Category: Console Genera: ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Developer: Rainbow Studios Players: 1-4 Okay, I?m a little late with this review. As you may know, ATV Offroad Fury came out on the PS2 way back in 2001, before spawning numerous sequels. I, however, just happened to pick up a used copy for about five bucks. So, was it worth the price of admission?

Game Play

Hop on an All Terrain Vehicle, and get ready for an extremely bumpy ride. In Pro Career mode, you start out by choosing your rider?s outfit and ATV. While the clothing is purely for looks, each ATV handles differently. Choose carefully, because you will not get to change your mind during the career. On the bright side, you have the option to tune your vehicle before each race so it feels just right. Of course racing is what this game is all about. The races in ATV Offroad Fury can be intense. Races consist of 4 riders on a usually dirt-filled path. A rank of at least second place is required to move on to the next race. The basic game play is very simple to pick up, but winning takes some practice. Each track is filled with twists, turns, and most importantly jumps of all sizes. Knowing how to take these jumps is crucial. At the start of each one, you can pull back on the left thumbstick, causing a meter to appear. You may then fling the thumbstick forward before the end of the jump to make your ATV fly even higher and further than usual. This is called ?Preloading.? It is important to judge how much preload to use (if any) on each jump. With this technique you can catch ridiculous amounts of air, but too much can mean a head-on collision with a wall or tree. Taking jumps correctly and landing smoothly is essential to win a race. In addition to Pro Career mode, there are single races to play or practice for fun at any time. These can be played alone, or with up to 4 players using a PS2 Multi-tap. While Pro Career covered a number of tracks that lie herein, there are several others that it never touched. These include massive cross-country levels, filled with ridiculous mountain jumps. The sheer scale of these levels really impressed me. I was not expecting to see this in a 4-year-old game. In case these sprawling levels sound like fun to you, why not try making your own course out of them? In the ?Waypoint Editor? mode, you can actually place your own checkpoints around the map to create a custom track to race on. It?s very simple to use, and fun. I was only disappointed that I couldn?t put a checkpoint on top of a building. I could, however, put it right behind the building to encourage launching over. Doesn?t that sound fun? I actually drove in a straight line to see just how long one of the levels went on for. Simply put, it went on for a long time. I thought I would surely run into an invisible wall. Alas, I was right ? kind of. Instead of coming to a sudden stop, my ATV was suddenly jolted several hundred feet in the air, backwards, and away from the invisible wall. I hate invisible walls as much as the next person does, but this was actually fun. There is really no need to go that far off the map anyway. In addition to standard racing, there?s also a Freestyle mode. As you may have guessed, this is where you bust out the sickest tricks you can handle within the time limit. The only reward here is achieving a high score. After finishing Pro Career mode (which can be beaten within a few days), there?s probably not too much incentive to keep you playing for very long. If you gather a few friends, however, there?s more fun to be had.

Graphics

Granted this is a 4-year-old game, it still looks pretty decent. I spoke earlier about how I loved the expansive environments, and I must say they look good. Sure, some of the trees and other objects scattered around the levels do look a bit dated, but that?s to be expected. Of course there are none of the ragdoll physics that we see in many games today, but the people riding (or flying off) the ATV?s are animated fairly well, and have a nice selection of endorsement-covered apparel to choose from.

Sound

The soundtrack in ATV Offroad Fury has a heavy grunge sound, and features the likes of Anthrax and Soundgarden, in addition to several other bands I?ve never heard of. Some people will probably dig the music, but it gave me headaches. I wanted more variety, as even the best songs got repetitive fast due to the small song list. Aside from the music, there?s not too much to talk about here. The ATV engines roar, the riders grunt, and all the necessary sounds are there. What more is there to expect?

Stability

I only ran into a couple of stability issues. First, at one point during a race -- and for no apparent reason -- my ATV was launched straight up into the air for what I would guess to be about 100 feet. Second, as I stated earlier, if you drive too far off in the open country, your ATV will be cannon fodder.

Controls/Interface

Controls are simple and responsive. I think they did a great job of making it easy to pick up and play for the first time while having tight control of your vehicle. At the same time, more experienced players will still have a better understanding of how everything works. The menu screens aren?t bad, but they aren?t completely straightforward at first glance to the common folk like myself. Why aren?t there simple single player and multiplayer screens? Instead we load up the game to see complicated-sounding options like Maxxis Nationals, Stadium Supercross, and Cross County Enduro. This would be fine if they really were completely different modes, but they are all basically the same as any other single race, only with some different tracks. I guess it isn?t a big deal, but I think they could have done better.

Appropriateness

I found nothing offensive in this game. I haven?t read the lyrics to all of the songs, but I didn?t notice anything bad. The ESRB doesn?t note anything on the box either.

Overall Conclusion

ATV Offroad Fury is a well-made but aging game. Like I said, I bought it for $5, and definitely got my money?s worth. It?s a short, but satisfying game. If you have the choice, however, I think you will be much better off getting ATV Offroad Fury 2 or 3.