by Thomas Paine

Created on: June 20, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2008

Easy enough to install, although the game requests to add a few third-party sound plug-ins, Zox Space Arena 2 seems polished enough on entering the title screen. Players are greeted by a short and funny 3-D cutscene introducing the game and the company that made it. This is, however, about as far as the polish goes.
The main menu offers the option to choose between Practice, Exhibition, or Campaign. It is recommended to choose practice first, as the game will explain the strange controls and the goal of the game, which is to hurl bombs at and otherwise hurt on screen enemies before they defeat you first. The controls are basically the arrow keys to move, "a" to jump/kick, and "s" to throw bombs. How long the "s" button is held down determines the distance the bomb will go. Although these controls seem simple enough, they are unbelievably clumsy when it comes to actually playing the game. The little creature character never seems to be aimed the way he is supposed to be, and the throwing is really touchy and awkward. All in all, the controls are very frustrating.

Upon entering the campaign mode, the player is greeted by a comical 3-D cutscene that sets up the storyline, which doesn't really make sense anyways. Although Zox Space Arena 2 has a quirky sense of humor, it is easy to see even from the first cutscene that the graphics are sub-par. The 3-D looks completely un-rendered and even antique, especially put up against today's standards. As early as the third level, the graphics start to glitch, and at one point the entire floor disappeared due to various glitches. The character movement, like the controls, is awkward, and none of the effects are particularly convincing, even taking into account the cartoon-like premise of the game.
Although the concept is somewhat original, and the characters are quirky enough to say that the game is pretty creative, the gameplay is just a derivative of tired and old games that have been around for ages. In addition to the unoriginal play, the clumsy controls cause the game to have a much higher difficulty level than was probably originally intended by the creators. It is unfortunate that the gameply is so sub-par and unoriginal, because the game could have been a load of quirky, creative fun. The music in the game, seeming to follow suit with the other game elements, is repetitive and annoying. It was a lot easier just to turn it off for the rest of the game and continue as normal. The sound effects, including explosions and gunfire, aren't as good as they could have been, which is yet another disappointment.
Unfortunately, the trial version is the only version of this game that is worth it, and maybe not even that. There is no time limit on the trial, and the full version is 19.95 in USD, which is more than anyone should ever have to pay for a game that is so obviously sub-par as Zox Space Arena 2. 2/5

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