“We
searched the world for places like this – beautiful, rugged, epic …”
The best of the
best are on hand to compete in the Pure World Tour, or so the opening sequences
would have you believe. Disney Interactive and Black Rock Studios are behind
Pure, an ATV racing game that incorporates some slick tracks, high-flying stunts
and solid entertainment factors.
The game begins
with five objectives that have to be accomplished in order to advance to the
main game. They begin innocuously enough with a lap of a course, then moves into
preloading for jumps (pull down on the left thumbstick), nailing the jumps for
big air (flick the thumbstick up), adding a trick (the hot keys) and then end
with a timed run through the course in which you have to use the preloads, the
jumps and the boost. From there you advance to the main menu which has several
options – world tour, single event, trial mode, online play, garage and
leaderboards.
Where Pure
distinguishes itself, though, is in the frenetic pacing of the races and the
huge air players will grab as they fly over courses, performing aerial acrobatics
and stunts. The latter really takes some time to get used to.
Yes, the game
has rag-doll physics that will have you grimacing – not in the Tony Hawk kind of
face-grinding-against-pavement way – but what is the most impressive are the
vistas you see once you hit a huge jump. The words “total insanity” come to
mind when you first see the height of the jump, spot the distant speck that is
the landing zone and then start to perform stunts while, hopefully, lining up
the landing. Hit the jumps right and you can soar to the front of the pack.
The course
allows for multiple lines to the same objectives. You might decide to take the
lower road through some tight turns, or opt to hit the boost, roar up an incline
and grab air to soar over the pack. There is a lot of flexibility in this title.
You begin by
selecting your game mode and then the racer that will represent you. The star of
the modes package is the World Tour, which is a single-player event that spans
10 stages and several (up to seven) event styles that encompass sprint, race and
freestyle racing. The racer, which can be either male or female, is just an
aesthetic prop for the real star – the ATV. You can build your machine from the
ground up or, if you don’t care for that aspect, let the game AI quick build one
for you and then tweak it. Your ATV will be classified (four classes in this
game – A, B, C, and D), and then put into your garage for use. When you select a
race, you can choose the right ATV for the course. Some may require speed while
others will require handling. It’s simple, but it is a little deeper than that.
Then comes the
actual racing. The game does feature online multiplayer, like the Freeride mode
that challenges players to race against a clock to score the most points in
different areas.
The trick
system is one of the stars of this title and is a tiered system. You begin with
Level 1 tricks and if you land enough of them, you open up Level 2 tricks, and
eventually can get to Level 3 tricks. To pull off the tricks, you get air, hit a
face button and then move the left thumbstick in a direction to perform the way
you wish the trick to look. Pulling out of the trick and moving the left
thumbstick back into position to land the ATV is very important. A crash and you
can drop from fourth to ninth in a heartbeat. And each trick is graded. Pull off
the same one too many times and you might get a “stale” rejoinder.
Black Rock
Studios comes by its racing credentials honestly. The company was formerly known
as Climax and developed such titles as ATV Off-road Fury 3 and the MotoGP
series. Disney bought the company and the name was changed. So the credentials are
there and they shine in this game.
When it comes
to the graphics, Pure is solid. There are 12 locations, from around the world,
and the environmental elements are very well done. The sound is much like you
would imagine – lots of revving engine noises.
The control
scheme is truly terrific. Pure is a simple game to control … well, from the
controller standpoint. The tracks present challenges and you will find yourself
sliding around corners or needing to line up your path through muck and puddles
to maintain your line without sliding out of control.
It could be
said that Pure is an arcade racer, and in some regards, that would be accurate.
Single-player is the focus but you will find the game does have legs in that you
will re-race to notch those wins, even as the difficulty ramps up, in order to
win parts and rider accessories and truly trick out your ATV.
This game is
really a lot of fun to play.
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Gameplay: 8.8
The controls are
easy to pick up and use. The tracks may take a few spins around to get familiar
with them, but once you learn the nuances of the different lines, you will be
flying to the front in no time.
Graphics: 8.7
The vistas are
terrific when you hit the apex of a huge jump. The environments are very well
done.
Sound: 8.4
Decent musical
score, and lots of revving engines – it was all expected.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 8.9
ATV meets insanity
in great world locations. This game is big on fun, small on multiplayer, but
still very entertaining.
Multiplayer: 8.2
Not as robust as it
could have been, but the online mode is a nice touch.
Overall: 8.8
Pure fun, Pure
entertainment, Pure eye candy – that’s what you get with this title. The game
does have some small failings, but nothing totally worth mentioning. What is
compelling about this title are the tracks, the air and the way the terrain will
affect your ATV. This is great fun.
