Turning The Spigot - Week 41 - APEX

[Spigot]

A thousand pardons for the delay this week. I was put to work doing the work that the Swedes deemed beneath them... assembling Ikea furniture.

To make up for it, may I present a game that is like the peanut butter cup of gaming. Yes, I'm talking about the only CaRPG (get it?) on the market (that I know of)...

APEX

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3324438349_da8eeaa89d.jpg?v=0

Year: 2003
Platform: Xbox
Rating: Conceptual
# of Players: 2

APEX is a game that fuses the racing of a Gran Turismo-style driving game with what can only be described as a roleplaying game's framework of leveling up and grinding. Bear with me as I try to explain.

APEX puts you in the role of the owner of a new automobile manufacturing company. You begin the game with nary but a dream, some blueprints, a few plucky employees and a crappy garage/office. Your first order of business is to decide which type of concept car to build. From there, you'll go out onto the track and try to earn money and fame, which you can pour back into your fledgling company and grow it from its humble roots to a multinational car empire.

It's this added framework around the racing that has earned APEX its spot in my heart. I dabble in racing games on occasion but the pure focus on, well, racing often leaves me wanting more. The incentive structure built into APEX was more concrete than the trips to the garage in something like Gran Turismo, as I actually felt like there was a purpose to my racing beyond just winning the next car. I wanted to see my company succeed and also find the next set of blueprints to try out on the track.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3325275074_cb24f851c2.jpg?v=0

APEX also shines a light on the concept car side of the automotive industry, which has always been close to my heart. Your company makes some very interesting vehicles over the course of the game, which is a nice change of pace from driving the same cars found in used car lots and showrooms in the real world. The cars are grounded in reality, but they show a certain flair and pizazz not often seen in racing games.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3324438187_f77c476c5d.jpg?v=0

For its time, APEX was a pretty game with barely any real technical issues to hold it back. Even the 2-player split-screen was rock solid. I'd be hard pressed to find another racing game from the last generation that looked as good.

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Not quite a Gran Turismo-esque sim, not quite a "Race Car Tycoon" game, APEX was hard to pigeonhole and zoomed past many a gamer's radar. The likelihood of ever seeing another game quite like it is slim at best, but it IS backwards compatible on the 360, which was nice to see. It can be found in most used bins for $5 or so and is more than worth the investment, even if you're not a hard-core racing fanatic.

[BLeeP]

This game sounds pretty neat, and had I seen it on the store shelf, it would probably be pretty easy to write it off as just another run of the mill racing game.

I will say, though, that the only CaRPG that matters is Car Battler Joe!

Never mind that it is a completely different type of game 8-P.

[Spigot]

Oh man! I forgot completely about Car Battler Joe. I remember trying to track down a copy of that game ages ago, to no avail. Sigh...

I agree that APEX looks like generic racer #4589, but it's something very special.

[OrangePulp]

This game sounds right up my alley. I'll have to see if I can find a copy somewhere.

Edit:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030226h.gif

[MosBen]

Apex was one of the few racing games that I sunk a lot of time into (the others being mostly the Burnout series). I just always wanted more of the RPG side of the game and less of the racing side. Still, it's a shame that more of the ideas in this game haven't been stolen by other series since it seems unlikely we'll get another Apex.

[TrackZero]

Good choice of games Spig. I'm just kind of surprised how people already seem to have forgotten Apex, considering the mad hype when it came out not that long ago.

[Purple Santa]

Now that was REALLY different. The delay was worth that so you are forgiven Mr. Spigot :).

A CaRPG? Really? The pun alone...seriously, I can't believe you found such a thing. Looks like an interesting game though. Add this to the discount bin buying list...

[jpublic]

I remember this was the first game on the Xbox I wanted to play, and the only one I cared about for the longest time. I never had a chance, and unfortunately, it;s both really hard to find and not in the BC list, so, I guess I'm SOL.

[Inverarity]

I really enjoyed Apex- thanks for the impetus to pull it off the shelf and give it another spin.

The approach they took with your personal car company seems like a logical extension of what Namco did with Ridge Racer R4. That was one of the first racing games to really grab my attention, so it's no wonder I liked Apex so much...excellent choice.

[mister slim]

A CaRPG? Really? The pun alone...seriously, I can't believe you found such a thing. Looks like an interesting game though. Add this to the discount bin buying list...

There's also Choro-Q for CaRPGs (if only there was some way to depict my disdainful expression at writing that acronym). Choro-Q is truly weird though.

[Wilkz07]

I remember playing this briefly when it came out and I really liked it, just couldn't justify the price at the time, then never revisited it. Too bad its not BC.

[Wraith]

I remember playing this briefly when it came out and I really liked it, just couldn't justify the price at the time, then never revisited it. Too bad its not BC.Not quite a Gran Turismo-esque sim, not quite a "Race Car Tycoon" game, APEX was hard to pigeonhole and zoomed past many a gamer's radar. The likelihood of ever seeing another game quite like it is slim at best, but it IS backwards compatible on the 360, which was nice to see. It can be found in most used bins for $5 or so and is more than worth the investment, even if you're not a hard-core racing fanatic.too short.

[Tayaya]

Very good choice of games indeed, Spiggy. I still keep this one in my collection of original XBOX games. It's not the best game in the world, but it's a fun arcade-style racer with nice track designs, good visuals, good controls, and that special "car company" element that's actually kinda cool for its time.

[Bingley Joe]

I enjoyed this game as a rental when it first came out.. might have to pick up a copy now that you've reminded me about it Spig. Good pick!

FWIW, here's a link to the full BC list since people seem to be confused for some reason:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm

[MachEnergy]

Wow, I feel like I played a totally different game. When I bought Apex, I was working at Electronics Boutique at the time, and I recall writing up a full page on what I thought was wrong with the game. Why? I dunno. I guess I thought I could stop my coworkers from selling it to people who REALLY like racing games. I'm sure they just threw it away right after I brought it in. I know I would have. :o

It has been many years so I don't remember what bothered me enough to fill a whole page. The big things I remember were:

car collisions overall didn't feel right, and one time, I went to bump a car from behind....and I drove right through it!
surround sound was horrible (at least on the original XBOX; maybe BC improves that)


At the time, I was really into SegaGT, so most of my complaints were likely due to it not being SegaGT. I always wanted to like it. I'm glad others here did, because it seemed like a game that really wanted me to go all in. The funny thing is that Codemasters' Pro Race Driver came out a couple moths later, and I totally loved it.

Man, I wish Google Docs existed back then, so I could read my whiney page of complaints. :D

[Karak]

Loved the game back then. and still enjoy it from time to time now. Good choice of games.

This was the first game to trully hammer rubberband AI home. You can stop in the middle of the track and suddenly, behind you ALL the cars slow to like 5 miles and hour. God we used to laugh at that until we were sick. It was so mind numbingly bad and in your face.
But I still liked the game.

[Spigot]

Maybe that's why I liked it so much. I'm not a huge racing game nut so anything that let me win made me happy :)

And I probably wouldn't have noticed it back in the day if Penny Arcade hadn't done a write-up on it. Suffice it to say that it was one of the few games they've recommended outside of my usual tastes that I actually adored. Unlike that stupid Lost Kingdoms that Gabe pimped back in the day... Grr...

Mister Slim: Knowing that writing CaRPG made you uncomfortable made writing about the game worth it :)

[Restlessavenger]

Great pick Spigot. Believe it or not this was actually the game that pushed me over the edge on buying the original XBox and was the game I bought along with it. I spent hours with this one.

[x Returner x]

Yes, I'm talking about the only CaRPG (get it?) on the market (that I know of)...


Blue Lagoon Japan only.

[Spigot]

Blue Lagoon Japan only.Yeah. I did mean more of a North American take on it, as I'm sure they not only have CaRPGs in Japan, but Car Dating Sims, Car Fashion Sims and so forth....

And I'm ticked that I forgot about Choro-Q. And Car Battler Joe... Sigh. That said, they're not quite the same as APEX.

And just to reiterate, APEX IS backwards compatible on the 360.

[x Returner x]

And just to reiterate, APEX IS backwards compatible on the 360.

I'm going to have to try it out.

[MagGnome]

Great write up as always Mr. Spiggles!

[Spigot]

Great write up as always Mr. Spiggles!That's Mr. Spigglesworth to you!

And thanks :)