Game review: 2XL ATV Offroad (second opinion) - iPhone / iPod Touch

It contains an intense racing experience delivered by some immensely impressive graphics.

Like with its forerunner, the visuals in this game really are the business.

ATV Offroad is one of the slickest offroad racing games I’ve seen on any portable format, not just the iPhone/iPod.

The game features 16 high-quality tracks varying from dusty dirt tracks to snowy ridges. Also included are two freestyle arenas where you can perform some daring airborne stunts.

There is remarkable attention to detail in the design, including lovely texturing to the terrains, shadows from trees and quad bikes leaving trails of dust behind them.

The good stuff doesn’t stop there as this game also boasts impressive draw distances, smooth animation and a very decent sense of speed.

The only real graphical glitch is the quad bikes sometimes drive straight through objects which should be solid.

The overall standard of the visuals in ATV Offroad shouldn’t come as a surprise given 2XL Games’ pedigree in motocross games but this doesn’t make the quality any less spectacular.

ATV Offroad’s content is provided via three modes of play – career, arcade and multiplayer.

Career is the main mode, containing 11 leagues to work through. Each league has various events to play – place high enough in one league to move on to the next.

The challenge in the career mode comes from trying to be the best racer at each of the three difficulty levels, because other than that satisfaction there isn’t any other purpose to it.

There are no unlockable items, or bikes or tracks which you can’t get elsewhere in the game.

The career does have a lot of events to enjoy and is very demanding, but it is also a bit hollow. It’s basically little more than a long chain of individual races.

Arcade mode lets you play one-off time trial and race events, choosing your difficulty level and number of laps. You can also practice the courses without any pressure.

There are numerous rider outfits and quad bike colour schemes to choose from, though these only provide visual rather than physical differences on the track.

With the game having such magnificent graphics you would expect the gameplay to be up to an equally high standard.

Certainly the racing can be great fun. It is fast, intense and challenging.

The physics system is very good, with the quad bikes looking and behaving very authentically.

There are plenty of thrills and spills, with tough AI rivals not afraid to take you out.

On the flipside I have had a few gameplay issues, most notably with the controls.

It’s actually slightly unfair to criticise the controls as a whole, it’s mainly steering I’ve had problems with.

The standard controls setting uses on-screen buttons for accelerate and brake, with tilting the iPhone/iPod left or right for turning.

There are also six buttons for performing flying stunts – however, tricks are only useful on two of the courses so doing them on most tracks is pointless.

When I first played ATV Offroad I found controlling the throttle and brake with the same thumb to be a bit fiddly but this was minor compared to the handling difficulties I was having.

I found the default tilt controls to be inconsistent and unpredictable. Sometimes it felt like I was having to make extreme tilt movements to get any response from the steering, while other times a slight twitch left or right would turn my quad bike too sharply.

It seemed too gentle or too severe were the only steering options available.

I often found I was overcompensating for the lack of responsiveness, which got me into various tangles trying to get my ATV going in the right direction.

Luckily the game has numerous adjustable settings for quad bike handling, including steering sensitivity, brake assist and auto accelerate. You can also drop the tilt controls and use a virtual joystick instead, although I only discovered this by accident.

After much trial and error I finally found a configuration which worked for me.

It was good to finally become comfortable with the controls, but it was annoying having to go through the hassle of tweaking different settings to get there.

When ATV Offroad works, it works really well. It’s just a shame it can take a while to reach that level of satisfaction with the game, and I can see some people giving up.

There is no doubt that 2XL ATV Offroad is the best looking game of its kind of the iPhone/iPod. However, when it comes to being immediately accessible and playable I would suggest its rival title Dirt Moto Racing might just have a slight edge.

ATV Offroad is still a very solid racing game – it’s enjoyable (eventually) and offers terrific value. Its problem is the gameplay doesn’t quite live up to the standards set by its stunning visuals.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10 – But for its control issues 2XL ATV Offroad would be right up there with the very best racing games available for iPhone/iPod. As it is, it’s good, just not as good as it could be.