Shox Review
Review - it’s an arcade rally experience, but does it rox (we're so sorry)?
Version tested: PlayStation 2
When was the last time you went to an arcade to play a game? I'd guess the answer was "ages ago" for most of us, for the simple reason that home games machines have become incredibly powerful, and there's no longer the aspirational value attached to going to a deafening smoky room chock full of cutting edge gaming cabinets.
Don't like this one so much - can we have the other one back?
This death of the arcade is one thing, but perhaps the greater tragedy is the gradual loss of instant 'arcade action' gameplay, with ever more value placed on the more beardy, more cerebral, but often less fun world of the simulation.
And, if one genre has suffered in this respect perhaps more than any other then it's driving - and rally driving specifically. Not being of the petrol headed persuasion, the thought of tinkering with suspension settings and faffing with changing tyres fills me with an irrational dread. I. Just. Want. To. Play. The. Sodding. Game.
So, if there was ever a Rally game tailored specifically to tap into a gamers' arcade instincts, it's Shox. No faffing, no tweaking, no murderously dull technical detail, just mentally fast, in your face 60fps action that hooks you from the off.
As with every driving game, there's a ton of tracks and cars to unlock. But the system of unlocking new modes is far more forgiving, and accessible than many others in the genre. Ploughing through each of the five car classes relies on getting a good average placing - but rather than force you to play through each track in order, you can return later to certain tricky tracks and master them until you finally get a placing average good enough for you to win the trophy.
He's popular, this one
With a greater emphasis on fun and the casual gamer - in typical EA style - the early tracks are quite easy, so almost anyone can jump straight into the game and get some semblance of success, rather than be forced to go through hoops to learn some anal control mechanics. To add to the sense of insanity, each track has three 'Shox' zones, which are essentially checkpoints that reward the player with medals (Gold, Silver, or Bronze) depending on how quickly you make it through. And as an added incentive, if you manage to score Gold in each zone, a screen warping Shockwave is triggered, which if you can ride adds wads of cash to your total.
With this in mind, initial impressions can be that Shox is the bimbo of Rally games, full of graphical gimmicks and slow motion show off moments, but it's justifiable. To pull off a great arcade game is to make sure of one basic thing - 60 frames per second - and Shox is without question one of, if not the smoothest, and fastest driving game yet seen on the PS2. Word has it that developers EA UK knocked this up in just eight months - and on the evidence in front of our eyes, this is one hell of an achievement, with a slick, assured look that is a world away from the bland, sterile look of nearly all PS2 racers to date (GT3 aside).
Ok, so Shox looks nice, granted, but look beyond the eye candy and the rewards are there. Progression from the second and third car classes sees Shox really beginning to display a pleasing amount of depth, while still retaining that classic One-More-Go arcade gameplay that keeps you up to 4.30 a.m with bleeding eyes.
Car Trouble
A front view of this shiny car
As always with driving games, the car's the star, and attempting to tackle Shox with the wrong one can have frustrating consequences. But if you're really fed up, there are two ways out of your dilemma: either buy another one (if you've clocked up enough prize money), or gamble a much lesser stake in a short one on one race to the finish line. Buying a car is usually frustratingly out of reach, so gambling ends up being your most likely avenue of progression. Sadly, EA has, erm, shockingly misjudged this method, to the point that it can - in some cases - take 10 or more attempts to win the car - by which time you've spent almost as much as it cost to buy the damn thing outright, and suffered a fair bit of frustration into the bargain.
One of the more controversial elements of Shox that will also divide gamers is the handling. And guess what? Yes, it's pure arcade, which is to admit it's entirely unrealistic and any resemblance to real life is completely co-incidental - thank the lord. But despite what you may have read elsewhere, the differing surfaces (ice, gravel, sand, tarmac) do make a huge difference to the way your car controls. There is a palpable sense of relief when you make it through some of the later ice stages, and when bombing it through some of the bumpy Arid courses, the second you make it to a bit of tarmac gives you a rare section of traction sanity.
Another area where Shox can annoy is the computer AI. The drones don't seem to have any semblance of personality, and drive around all bunched up, meaning that one or two slip ups can result in going from first to sixth and back again in the space of half a lap. Shox only seems to really work as a game when you're good enough to take the lead and stay there, otherwise you'll be hurling the joypad across the room cursing the game's unforgiving nature.
Sounding off
Ooh and here's one of its arse
One area EA UK made very little effort is the game's audio. The music is reduced to an indistinguishable rattle, while the engine noise blurs into a sound resembling a swarm of bees. The annoying yelps from the commentator as you enter and exit each Shox zone can get on your tits after a while too ("This Is IT!!!" and "Coooome ON!!" burn into your brain very quickly). Generic, pointless and lazy are three words that spring to mind here, but to be fair it doesn't detract from the game too much - the desire to progress overrides such quibbles.
On balance, EA has pulled out a product of genuine quality that with a little more work in a few basic areas would have been a must have title. As it is, it's more for casual gamers that want a post pub session on a title they can pick up and play and get stuck into.
Me? I enjoyed it immensely, but it frustrated just that little bit too much to ever be considered a classic. Shox is a typical EA game: great presentation, instant playability for the mass market, but one that serious gamers will be able to pick endless holes in.
7 / 10
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Comments (43) Latest comment 8 years ago
Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
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You can thank me for one of those
From the review, doesn't quite sound like it merrited a 7/10. Perhaps 6. A try before you buy, even.
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Should I get this one.......
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
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Large bottle of vodka it is
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Call me old fashioned, but I prefer being on tarmac anyway
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That may have implications for GTA VC and GTA4, which is also Renderware based. Interesting.
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Not being a great fan of the PS2 graphics i must admit to being fairly stunned by the quality of eye candy in this one!
7/10 is pretty just imo
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Dunno, on the website (www.acclaim.com -> link to B2 website) they just write about an "updated engine" and then list 20 graphical features I don't understand, but the results speak for themselves. Download one of their "crashes of the week", (about 3MB), they're hilarious.
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The crashes were a bit disappointing in B1, but it looks as though they got it REALLY right this time...
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I'll probably just wait for BO2 though, it looks far more fun.
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I'm not sure what that means but I must be one of those.
the thought of tinkering with suspension settings and faffing with changing tyres fills me with an irrational dread
The key word is "irrational".
and suffered a fair bit of frustration into the bargain
We've got another no-hard-games-for-me-please editor. And this doesn't even seem an hard game.
any resemblance to real life is completely co-incidental - thank the lord
Have you tried a real life rally car? And you didn't like it?!...
As it is, it’s more for casual gamers
Me? I enjoyed it immensely
You're a casual gamer?! RAUPEEEEER...
P. S.: just provoking... just provoking...
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I picked up Stunt GP the other day for 2.99. I'd heard it was flawed, but so far it seems good fun. I placed 3rd in the first race and failed the second - that's a pretty good carrot/stick combo for me.
Besides, if I ever want complete twitch-racing action with no semblance of realism, I've always got San Francisco Rush 2049. The only 3d racing game I've found where taking a corner too fast makes to drift out sideways as if you've got perfect 4wd, like in Pole Position of old. Oh, and it's fast.
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Oh well having a quick browse in EB today with the empty Burnout 2 boxes on the shelf I think I'll keep the money in the wallet for that...
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Scores are necessary for us, for lots of reasons I can't be bothered to go into on a Friday evening.
"Oh, & no alts.
This is because I was whipping it onto the web in five odd seconds before Kristan and I leapt into a cab to go see THQ in Leicester Square. Won't happen again sah.
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They would still say you were wrong after reading the text. As we have discovered when it comes to certain games, people think their view is definitive.
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A matter of opinion. I used to LOVE the original crzy taxi. it wouldnt last for hours of gameplay, but i would ALWAYS put it on whenever i turned my dreamcast on for a quick blast.
Same as sega rally. that game lasted me for years.
arcadey type racing games arent supposed to be deep. they're supposed to be fun.
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Where on earth does that come from? EA has made a good number of games that appeal very much to the hardcore as well as casual player. SSX, Tricky, the entire Madden series, The Sims, Medal of Honour Frontline, FIFA, F1 2002, Earth and Beyond, SimCity, Battlefield 1942, Command & Conquor, Freedom force, Motor City Online, Ultima Online.
How exactly do those games fall under the 'instant gratification but full of holes' analysis of the 'typical ea game'?
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Where on earth does that come from? EA has made a good number of games that appeal very much to the hardcore as well as casual player. SSX, Tricky, the entire Madden series, The Sims, Medal of Honour Frontline, FIFA, F1 2002, Earth and Beyond, SimCity, Battlefield 1942, Command & Conquor, Freedom force, Motor City Online, Ultima Online.
- The Sims... they didn't write this, Maxis did
- Sim City... Maxis wrote this too
- C&C... Forget who programs this, Westwood is it?
- Ultima Online... Origin wrote it.
EA just happened to absorb all these damn developers, that's all. They make some decent games (SSX), but when it comes down to it, they're just the kings of Shovelware. Fortunately for EA, many of us remember who these developers were before they were assimilated, so we have an idea of which EA titles are shovelware, and which deserve some attention (Sim City 4).
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Rented burnout on xbox last night - well impressed, it passed me by at the time.
Renderware has had some significant tweaks, as I understand it, hence some of the improvements seen in vice city.
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Shinji: so Fifa's one, whats another? Enough against the ones I've listed to be typical? Come on, give me a list.
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Black and White.
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Need For Speed,
Harry Potter,
Pirates,
Personally I consider "made" and "published" to be completely different anyway. Especially when you consider games can be published by more than one publisher - normally in different regions - and then republished on a budget label.
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SSX
F1
Rumble Racing
Freekstyle
FIFA
Total Club Manager
TY (to be released)
Any Bond game EA has released ever
NBA Street
Harry Potter
Knockout Kings
Need For Speed 1-6
Simpsons Road Rage (although strictly speaking a Fox title)
I could go on...
The point is, EA makes games for the mass market. I've spent enough time with various EA marketing bods to have heard that from the horses mouth time and again. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that, and that's not to say EA doesn't publish good, cutting edge product, as it patently does.
Shox is a mass market title, end of story, and my comment was meant to be a warning to the hardcore audience (i.e Eurogamer readers) that may not dig such a lightweight approach.
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P.S. And what holes can you pick in SSX?! Go on, dare you!
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That's quite amusing given a thread not so long ago when a game was marked down as too hard for eurogamers non-hardcore readers
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On PS2 maybe. On Cube & Xbox I think we can be jolly glad we got it, no?
As for the hardcore/casual debate, not all EG readers are l33t hardcore types. Speaking personally, I tend towards the RPG/adventure/strategy games but I'm on for a good action/sports sim/racing game as long as it's not too hardcore - just straightforward arcadey fun, preferably fairly forgiving. So in that respect krudster's comments on Shox were just the sort of thing I wanted to know.
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Fifa? Please...
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