ATV OFFROAD FURY3 for Playstation 2; by Sony Computer Entertainment; Rated E for Everyone; $39.99.
Not having played the last two "ATV Offroad Fury" games, I came into this third installment cold but was pleasantly surprised playing my first ATV-based racing game.
"ATV Offroad Fury 3" packs in a lot of features, including customizable vehicles and online game play with optional headset.
The main goal of the game is, of course, to zoom past the finish line while leaving your opponents eating your dust. The controls are pretty straightforward, allowing you to slide into turns, pop wheelies and bust moves in midair. Courses are mainly dirt, which doesn't really offer a lot of variety in scenery, but they are challenging.
The trick in getting some air is to lean back on the controller when coming up on a dirt mound and popping forward at the last second. Although fun, this motion can get pretty repetitious after a while.
Some customizable options lean toward the tedious. While selecting from a variety of vehicles and tweaking the engine and shocks make sense, selecting what style of gloves and goggles to wear, which you don't really see since your driver's back is facing you, seems like a waste of time.
The game is rated E for players of all ages and can be played solo or with a friend. The game also is playable online with a Sony account and a broadband connection. Personally, I feel racing games are more fun when playing against a human opponent.
With the whine of your ATV engine, the game does capture the feeling of off-road racing, but some things could have been done better. For example, the crash animations are almost comical, with your driver flying off the vehicle and flopping on the ground like a crash-test dummy. Programmers didn't even include any post-crash animation to indicate your driver is still alive.
Having crashed the first few times, my impression was, "This guy is dead," but I soon wondered if he was designed to appear to be alive in the first place. Even little bumps into barricades at low speeds produce an overly dramatic scene with your driver flying off his ATV and face-planting in the dirt.
One saving grace is the game's sound track, which sports some pretty decent tracks from groups such as Lostphrophets and Crossfade. The music adds to the gritty feel of the sport.
The game features 38 different environments, although many of them look pretty much the same. Let's face it, you can't get too creative with dirt. It also comes with 40 different tracks.
In all, "ATV Offroad Fury 3" is a decent racing game but does not stand out as anything exceptional. If you're a fan of ATV racing in general, it still may be worth checking out.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com