Video Gaming News - February 2003

Los Angeles, CA (February 21, 2003) - Atari shipped APEX, their latest racing game, to retail stores nationwide this week exclusively for the Xbox

From Atari:

Developed by Milestone, the creators of the popular Superbike™ series, APEX takes racing on Xbox to an entirely new level with more than 80 cars to choose from, including models from Toyota, Lotus and Dodge; more than 50 race tracks; numerous environments including mountain courses, city street races and traditional circuits; and, the engaging Dream Mode, which allows players to design, build and race their own dream cars as they attempt to build a racing dynasty.

“APEX is without question the most graphically stunning and technically sophisticated racing game available on Xbox and quite possibly on any home video game system available today,” said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and head of Infogrames, Inc.’s Los Angeles studio. “Once players dig into the amazing amount of content APEX has to offer from the various single player and multiplayer variations to the depth of the racing experience itself, I’m sure they will agree that APEX is a game no racing enthusiast should be without.”

APEX transports players into the role of a young race car manufacturing mogul. After inheriting a small auto garage, choosing a name and a stylish logo, the player launches their own sports car company by selecting from among 45 prototype car designs each built to the player’s specifications, including roadsters, super cars and dream cars. As the player wins races, tournaments and special challenges, vehicle sales from the fledgling car company begin to grow; the garage facilities and staff increase in size, the test “parking lot” becomes a world class test track; and, new race car development kicks into full swing.

APEX features several styles of play that lead to hours of varied game play in both single and two-player multiplayer modes. Game play modes include Quick Race, for instant racing action against computer controlled opponents; Time Attack, a challenge to see how fast a single vehicle can complete a course; Dream Mode, where the player builds their own prototype vehicle and strives to join the elite of performance automobile manufacturers; and Head-to-Head two-player multiplayer mode for racing against friends in Xbox split screen.

Featuring more than 80 cars, APEX allows players to pit their own creations against a number of the most powerful cars from the most recognizable car manufacturers in the world, including Aston Martin, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Lotus, Jaguar, MG, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Renault and Toyota. The Dodge Viper SRT-10, Jaguar XJ220, Mercedes CLK GTR AMG and the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Coupe are just a few of the top-end machines players can expect to race against. Additionally, each vehicle is equipped with numerous performance enhancements and adjustments that allow the player to tailor the vehicle for each competition’s track design and conditions. A complex damage model lends reality to each crash.

Races will take place across more than 50 varied tracks and environments based on real-world locations across three continents -- North America, Europe and Asia. Course designs range from winding mountain roads to narrow city streets to standard racetracks. Each track features unique characteristics that will keep players tuning and perfecting their creations for optimum performance before each encounter.

Technically, APEX will far surpass the competition in the genre. Leveraging the power of Xbox, the developer is producing amazingly high polygon counts, long draw distances and highly detailed environments. Cars will feature up to 11,000 polygons each and real-time reflections while tracks will boast more than 500,000 polygons creating absolutely stunning panoramic detail and beauty. Additionally, the vehicle engine sounds have been captured from real world high performance cars to further enhance authenticity.

APEX is now available exclusively for Xbox at retail stores nationwide with an estimated retail price of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of “E” for Everyone. Additional information about APEX can be found online at www.apex-game.com, which features downloadable and streaming game play movies, screenshots, character bios, vehicle information and much more.

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