Zox Space Arena 2 is the sequel to Zox Space Arena; its new features include 7 more arenas, some new weapons (the bat and jet pack for instance) and a brand spanking new one player campaign. So is it worth the $20 asking price?
Gameplay
If you for some bizarre reason you enjoy your character moving excruciatingly slowly then you'll like this. Without any speed power ups it's like driving a Sinclair C5. It's very frustrating at times. The set out of the arenas also made the gameplay less tactical than its clear inspiration Bomberman.
This game really has to be played with other people if it's to provide any enjoyment; if only because the single player campaign is so awful. Playing with a couple of friends is pretty funny. I mean when is blowing up your friends not funny? You can add CPU characters as well. Although I can't imagine how comfortable it will be with 5 people crammed around a laptop screen like sardines.
Unfortunately I just found the playing Zox Arena 2 just made me want to play Bomberman again. A game which you can get on virtually all platforms for not very much money.
Graphics
The graphics run smooth but are rudimentary to say the least. I'm not saying it looks like Pong but I felt they could have done more with the Pikmin style characters. There's a variety of different arenas (an ice world, a futuristic world) but they all seem rather bland. The Zox characters have interesting big eyed faces but there seem to look as bemused as I was playing the thing and some of the character animation seemed a bit ropey.
Sound
Cute Sci-Fi style sound effects that match the overall look of the game. This game has very cool music. Funky space tunes with some eerie noises. And with the game having individual soundtracks or each arena you are never short of a nifty tune to accompany your explosions. I played the game through my Samsung home cinema and it sounded real big.
Creativity
I don't think it's massively creative to basically rip off one of the most famous muli player games of all time. Especially if you haven't done it that well.
Innovation
Not much really. You can't really improve on a game like Bomberman unless you really push the boat out and unfortunately these game designers haven't. 5 player multiplayer is great but it's hardly reinventing the wheel. And at $20 dollars for the full game I wouldn't bother.
Rating 2/5