yes the speed is there. But I found it very hard to win races and I am not a bad racer. The other cars do not spin out and anytime you connect with them they will get the better of it. You can hit thier front bumper with your rear and they will slide infront. It can be extremly hard to catch the leaders and you will always start in last place and have to race through the field.

I like to race clean. I like to race and not have to bang off other cars. But that is not possible in this game. I found more often than not that the only way to get in front was to wait till they were braking at a slow corner and ram them to brake.

For all the good of this game it just keeps falling short. A tragedy really as this game was so close to being the most fun I have had in a car game since Gran Turismo 1.

Avoid -- wonky AI

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: May 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Nice graphics and lots of tracks but there are some serious problems in the opponent AI. The other cars will constantly bump you to slow you down. And yes really all of the time they will do this and to the end of the game. If you try to bump them however they don't move in inch. This makes no sense. It is a shame because your car will steer fine (in an arcade sort of way) and the sense of speed is pretty good. But the annoying AI of the other cars will probably drive you nuts.

zoom,zoom, zoom

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 17
Date: February 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, this game is coming out this feb. (as i was told). But i have played the demo from xbm (XBox magizine). There are about 80 licsended cars including most japan makers, mazda, nissan, honda. and some american ones too. Basicaly it's your average racing game, but there is a catch. you can design and build your own car, make the brand name different but not the car name, so i could change chevrolet into daddydoo, but if the car was a neon it would stay a Neon.

overall it's a very good racing sim. with a big choice of cars and tracks.
But i gave it 4 stars because it's not XBox Live enabled.
rent first, then buy if u enjoyed it.
note:this game is for mostly racing fans only.

Outstanding fun, beautiful track designs. Great!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: February 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Easily the most fun I have had with a racer for some time. This game has to be seen, and has to be played. First, the gameplay: the game is an arcade style racer that is nearly perfect. Don't let the non-sim aspects put you off. This game is pure fun. The AI is strong and unpredictable, making each race unique. The engine sounds are awesome, and the track design is easily the best yet. With 50+ tracks, you will be amazed.

The visuals are simply outstanding, with a lot of small touches that really add to all of the environments. The tracks are ALIVE, with cars, buses, helicopters and planes all moving off track. Great spectators, unbelievable trees, and other effects like balloons all make the game visually dynamic. The car models are very good, and the shadows and real-time reflections are great. The lighting effects are perfect, changing the screen contrast as you turn your car into the sun, and turning the pavement nearly white from the reflection. Everything is bmp mapped, and looks simply outstanding.

This is easily one of the best ever looking racers, and it plays even better. Well, that is enough of a review - time to go play it!

Worth the price! Beautiful Mitsubishi 2000 Eclipses

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I thought it looked neat, a concept I haven't seen in a racing game. Creating your own car company and manufacturing your own cars to race. The basic plot of the game is to build cars and race them to gain exposure to sale as many as you can. This is called the Dream Mode. When you sale a certain amount of cars it unlocks the right to create other cars and expand your business. You start off with a roadster car, and work your way up to creating a sportscar, super sportscar and eventually a dreamcar. The only catch with the creating aspect of the game is that you don't really create, you just choose a design you like and some guy that works for you in the game builds it for you. Also, your company grows as the game progresses. Your office gets bigger, you hire more people to help out, and of course your garage gets bigger and better. As you progress through the game you also unlock licensed vehicles as well as concept vehicles you can race in single race and two-player mode. Not many games allow you to race third generation Mitsubishi Eclipses. However this game has the 2000 Eclipse in the RS, GT, and GT racing models. The racing Eclipses are very nicely designed, and armed to the teeth! A big positive for me was the actual racing of the game. The cars always stay together through the entire race, instead of spreading out, which makes the entire race a battle to the end. It is very easy to lose the lead, but also very easy to regain the lead. You always feel like it is a close race every time, but a race you always have a chance to win. I hate those frustrating racing games that make you run a perfect race to win, this game is not like that. Although I was a bit disappointed with not being able to have more "hands on" with designing of the cars, and only being able to race the Eclipses in the single race and two-player mode, it was still a neat concept and fun to play. I think this game is definately an under-rated game.

4 stars...considering I'm not a racing gamer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Now Usually I don't like racing games unless its a good classic such as Mario Kart 64 or something. But usually I dislike racing games. On this however you can customize/invent your own car and more. The gameplay/racing is'nt too bad itself. There is a big selection of nice/good cars such as Mercedes CLK's, Toyota Super's, and much more. IF you're a racing gamer this game is worth buying, IF you're like me rent it first or play the demo before you think about buying it.

A Great overall game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: June 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Another great Atari game. In this game you not only race but you manage your own dealership and build cars from old blueprints of concept cars that you found in an old gas station. Although the driving is not as realistic as it could be, It is really fun to try to get your dealership up and running. You have to compete in multiple race circuits and by winning them you sell more cars and get more money. You also get to customize the Name of your company and pick the logo. A game thats actually worth the retail.

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