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AKA Acclaim has published a multiplatform sequel to ATV Quad Power Racing for the PS One, appropriately named, ATV Quad Power Racing 2. Climax has taken developer rights to produce a fun, extreme title.
Single player mode was given a lot of thought and it shows. The game’s career mode has you racing across the game’s tracks. ATV QPR2 spices things up by making the winner of each race, not only the person who gets in first place, but also the person who gets a lot of trick points, farthest jump, ect. Being successful in the career mode allows you to win medals, new ATVs, and skills for your rider. You are then able to use these new items in the game’s other mode.
If you’d rather not spend so much time and want to get in on the action, you can choose single race mode. Freestyle mode is included if you want to exhibit your "mad" skills in an arena specially designed for tricks. Challenge Mode has you completing mini-games that test your different skills. If you’d rather not have tricks involved too much, you can choose Arcade mode and race against the clock. Multiplayer modes are included if you have a buddy who wants to play. You can play against each other, engage in a tournament or compete in the freestyle arena.
Climax made the game’s control simple enough to enjoy at first and deep enough to master later on. The analog stick controls movement while the A button controls acceleration and the B button controlling the brake. If you’d rather not mess around with the A/B combo, you can use the C-Stick. Performing tricks requires you to be in the air (for the most part) and pressing a combination of a direction and a button. Successfully completing the tricks gives you more turbo to use. If you don’t want to be airborne too long, you can try going off walls or knocking out other riders to get some boost. Once you receive your boost, the game blurs everything out and you move at insane speeds until the boost runs out.
The game earns its trick-warning screen at the beginning and them some. You will not see professional ATV riders do some of the tricks included in the game. The harder tricks you earn later in the game are the most entertaining and extreme, as expected. Your rider is well animated when he/she completes his trick and when they have very smooth bail animations.
Visually, the game is very good. There isn’t any noticeable slowdown, even when all six riders are pulling off insane stunts. The tracks include everything from the desert to the beautiful forest. All of the tracks feature a lot of detail and many for great gameplay. The riders are wonderfully designed and smoothly animated. All of the tricks in the game, although they are "larger-than-life," look authentic and well, real. The ATVs feature enough detail to fit into the smooth game.
Sound wise, the game is good but there should be more. The soundtrack consists of songs from the likes of Godsmack, and Box Car Racer, but there are too few. Since there are only seven tracks in the game, you should know each one after a few races. Engines sound a bit muffled, but otherwise the sound package is good if limited.
AKA Acclaim and Climax have done a great job when making ATV Quad Power Racing 2. The game is a huge improvement over the PS One original. Since many online retailers are selling the game for $20-$30, there is no reason why you shouldn’t own this. Unless, of course, you dislike the genre. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Feb 10, 2003
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