Driving and racing games are ten-a-penny, so what makes ATV Offroad
stand out?
It's not with the game options which are many, but also the standard fare.
The race modes range from a basic training mode, through the MAXXIS
Nationals, Stadium Supercross, Cross Country Enduro, each with different
types of track on which to drive, chart your progress with the Pro Career
option, or also enter the Freestyle Competition to see how many points
you can get.
What did impress me at first was the quality and fluidity of the graphics.
So many games like this could get bogged down in slow and turgid images which
don't shift the polygons like they should, but this gives you the great
feeling of movement as you throw your ATV around the track - although it's
more fun trying it out with a practice round the canyon course, for example.
There's no pop-up either.
It's also a very playable game with control of your vehicle taken by either
the left analogue joystick or the D-pad. My only quibble comes with the very
hilly tracks - mis-time one jump and you're goosed. You'll stay behind your
opponents for the rest of the race.
The sound leaves a lot to be desired, though. It just sounds like you're
farting around the track, with the occasional groan from your rider as he
gets thrown off the bike... again!
ATV Offroad is excellent at first, with fantastic physics most noticeable
when you come off the bike with the biker flailing about all over the place,
with further agony coming as the ATV slides back down the hill and twats you
in the face, but does become rather samey quite quickly. After you've played
the different race modes for a while and the novelty of running about has been
exhausted, for some that will be enough.
And that was nearly me. I was going to say that I'd wholeheartedly recommend a
rental of this game, but only buy if it'll provide the longevity you're after...
but now it's becoming quite addictive as I progress through the career option.
However, I was a bit annoyed at one thing during training when I saw a
hanglider and I couldn't get off my bike and change the mode of transport.
Also, one thing I'd like to see the end of: I failed to qualify in the fourth
of eleven races in the Pro Career and while I could have another crack
at it, it needed to reload the track back in - why get rid of it in the first
place?!
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Driving and racing games are ten-a-penny, so what makes ATV Offroad
stand out?
What did impress me at first was the quality and fluidity of the graphics.
So many games like this could get bogged down in slow and turgid images which
don't shift the polygons like they should, but this gives you the great
feeling of movement as you throw your ATV around the track - although it's
more fun trying it out with a practice round the canyon course, for example.
There's no pop-up either.
ATV Offroad is excellent at first, with fantastic physics most noticeable
when you come off the bike with the biker flailing about all over the place,
with further agony coming as the ATV slides back down the hill and twats you
in the face, but does become rather samey quite quickly. After you've played
the different race modes for a while and the novelty of running about has been
exhausted, for some that will be enough.
