The gentle forest, full of towering Sequoias,
is broken by the harsh growl of revving engines. Surely there cannot be enough
room for a track in this ** landscape.
You bet there is!
This isn’t racing that requires caution in the
turns, in fact, if anything, this is a race that dares you to rip it up, take
chances, and pray for a little good luck now and again.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America and
Climax have teamed up for ATV Offroad Fury 3, a title that is long on options,
and full of high-speed and challenging racing action. Though the demo version
GameZone received was lacking some of the niceties – there was enough of the game
to see what was revving the engines of these off-road machines. And what this
game has to offer are solid graphics, an AI that does not lay around waiting for
you to make a move, but rather will stick it to you in a hurry.
You want challenge, this game has it.
There are two modes – single-player and
multiplayer. There is also a Hall of Fame in order to view records. The
single-player mode features training, a single event, championship, waypoint and
movies. In the single event, there are national, supercross, enduro, freestyle,
and short track, all with amateur and pro challenges. Each of the events has
approximately seven tracks to choose from. The race options are race, lap attack
and free ride. You can adjust the number of laps and AI difficulty as well.
There are several types of ATVs available (24
in all), all rated in the top speed, acceleration, braking and cornering
abilities. You can change out tires and visit the garage. The options in the
Garage/Shop area include logos and mini-games.
All in all, this is an option-rich title.
The game does have significant load times at
this stage in the development. But once the race has loaded, be prepared to open
up the throttle and run as fast as you can. It is tough to win initially, the AI
is just too darn strong, but if you set up your ATV right, you can succeed
enough and begin to accrue the points to buy the parts to rebuild that machine
into a contender. Then it comes down to racing well.
Graphically the game has a few stumbling
points. While the build featured water and such, driving through them produced
no significant effect. And running into a course barrier resulted in the same
animation of a rag doll falling off the back of the machine. This may all be
taken care of in the final build. Because this game is about getting around the
track in the fastest time possible, the controls are essential to achieving
that, and not only are the controls extremely tight, but responsive. You can cut
corners close but get too close and you may have a recipe for disaster. If you
get off course, the game will put you back on the track, with a time penalty
attached, of course.
The musical score is driving and rock-based,
and there is little other noise aside from the roar of the engines.
ATV Offroad Fury 3 is the race title that will
give players a host of options, as well as providing a lot of challenge. The
championship event is akin to a career mode, and you can move along the ladder
toward respectability and success. But make no mistake about it, simple strong
driving skills are not enough – you will need a machine capable of running with
the competition. Fail in that regard and all you will see is dust trails and
smell exhaust. If you are looking for high-speed racing challenge, this may well
be the ticket.
