Checkerz448
10-22-2008, 01:51 PM
Thought this might interest some of you...
I did my best to write up a completely un-biased review of BAJA from a gamer's, rather than developer's perspective.
BAJA: Edge of Control Review
10/20/08
Overall impression:
BAJA combines the feel of a sim with the fun of an arcade racer for a flat out adrenaline rush of a game. Each and every race keeps the player on the edge of his or her seat with the pedal to the floor throwing dust. The gameplay takes a few races to get the hang of, but once you learn to control the beats of horsepower you won’t want to put the controller down. The gameplay was obviously a top priority, and the makers of BAJA nailed it. Sliding sideways, soaring over jumps, and pounding whoops puts you in the action with hands full of arm pump ready for the next challenge. While some of the graphics off the track suffered, you’ll barely notice because you don’t dare take your eyes from the race track or you’ll end up flipping end over end completely destroying your truck.
Physics/Controls:
The vehicles in BAJA offer a diverse selection from a bug to a high powered trophy truck. Each vehicle requires a different driving style in order to go fast and finish in one piece. Some vehicles have a lot of power and others have a lot of suspension, the player must figure this out and drive the vehicles accordingly. The difference in vehicles helps keep each stage of the game fresh.
What’s Hot:
The vehicles react really well to the terrain and each bump will keep you glued to the edge of your seat ready to react to the next bounce.
The vehicles spin, slide, and buck like you are driving offroad and on dirt; something captured better than any offroad game previously. The physics handle surprisingly well and like one would expect on the paved sections as well.
Feathering the gas and brake really works to drive with power and not just by steering, and the E-brake really allows you to really steer with the rear of the vehicle.
Although pre-load in a truck isn’t “real” it adds an integral piece of gameplay to BAJA. While you may lose time flying through the air not accelerating forward, flying over bumps allows you to not worry about getting kicked sideways and wrecking. Airing it out also allows you a chance to let off the gas and keep your engine cool to avoid overheating… plus airing it out is always fun!
Vehicle damage was well done. It changes the performance enough to slow you down but without making the vehicle not fun to drive. The damage system adds an integral part of gameplay, and without it the game wouldn’t be close to the same.
What’s Not:
Using the e-brake to stop a slide steps way over the line of a “realistic” feeling. Also, when tapping the e-brake to get out of a slide the vehicle has a weird hitch and becomes unpredictable…predictability is one of the strong points of the physics in other cases.
In air control of the vehicles is really drastic. Although I see a need for a bit of in air control to keep the vehicles on the course, it was a bit overdone in BAJA.
Events/Tracks:
A huge variety of tracks in found in BAJA. There are shorter course events that are lap based, hillclimbs which are held in a lap based format over some of the most rugged terrain, and then there are the rally events which are A to B races with check points in between.
What’s Hot:
Lap based circuit events are very familiar to other racing games. These events allow you to learn the track and try to set the fastest lap times.
The hillclimb events are exciting because they are over some brutal terrain. Keeping your vehicle together is crucial in these events and adds a lot of excitement.
The rally events are a unique challenge. Since the courses are A to B and longer, it makes learning the course more difficult. The rally events require you to react to the terrain as you come to it because you don’t know what is next. Flying into gullys and tight corners you aren’t expecting makes for some real hair raising moments! You only race against the guys in your class at these events, but bugs, open wheels, and trophy trucks are all included; which requires you to deal with coming up fast on slower vehicles and faster vehicles coming up fast from behind you.
The best event in Baja are the Open Challenge races. These events race all vehicle types together in a set up for a close finish. The bug gets a head start while the trophy trucks start furthest back. The timing of the increments sets it up so all vehicles should meet at the finish at about the same time. The set up causes the bug drivers to be perfect all race to avoid being caught and the trophy truck drivers to get through traffic cleanly to allow them to catch the slower bugs. Racing is all about close finishes, and this mode definitely delivers!
The course designs in BAJA are creative and each one is unique. Many have split paths, all have rugged terrain, and there are a large variety of jaw dropping jumps and drop aways to navigate. Each track brings a different challenge whether it is break neck corners, narrow track paths, or wide open straights. There are also a TON of different tracks to race keeping the game fresh for a long time.
Graphics:
The environments in BAJA are simple and work well together, but more than that is expected in a next gen game.
What’s Hot:
The track paths are clearly defined; even in split path sections the player knows where to go just by looking at the texture. The brush is cut from the track path and really heavy off track to make the track path even more evident.
The environments give you the feeling you are in the middle of a dry desert racing where humanity rarely sees.
The lingering dust trails are awesome. I find myself getting off the main line to get out of the dust and using the dust trail to see where my opponents are racing.
What’s Not:
Rollercoasters, hotels, and ferris wheels don’t really fit in with the rest of the environments. Plus, these places are so isolated and there are no signs of humanity besides a few structures. The abandoned houses and buildings in a few levels, and even the farm areas were a nice touch; but the infrastructures should’ve stopped there.
The vertical edges and cliff facings look horrendous. No overhangs are modeled in and the textures seem extremely washed out on these faces.
The paved road textures have some evident and weird kinking found on the edges around corners.
UI/Career:
What’s Hot:
The UI is easy to navigate and you aren’t in menus for too long before revving your engine and throwing dust.
The career gives you a nice progression from vehicle to vehicle. It’s nice being able to choose whether you want to upgrade your current ride or save your money to buy your next vehicle.
Each class offers a variety of races within so you don’t have to compete or do well in each race in order to move on. If you don’t like the hillclimbs, you don’t have to run them. You can choose to race the rallys and circuit races instead.
What’s Not:
No vehicle descriptors to tell the strength’s/weakness’s between the vehicles in each class. The only difference is price, but you don’t know what you are getting for the extra cost.
No tutorials at the beginning of the career meant going part way through the campaign without realizing there is a clutch or a repair option.
The AI, even on easy are tough to beat even for an avid offroad gamer. One would expect from playing other racers that the easy AI are fairly simple to beat, but that is far from the case. The AI also seem to be tied to a rail and won’t give up their line no matter what. Atleast the collisions are consistent so you know what to expect from a bump!
Career Length. Although the races are fun, I want to get to the faster vehicles already. Hours on end are spent making money and moving up, but it seems to take way too long to unlock the faster vehicles. Atleast in arcade you are able to pick from a few select stock trophy trucks to get a taste.
Online Play:
What’s Hot:
After the level loads the race area you are about to compete in becomes your online lobby. It’s great to get in some extra practice while you wait for more players to join. If you don’t want to pre-run the course then you can freeride in the world finding some big jumps. Wrecking your car during pre-race is no big deal because it will be fixed up when the real race starts.
The host has control over the race launch. Once the host is ready, they hit start race and a timer starts down to the race kick off.
After each race you are loaded back into freeride mode until the host picks a new location. Everyone loads into that and freerides there till the flag is ready to fall. This keeps you playing all the time.
Even in full rooms there is very little lag and the collisions seem spot on. If you want you can turn off player collision to get an unobstructed battling experience.
What’s Not:
Finding a game with more than 1 player in it is tough. Many times there will be 8 races with one person each in them. Racing with 9 guys is way more fun than 2.
Host must choose “restart”, load into the previous race, then choose the new location and wait for it to load instead of going straight to the new location.
I did my best to write up a completely un-biased review of BAJA from a gamer's, rather than developer's perspective.
BAJA: Edge of Control Review
10/20/08
Overall impression:
BAJA combines the feel of a sim with the fun of an arcade racer for a flat out adrenaline rush of a game. Each and every race keeps the player on the edge of his or her seat with the pedal to the floor throwing dust. The gameplay takes a few races to get the hang of, but once you learn to control the beats of horsepower you won’t want to put the controller down. The gameplay was obviously a top priority, and the makers of BAJA nailed it. Sliding sideways, soaring over jumps, and pounding whoops puts you in the action with hands full of arm pump ready for the next challenge. While some of the graphics off the track suffered, you’ll barely notice because you don’t dare take your eyes from the race track or you’ll end up flipping end over end completely destroying your truck.
Physics/Controls:
The vehicles in BAJA offer a diverse selection from a bug to a high powered trophy truck. Each vehicle requires a different driving style in order to go fast and finish in one piece. Some vehicles have a lot of power and others have a lot of suspension, the player must figure this out and drive the vehicles accordingly. The difference in vehicles helps keep each stage of the game fresh.
What’s Hot:
The vehicles react really well to the terrain and each bump will keep you glued to the edge of your seat ready to react to the next bounce.
The vehicles spin, slide, and buck like you are driving offroad and on dirt; something captured better than any offroad game previously. The physics handle surprisingly well and like one would expect on the paved sections as well.
Feathering the gas and brake really works to drive with power and not just by steering, and the E-brake really allows you to really steer with the rear of the vehicle.
Although pre-load in a truck isn’t “real” it adds an integral piece of gameplay to BAJA. While you may lose time flying through the air not accelerating forward, flying over bumps allows you to not worry about getting kicked sideways and wrecking. Airing it out also allows you a chance to let off the gas and keep your engine cool to avoid overheating… plus airing it out is always fun!
Vehicle damage was well done. It changes the performance enough to slow you down but without making the vehicle not fun to drive. The damage system adds an integral part of gameplay, and without it the game wouldn’t be close to the same.
What’s Not:
Using the e-brake to stop a slide steps way over the line of a “realistic” feeling. Also, when tapping the e-brake to get out of a slide the vehicle has a weird hitch and becomes unpredictable…predictability is one of the strong points of the physics in other cases.
In air control of the vehicles is really drastic. Although I see a need for a bit of in air control to keep the vehicles on the course, it was a bit overdone in BAJA.
Events/Tracks:
A huge variety of tracks in found in BAJA. There are shorter course events that are lap based, hillclimbs which are held in a lap based format over some of the most rugged terrain, and then there are the rally events which are A to B races with check points in between.
What’s Hot:
Lap based circuit events are very familiar to other racing games. These events allow you to learn the track and try to set the fastest lap times.
The hillclimb events are exciting because they are over some brutal terrain. Keeping your vehicle together is crucial in these events and adds a lot of excitement.
The rally events are a unique challenge. Since the courses are A to B and longer, it makes learning the course more difficult. The rally events require you to react to the terrain as you come to it because you don’t know what is next. Flying into gullys and tight corners you aren’t expecting makes for some real hair raising moments! You only race against the guys in your class at these events, but bugs, open wheels, and trophy trucks are all included; which requires you to deal with coming up fast on slower vehicles and faster vehicles coming up fast from behind you.
The best event in Baja are the Open Challenge races. These events race all vehicle types together in a set up for a close finish. The bug gets a head start while the trophy trucks start furthest back. The timing of the increments sets it up so all vehicles should meet at the finish at about the same time. The set up causes the bug drivers to be perfect all race to avoid being caught and the trophy truck drivers to get through traffic cleanly to allow them to catch the slower bugs. Racing is all about close finishes, and this mode definitely delivers!
The course designs in BAJA are creative and each one is unique. Many have split paths, all have rugged terrain, and there are a large variety of jaw dropping jumps and drop aways to navigate. Each track brings a different challenge whether it is break neck corners, narrow track paths, or wide open straights. There are also a TON of different tracks to race keeping the game fresh for a long time.
Graphics:
The environments in BAJA are simple and work well together, but more than that is expected in a next gen game.
What’s Hot:
The track paths are clearly defined; even in split path sections the player knows where to go just by looking at the texture. The brush is cut from the track path and really heavy off track to make the track path even more evident.
The environments give you the feeling you are in the middle of a dry desert racing where humanity rarely sees.
The lingering dust trails are awesome. I find myself getting off the main line to get out of the dust and using the dust trail to see where my opponents are racing.
What’s Not:
Rollercoasters, hotels, and ferris wheels don’t really fit in with the rest of the environments. Plus, these places are so isolated and there are no signs of humanity besides a few structures. The abandoned houses and buildings in a few levels, and even the farm areas were a nice touch; but the infrastructures should’ve stopped there.
The vertical edges and cliff facings look horrendous. No overhangs are modeled in and the textures seem extremely washed out on these faces.
The paved road textures have some evident and weird kinking found on the edges around corners.
UI/Career:
What’s Hot:
The UI is easy to navigate and you aren’t in menus for too long before revving your engine and throwing dust.
The career gives you a nice progression from vehicle to vehicle. It’s nice being able to choose whether you want to upgrade your current ride or save your money to buy your next vehicle.
Each class offers a variety of races within so you don’t have to compete or do well in each race in order to move on. If you don’t like the hillclimbs, you don’t have to run them. You can choose to race the rallys and circuit races instead.
What’s Not:
No vehicle descriptors to tell the strength’s/weakness’s between the vehicles in each class. The only difference is price, but you don’t know what you are getting for the extra cost.
No tutorials at the beginning of the career meant going part way through the campaign without realizing there is a clutch or a repair option.
The AI, even on easy are tough to beat even for an avid offroad gamer. One would expect from playing other racers that the easy AI are fairly simple to beat, but that is far from the case. The AI also seem to be tied to a rail and won’t give up their line no matter what. Atleast the collisions are consistent so you know what to expect from a bump!
Career Length. Although the races are fun, I want to get to the faster vehicles already. Hours on end are spent making money and moving up, but it seems to take way too long to unlock the faster vehicles. Atleast in arcade you are able to pick from a few select stock trophy trucks to get a taste.
Online Play:
What’s Hot:
After the level loads the race area you are about to compete in becomes your online lobby. It’s great to get in some extra practice while you wait for more players to join. If you don’t want to pre-run the course then you can freeride in the world finding some big jumps. Wrecking your car during pre-race is no big deal because it will be fixed up when the real race starts.
The host has control over the race launch. Once the host is ready, they hit start race and a timer starts down to the race kick off.
After each race you are loaded back into freeride mode until the host picks a new location. Everyone loads into that and freerides there till the flag is ready to fall. This keeps you playing all the time.
Even in full rooms there is very little lag and the collisions seem spot on. If you want you can turn off player collision to get an unobstructed battling experience.
What’s Not:
Finding a game with more than 1 player in it is tough. Many times there will be 8 races with one person each in them. Racing with 9 guys is way more fun than 2.
Host must choose “restart”, load into the previous race, then choose the new location and wait for it to load instead of going straight to the new location.