ATV Quad Power Racing 2 – XB – Review

As long as vehicle
manufacturers put wheels on things, the gaming industry will make a game based
on said vehicles.  Racing games seem to be everywhere: Tony Hawk Pro Skater is
consistently on the top of the best-seller lists, several motorcycle games such
as Moto GP line the shelves, and 18-wheeler trucks even have their own titles.
But the youth of today are no longer satisfied with simple first-to-the-finish
racing games.  Thanks to a steady diet of Mountain Dew and Slim Jims (and their
respective commercials), Generation Y is unlikely to purchase anything that
doesn’t appropriately carry the label “extreme”. 

ATV: Quad Power
Racing 2 is a standard extreme racing game with the only difference from a
motocross game being the two additional wheels.  In ATV: QPR2, riders can
perform 28 death-defying (or more likely causing) tricks, race in five
environments for a total of 15 tracks, and drive, flip, and wheelie around a few
stunt tracks. 

The best
single-player mode in the game is career mode.  In career mode, riders race
across several tracks in an attempt to out-race and out-trick the competition.
As riders win medals and rack up the trick points, shiny new ATVs, physical and
technical skills for the rider, and trick sets all become unlocked.  These
unlocked items carry over to your rider’s profile and can be used in the other
modes. 

ATV: QPR2 also
features single race mode for those who would rather scoot around a track with
nothing on the line, arcade mode for those like to race against the clock,
freestyle mode for those who like to show off their skills in an indoor arena
loaded with ramps and jumps, and challenge mode, an interesting set of
mini-games that test rider’s abilities with simple driving skills on the ground
and balance-beam type maneuvering up some extensive towering structures.
Successfully completing these gauntlets unlocks several professional ATV riders
you’ve probably never heard of.  There is a short tutorial mode available, but
it’s about as informative as the minimum-wage earning information guy at the
mall.  The split-screen multiplayer modes are fairly simple.  Players can race
head-to-head against each other with or without computer competition, take each
other on in the trick-filled freestyle arena, or set up a small tournament for
bragging rights over several races. 

The controls of
ATV: QPR2 are fair with the basic moves being well done and the more advanced
moves being a little too difficult.  Steering is controlled with the left
thumbstick, acceleration and braking is controlled with either the right
thumbstick or the A and X buttons respectively.  Pulling off tricks isn’t too
easy.  The game is pretty anal about hitting buttons at just the right moment,
and most of the tricks can’t be pulled off until you’ve gotten pretty far
through the game.  When airborne, one of several buttons or combinations of
buttons needs to be pressed in conjunction with a direction on the left
thumbstick in order to perform a trick.  If the thumbstick and buttons aren’t
pressed exactly at the same time, the quad will be in big trouble. The
thumbstick also controls pitch in the air and the vehicle may end up landing on
its side causing internal bleeding, punctured lungs, and skull fractures for the
poor digitized driver.  Once you manage to successfully pull off tricks, your
quad gets a little stored up boost which can be initiated with Y.  Got some pent
up road rage?  No problem, drive up next to a competitor, press the B button,
kick him off his quad, and steal his boost.  To change a simple jump into a
NASA-like launch, hold the R button and release it just as the quad hits the lip
of a jump.  This is essential to get big air and do the insane tricks.

Although the
advanced tricks and combos are fairly hard to pull off, they’re probably the
most entertaining part of the game.  Riders can do the Superman, the Airwalk,
the Lazy Boy, and several other moves.  Performing multiple tricks in one jump
will boost multipliers and score, but are also likely to land riders in the
extreme sports ward at the local hospital.  The tricks are well animated, and
some are way over the top, or ‘extreme’ as advertisers like to say.  I don’t
watch a lot of professional ATV racing, but I seriously doubt anyone can stand
on their quad, flip it around in a tight spiral, and land on it without missing
a beat (don’t try that one at home kids, you may break mom’s vase). 

The overall
graphics of the game are good, but should have been a little better for the
Xbox.  The best part of the visuals is the smoothness with which the game moves,
as there are no glitches or jumps in the action which make the racing high speed
and action-packed (unless you hit that fence in the Works level, a major twitch
in the game).  Some of the tracks look much better than others, but they’re all
spoiled when quads go through unlit tunnels or stormy conditions darken the
entire course.  Not only does the blackness ruin the beauty of the environments,
it’s also a great way to simulate driving while blind. 

The sound of ATV:
QPR2 is mostly revving engines and generic thrash-metal noise.  The soundtrack
includes songs from the Rollins Band, Godsmack, and Box Car Racer.  There are a
whopping total of seven songs on the soundtrack, meaning gamers will get well
acquainted with each track very fast. 

ATV: QPR2 is a
good game, but doesn’t offer anything different from other extreme sports racing
games.  Unless you are a die-hard fan of ATVs, the game is really just an
average racing game. 

ATV: QPR2 is rated
E for Everyone.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7

The racing aspect
of the game is the most complete part of ATV: QPR2, but the most entertaining
part, tricking, is a bit too difficult.  Acclaim should have put risky shortcuts
on the tracks instead of making them so linear.

Graphics: 8

The five
environments (Beach, Forest, Swamp, Construction Yard, and Glacier) either look
great or are disappointing.  However, the rider animations on the tricks are
consistently good.

Sound: 6

Not a whole lot
going on the audio department.  There’s no variety on the soundtrack, meaning
you’ll either love it or hate it.  Why don’t developers let more games use the
custom soundtrack on the Xbox?

Difficulty: Medium

Racing for first
to the finish line is pretty easy, but getting first on the trick side is very
difficult.  Getting both?  Damn near impossible.

Concept: 6

ATV: QPR2 is
fairly basic: it’s an extreme racing game on ATVs.  The additional modes save
this game from being completely repetitive.  The tower challenge mode is unique
and a lot of fun.  Where’s the create-a-rider feature?

Multiplayer: 6

There is no
on-line play, just tedious split-screen action.

Overall: 7

ATV: QPR2 should
keep ATV fans content.  Other gamers looking for an extreme sports racing game
packed with extra features and loads of tracks should probably look elsewhere.