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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**

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.

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. :-)

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.

Great graphics w/NO slow-down...2 thumbs up!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

"APEX Racing" for the XBOX is deep. There's not one negative thing I could say about it. Lavishly smooth graphics with NO slowdown. That's always a plus in my book. The cars handle great. I love how the car never feels like it's going to spin into a fish-tail at every turn like many racing games. While it's a bit arcadish, it still has a fantastic feel to it. Lastly, there's 54 tracks(as it claims on the back of the game case). I'm sick of spending a fortune on a race game, only for it to have 8 or 12 tracks. I have a feeling I'll be playing this one for awhile.
2 thumbs up to Atari and Milestone for a fantastic racer.

A perfect sim/arcade mix? maybe....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Ok, let me start off by saying I am NOT a big racing game fan, I think they are usually not fun and the AI is always either the worst bunch of drivers you have ever seen or impossible to beat. That being said, I LOVE THIS GAME. This game, although a pure racer at heart, has just to much to offer to be classed in the simple racing game genre. Apex offers a couple of different modes for you to drive through, all being very fun. There is time attack where you try to beat a courses record, one on one with two players,and arcade mode to just mess around with the licensed cars. Now the last mode, dream mode, is where this game absolutley shines. In dream mode you go from a pair of buddies with a dream to a full fledged automobile company. Your buddy builds you a prototype and based on how you present it to the public i.e.....on the race track, you either collapse or your company gets bigger and bigger. Their are 4 classes of cars,roadster,racer,super and dream cars. You start at roadster and earn money by racing to move up to the others. Just a fantastic, deep mode of play that really gets you into the game and winning races and building your company.Videogames are all about drawing you in and this game does just that. You get pumpd when you sell your first car and frustrated when you are eeked out of a win in the last corner of a track. Again it's what a videogame is all about. Now like I said I do not play racing games very often but I would think in terms of graphics and tight controlling this has to be rated very high. It is a beautiful game and the car responds to your controller as if you were behind the wheel. I will say i bought the madcatz steeringwheel and pedals which i prefer over the s-pad but the s-pad works wonderfully. Hard core racers won't get as much tweeking ability as in GT3 but that is the only thing GT3 has over this game. This is a new standard in the racing genre. If your not sure rent it but I really think you will love Apex if you are into racing games or not.

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!

I don't get why everyone thinks this game is bad?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is great! If not even better. Though I know the reasons that people dislike this game(because you really CANT make your own cars)but this game is still an awsome racing game. With over 80 licenced and concept cars and over 50 tracks what else could a racing fan want you ask. Well, just toss in a dream mode where you create your own car company and with awsome graphics (over 500,000 polygons per course and up to 11,000 polygons per car!) There are real time reflections on your car and realistic damaging. The soundtrack is not that good, BUT there is an option to use your own music! This game is compatable with racing wheels and dream mode include over 35 racing events(about 4 or 5 races per event!) There are some amazing cars like the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and many car companys such as Lotes, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford, and many more. The game supports 2 player multiplayer. This game is great and I would reccomend it to all!

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.

One of the best racing games ever made!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game after playing the 4-race demo. To say that I'm amazed with this game is a drastic understatement! Apex takes your standard racing game and adds an entrepreneurial spirit to it by making you responsible for the design, building and success of a set of performance automobiles.

You start off by naming your company, choosing a logo and then selecting a vehicle from the blueprints of three automobiles to build. You then race this car through a set of amateur, semi-pro and professional races. Basically, the more races you win, the more sales for your car. As sales improve, your company grows, and you have the ability to build and race higher-performance vehicles. These higher vehicles must, again, progress through amateur, semi-pro and professional races until you build the ultimate vehicle; a dream machine.

If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned graphics yet, it's because I saved the best for last! Apex supports 480i high-definition TV. This means if you have the High Definition AV Pack and a HDTV, you're going to experience graphical detail like you've never seen before.

However, if I had to point out some things that "non-purists" may not enjoy about this game, I would say:
- When two cars hit, the computer almost always awards it to the AI car
- The all computer cars will work against you just so one AI car can win
- You ALWAYS start out in the last position, even if you're in a multi-segment race and won the previous one

While they are simply design choices made by the developers, I mention this to people who may be frustrated by games which step up the challenge a little too much for your standard "Arcade racer" gamer.

All-in-all, this game will make racing purists salivate while also providing a challenging and fun game for the person looking for a "jump-in-and-play" style racing game. Overall, the game gives many, many, many (trust me, I'm still playing) hours of gameplay based on the career mode and a fun two-player mode. What else could you want? I know, X-box Live. If they add that, I'll buy four copies! -But as it stands, this game is an amazing racer that every X-box owner should have in their collection.

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