Score: 73
Overall User Average: 7.47 / 10 (73.3%)
Gameplay User Average: 7.32 / 10
Graphics User Average: 8.58 / 10
Sound User Average: 6.74 / 10
Xbox Masta 4
Date reviewed: August 28, 2005.
Overall: Apex as I thought would be an awesome game. I thought cool, designing your own car and so fourth. However when I got home and started playing it, I wasn't very happy. You get to have your own car company (but cannot creat a logo, you chose) and you can make up the name. Now on with the car creation thing. You can't do anything, you chose a car that is already made, more like concept cars but not a car that you can actually create. I expect big improvements if this game is going to go anywhere.
Gameplay: Very easy game, not a challenging game. Had a storyline to go with it, so it made the game different from most racing games you play.
Graphics: Graphics weren't bad at all. Definately a plus for this game. Cars and even the surrounding area was great. Even inside the shop was decent for graphics.
Sound: Not horrible, and you can even throw in your own soundtrack. Which in any game always gives it an extra thumbs up just for that.
Suggestions: If you could actually create your own car, that would be great. Or some parts to choose from and put on piece by piece. I think they owe us back for when they say creating a car. It was no way creatable. Tweak up graphics, and get a better storyline as well. Also if you could actually work on the car (would be way different), it could diffently be higher up in ratings for a game so far.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 90 %
natewebb
Date reviewed: November 30, 2003.
Overall: To be honest I'm not really into street racing games. Rallysport and Splashdown were much more enjoyable.
Gameplay: You can't design your own cars, other than picking a color. The cars seem to always bunch up during a race.
Graphics: The graphics looked really sweet, especially the vehicles.
Sound: The music was kinda annoying, and the effects were just OK.
Overall: 50 %
Gameplay: 50 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 50 %
Timmy Sterling
Date reviewed: November 5, 2003.
Overall: Not too bad for modern racing games. The graphics are real good and the playability of the game is fast learning. But the catcher of intrest for me was the multi soundtrack use for I like my own brand of music while playing. Not a five but not too bad. I reccomend giving Apex a shot it won't disappoint you.
Gameplay: very easy too learn not too challenging. Graphics are neat and the storyline is humerous. But I recommend giving it a shot
Graphics: The visual graphics are neat. I like the color patterns of the cars and the easy learning curve for the game.
Sound: Being able to use your own music is the reason I buy games like this one for I like the fact that I am not stuck with standard placements
Suggestions: none at this time.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 80 %
Blind-RazoR
Date reviewed: November 5, 2003.
Overall: What a piece of crap and the biggest let down in a game I have ever seen. I was so expecting more and it would have made good toilet paper and I feel ashamed for buying the game.
Gameplay: They did nothing right and I wish they could have atleast made the controls right but they are so sluggish I wanted to cry.
Graphics: Great graphics like the Xbox can do but I hope game makers realize that graphics don't make a game and start making quality.
Sound: lame. Looking for a real sound instead of the noises that these cars made. No a good selection of music.
Overall: 50 %
Gameplay: 30 %
Graphics: 60 %
Sound: 50 %
FrEaK564
Date reviewed: November 4, 2003.
Overall: After playing this game for like an hour the game becomes boring just like any other racing game, but when you are into the game its easy to get lost into the game and just not eat or do anyhing but drive.
Gameplay: The game play is nice, but the controls for the game are not like any other racing game, the turning is sharp and its easy to turn to hard and to crash into the wall. The speed for the type of cars that you race is realistic too, like they don;t have a mustang going 200mph, this gives you a good feel and doesn't make you upset when you lose right at the end because a ford came up behind you and blew right past you.
Graphics: The graphics for this game a almost perfict with real damage to the cars and having your cars slow down when you have alot of damage this makes you work and try to make swift passes by the other races and not get slamed into the wall.
Sound: The SOund is ok. I have my own custom sound track on all the time but like any other racing game the engien sounds are great.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 100 %
ryan123
Date reviewed: November 3, 2003.
Overall: This game wasn't that great. The graphics were pretty good but the sound and gameplay weren't that good. There are a bunch of other racers out for xbox that are better.
Gameplay: They made it sound like you get to customize your car but you dont get to. You pick one of 3 cars and they make it for you. You dont get to change anything on the appearance except the color. The only altering of the performance is if you pick short medium or long for the gear ratios. The cars also dont handle that well and it doesnt seem realistic.
Graphics: The graphics were pretty good. They were the only strong point of this game. The cars look nice and the environments are really detailed.
Sound: The sound wasnt very good. When you crash into people it makes a weird sound that doesnt sound like a car crash. The music included also wasnt very good but you can use a custom soundtrack which was nice. Engine noises were mediocre.
Suggestions: You should have made it so you could customize the cars more. Also improve the physics of the game. You have a nice looking game but it doesn't play very good.
Overall: 60 %
Gameplay: 60 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 70 %
Young_Fledgling
Date reviewed: November 3, 2003.
Overall: My biggest problem with Apex is that there isn't anything this racing game does that hasn't been done better somewhere else. Once I got over the fact that it's main gimmick (the auto empire building) didn't add any emotion to the races, I was left with a very basic, competent but still basic, racing title. The development community seems to have an infinite amount of enthusiasm for the racing genre even if they've long since run out of effective gimmicks to make individual games stand out.
I would recommend Apex for the absolute diehard racing fan who's already had enough of Sega GT 2002 but who can't wait for Pro Race Driver or Project Gotham Racing 2 and needs something to drive in the meantime. Otherwise, casual fans would be better served sticking with the the established racing franchises.
Gameplay: The racing itself is fine and always competitive but don't expect too many thrills out of the automaker elements.
Graphics: Very impressive looking game and seems at home on the Xbox. Reflections are top-notch while damage system needs improvement
Sound: With music and sound effects this poor you really don't need surround sound. I hate racing games that dont have surround sound! I love hearing that engine roar and cars flying by.
Suggestions: somehow, i dont know how.... make the driving more fun. ALSO pleaes get some better sound in there.... this is just plain lame.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 60 %
George89
Date reviewed: October 23, 2003.
Overall: Apex is best known as a driving game where you make your own car company, complete events and races, and select new cars to manufacture. The game supports 2 players has over 50 tracks and over 80 cars to choose from.
Gameplay: Apex starts out with you going into an abondoned gas station with your partner, only to find car blue prints. You partner designs the car of choice for you and your off to start the game. Apex is an average driving game. Very little fun can come of this game unless you like driving around repetitive tracks for up to and over 10 minutes of racing against usually 5 other opponents who NEVER mess up. The driving is so DULL, and I wont even get started on the poor "Make your own car empire" deal. To put it. You do nothing but race, come back to your garage, maybe change the color of you cars or pick a new car blueprint to work on (which there are fewer than 20 car blueprints). The game is just too dull. The game starts off great, driving your first car in an amatuer race for cash, but the game has absolutly no twists, no changes, and nothing to do but drive and drive and drive very dull races. The pretty blocks on wheels handle to sim like also making the game frustrating, not fun.
Graphics: The graphics are mind blowing, which thankfully saves this game from getting lower than 3. If you like pretty reflections, beautiful courses, very detailed cars, and awsome looking roads, this game has it all.
Sound: The only saving grace from the gut renching soundtrack is that you can put on some of your own tunes. The car collisions sound horrible and so does just about everything else, including the 3 lines each character says.
Suggestions: I wanted a deeper experience making my own car empire, and can I at least design my own cars?
Overall: 60 %
Gameplay: 50 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 60 %
JediMasterChief
Date reviewed: August 11, 2003.
Overall: Apex is a good racing game with a brand new concept, but is still weak in various aspects and there are better racing games on Xbox. Firstly, it's great that Apex is Xbox exclusive. There are several different modes, however, the main concept of the game is to design and build your own car and then compete with it in races. This isn't a perfect game, not even impressive, but it's still fun to play during its short lasting appeal.
Gameplay: Gameplay is like any other racing game, but it features something new. Apex has a system that allows you to design and build your very own car in Dream Mode and then lets you race it across many different tracks, such as cities, racetracks, mountains, and speedways. There is also arcade mode, where you can just race with the CPU, do time attack, or race in multiplayer. Controls are simple and the game is like any other ordinary racing game. Apex also features cars from many famous brands such as Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and more. Good gameplay, but the main focus of the game is the new concept of building your own car.
Graphics: Visuals are...well...okay. There is nothing bad about them, but I have seen better. Environments, interfaces, car modelling, and animation are all great, but could always be better. There is not much to say about the visuals, but the Xbox has not been used to its full ability. Apex is visually like most other Atari games on Xbox.
Sound: Sound has been worked out better than the visuals. Sound effects are great and there is some good game music too. However, the sound IS NOT like some Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround super high defined game sound generator or at least you get my point. The sound is fair and is good enough for Apex.
Suggestions: Suggesttions. It's difficult to think of suggestions for Apex, but I know there are tons of them. For almost every single game you can say "With Xbox LIVE it would be better" and that goes for Apex too. Otherwise, Atari should think about making other games, because racing is not their style.
Overall: 70 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 80 %
Boomer
Date reviewed: April 20, 2003.
Overall: Pretty good game, lacks physics, visuals are excellent. although the backgrounds could have used some work. Damage models could have been better but at-least it was there.
Gameplay: Pretty good game-play, one thing I absolutely hated was the handicap, you spin out or whatever and your about 10-15 seconds behind the other cars and you catch up and pass them in about 20 seconds, but then they could easily pass you, the best way to play this game is being cheap by constantly looking back and cutting off your opponents. other then that the game is pretty good, replay is nice too.
Graphics: The graphics are awesome in this game, reflections are about as good as PGR same choppiness in the refections tho. the cars and the tracks look great, but the backgrounds are kind of shallow. and some of the crowd textures needed some more detail.
Sound: The sounds of the cars weren't bad although it almost seemed it was the same sound for each car just tuned a bit. It was also really annoying to hear the same sound every-time you hit another car or rubbed a wall. and they could have made the crowd volume a bit louder in the stadium tracks.
Suggestions: Do a better job next time.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 60 %
xboxgamer142
Date reviewed: April 9, 2003.
Overall: Apex is a good racing game with a brand new concept, but is still weak in various aspects and there are better racing games on Xbox. Firstly, it?s great that Apex is Xbox exclusive. There are several different modes, however, the main concept of the game is to design and build your own car and then compete with it in races. This isn?t a perfect game, not even impressive, but it?s fun to play during it?s short lasting appeal.
Gameplay: Gameplay is like any other racing game, but it features something new. Apex has a system that allows you to design and build your very own car in Dream Mode and then lets you race it across many different tracks, such as cities, racetracks, mountains, and speedways. There is also arcade mode, where you can just race with the CPU, do time attack, or race in multiplayer. Controls are simple and the game is like any other ordinary racing game. Apex also features cars from many famous brands such as Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and more. Good gameplay, but the main focus of the game is the new concept of building your own car.
Graphics: Visuals are...well...okay. There is nothing bad about them, but I have seen better. Environments, interfaces, car modelling, and animation are all great, but could always be better. There is not much to say about the visuals, but the Xbox has not been used to its full ability. Apex is visually like most other Atari games on Xbox.
Sound: Sound has been worked out better than the visuals. Sound effects are great and there is some good game music too. However, the sound IS NOT like some Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround super high defined game sound generator or at least you get my point. The sound is fair and is good enough for Apex.
Suggestions: tions. It?s difficult to think of suggestions for Apex, but I know there are tons of them. For almost every single game you can say ?With Xbox LIVE it would be better? and that goes for Apex too. Otherwise, Atari should think about making other games, because racing is not their style.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 80 %
allucinazione
Date reviewed: April 9, 2003.
Overall: Tutto sommato Racing Evoluzione (APEX) si presenta per quello che è, uno dei mugliori arcade di guida che si trovino tutt'ora in commercio, le modalità di gioco sono brillanti e estremamente divertenti, le principali sono 3 Dream Mode la modalita carriera, dove potrete sviluppare e correre con le vostre concept, la modalita Quick Race per correre... bhe c'è bisogno di spiegarlo? E la modalita Time Attack... Direi che anche di questa non devo dare spiegazioni.
Il gioco ha dalla sua una grande longevità e un livello di difficoltà veramente ben tarato, è davvero difficile vincere sempre (vedi SEGAGT) e contro un'impostazione forse troppo arcade per i fans di Gran Turismo, ma se siente degli amanti del genere DAYTONA il gioco non puo mancare nella vostra collezione....
Gameplay: Il gamepaly da subito risulta immediato, e anche quando avrete sbloccato qualche auto potrete senza problemi far giocare anche il più impedito dei vostri amici senza che abbia troppi problemi... la storia cambia quando si corre la modalita dream, a volte il livello di difficolta diventa frustrante e è necessario ripetere le gare per 2 o 3 volte prima di riuscire a sorpassare il primo, vincere e sbloccare la pista su cui state correndo per la modalità arcade...
Graphics: Graficamente non troverete niente di meglio su nessun tipo di console o computer al mondo... peccato per il frame-rate un po' basso ma comunque sempre ben sopra la soglia dei 30Fps...
Sound: il sonoro è molto soggettivo, dipende da 2 cose, dalla visuale che si usa in gioco, e se si ha o meno un impianto DD5.1
Nel mio caso con DD5.1 la resa è buona, non siamo ai massimi livelli ma dire che siamo sotto la media è sbagliato, se vogliamo confrontarci a SEGAGT di nuovo possiamo dire che siamo li...
Suggestions: Bravi Milestone continuate a tenere alta la bandiera tricolore! A quando Screamer 4? ah! era questo!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 90 %
Y2D
Date reviewed: March 17, 2003.
Overall: This is a great racing game, but it isn't helped by the long list of annoyances. The main selling point for this game was the fact that you were meant to design your own cars. But you don't, you just get given a few blueprints and are told to pick a car. The racing side of this game is great, no slowdown, fast, fluid action. The graphics are brilliant and the sound is absoulutely pathetic, this is a great game but there are too many faults. PGR keeps its title as best racer on the Xbox.
Gameplay: Great conrol over the cars. There are plenty of cars but the good cars have to be unlocked, most of the one's you get at the start are pretty crap. There are a ton of courses and they are all great. One of the worst parts of the game is that it has great damage effects but if you total the car against a fence, you still go at exactly the same speed and your car still goes perfectly straight, what's going on there? Dream mode is great fun except for the face that you have no say in what the car is going to look like except for the colour. The multiplayer is great fun.
Graphics: Brilliant graphics, the best looking racer on the Xbox. The lighting is awesome, the tracks ALL look great and the cars are wonderful. The replays are especially great, the corwd looks great and you can see a long way in front of you. Lots of different camera angles, I hate racers with only 1 or 2 camera angles. You have to have a good eye to find a falut in this games graphics.
Sound: What the hell went wrong here? The sound in this game is horrible. The engines sound great, but when you crash, where's the noise? After you crash, most of the time part of the car ends up dragging along the ground making sparks, but theres no scrapping noise. The custom-soundtrack is horrible, you can only have one song list on at a time and it only plays one song from the list that you DON'T get to choose for the whole race no matter how long the race is.
Suggestions: Xbox would be nice as well as a system-link. Fix the custom-soundtrack. Designing your own car would be sweeeeeeet! Needs more options. Much better sound needed.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 30 %
(ScArab)
Date reviewed: February 22, 2003.
Overall: A graphical masterpiece! No other console could possibly show what Apex has shown in the area of great graphics. The game play is honestly better then I had expected, with mostly an arcade feel, but it sure has a sim design skillfully melded into it. The multiplayer is awesome! The intro movie is probably in the top 3, for best intro movies to a game EVER! The sound effects are well done, and the music is tolerable. In my opinion it's better then Project Gotham Racing, Sega GT 2002, and ties with RalliSport Challenge (respecting an overall view). Overall: this is a great racing game for the XBox, and a MUST OWN for any racing enthusiast!
Gameplay: The physics are better then I would have expected, though it is mainly an arcade-ish racing game, it sure does feel alot like a sim. The AI is very difficult, they don't dick around. If you mess up on a turn the AI will take full advantage of it, and win the race, you got to be ho on the ball if you want to win this game. The multiplayer is really fun, I would buy this game even if it only supported multiplayer, though it is only 2-player split screen its a game in its self. The main game you play (to earn cars and such) is called Dream Mode, its where you'll be racing to research new car designs, to keep a long story short, its a blast. Overall: very impressive.
Graphics: A graphical marvel that no other game tops; Apex supports graphical enhancements much like Halo does, including: environmental mapping and 3D volumetric textures! The tracks that you will race on have 500,000 polygons, and the cars have 11,000! That poly count is more then twice what Sega GT 2002 boasts (and I thought that game looked good). The cars take visible damage, and the particle effects add to the awe of it all. Overall: no other game comes close.
Sound: Apex supports 5.1 Dolby Digital, and custom soundtracks! The sound effects are well done; some have said that the 'crash' sounds are annoying, but honestly don't find them annoying whatsoever (sound pretty real). The cars have their own engine sounds, so that adds to the originality of the game. The game music is tolerable and the menu music is great! Overall: pretty good but nothing much that surpasses average.
Suggestions: System link would have been a good idea. Maybe even delay the game another 2 months so you could have looked into LIVE support.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 60 %
javablaze
Date reviewed: February 21, 2003.
Overall: A great racing game for the XBOX. It brings a unique experience, where you are in charge of a start-up car corporation taking on the global manufacturers. Few flaws include inconsistent AI, quirky controls, sound quality, and less customizations than would be preferred for buidling a auto-empire. Better than Sega GT 2002, not as good as Project Gotham or Rallisport. On par with Need for Speed.
Gameplay: Menu system is well designed, fast, and easy to navigate. Loading times are kept at a minimum. Controls are tight, but a little sensitive. Also very arcad-like, so it is not for someone looking for a simulation racer. There are tons of tracks, and most have impressive design. Tracks are big, and road surfaces have elevation and depth. I would have liked if there was more freedom with car customizations. Rating is lower mostly because the handling is too sensitive for my taste.
Graphics: Best looking track-racing game yet. Still loses to Rallisport overall. Car models are incredible, and tracks have immense detail. Visual quality is hardly sacrificed in multiplayer mode, and loading time is still very fast. No slow down in frame rates.
Sound: This is where the game could have improvement. Engine sounds are rather generic, and overall environmental and atmospheric sounds are average. Customizable soundtracks a plus, but only plays one song per race (repeats until race is finished). Car idle sound effects are good, however.
Suggestions: Please allow more customizations for the cars that you want to build--such as engine type, drivetrain, more body shapes/addons, performance parts, model name, etc. (look at the game Sega GT for Dreamcast for an example). Also, improve the controls somewhat so they are less sensitive (i.e. Rallisport or Project Gotham)
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 50 %
hachirokku
Date reviewed: February 21, 2003.
Overall: Although flawed in some areas, Apex still turns out to be one of the best racing games for the Xbox. It delivers excellent gameplay, stunning graphics, and tons of fun.
Gameplay: Apex offers two modes of play:
Dream Mode
You begin as an owner of new brand of sports car. You have to build the reputation of your company and do so by racing against the most renowned cars of the real world.
Arcade Mode
Time trials, single races, or go head on with one of your friends in multiplayer mode.
In Dream Mode, you get to design and build your own race car, as they state on the back of the box. A very good concept however this is where Apex fools everyone. You don't really get to design or build your own car, but only select a pre-designed model and name it. This is one area where Apex loses points.
Changing the color of your car is about as far as the customization goes. Performance adjustments can be made on your car in terms of racing preference (either grip or drift), simple gear ratios and downforce.
The controls are similar to other racing games on the Xbox, the left and right triggers control the brakes and gas, X and A shifts the gears, while Y shows the reverse view, and B is the e-brake. For those of you who do not like this default setting, you'll be glad to know that the controls are fully customizable.
Apex is more of an arcade racer than a sim. The cars handle very well and you can feel difference between each of them. The driving engine also allows drifting (sliding), which is easily done by braking and using the e-brake.
The AI is very challenging, also a little unfair at times. I find it very difficult to win 1st place in every race, heck even second. Also when brushing up on one of the AI cars, they tend to gain some sort of boost in speed and pass you every time. This tends to get very annoying when you're battling for first place or tryin to get ahead.
Graphics: Although Apex is graphically stunning, it still fails to dethrone Rallisport Challenge (the highly underated, most beautiful racing game to date) visually. The levels are absolutely breathtaking and is truely Xbox quality. There is so much depth to each track, buildings are actual buildings, the far mountains are rendered fully, etc. The cars themselves boast up to 11,000 polygons each and offers real time damage as well!
The menu system is also simple and aesthetically pleasing unlike Sega GT. It also loads a lot faster.
Sound: If its one major gripe I have with Apex, it has to be the sound. The sound effects are boring and consistent. Consistent meaning each car does not have a distinctive sound, each crash effect is the same throughout. The volume also seems too low. Yes, there is a customizable soundtrack option, however during a race, only one song is from the soundtrack is played, over and over again.
Suggestions: The AI and physics system needs work, its a little too difficult at times and when hitting other cars, they tend to get an extra boost in speed. Yes this forces you to race fairly, but is also very unrealistic.
The sound effects definitely need work on and also allow more customization to the soundtracks.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 60 %
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