ATV Offroad Fury 4

7.7
Good

Gameplay	8.0	"Another great dirt racer to burn through"
Graphics	7.5
Sound	7.0
Value	7.5

By Daniel Needham

If you’ve clicked this review wondering “gee, were there ever any ATV Offroad Fury 1, 2 and 3 games?” then you’re not alone, as I hadn’t been aware of this franchise's existence either, and even had to pay a trip to the local video store for some researching.

What I didn’t need to find out was the fact that dirt racers have proven to be extremely fun recently and the PSP title ATV Offroad Fury was no exception; however, will this necessarily mean the same gameplay in this title which has made the genre so popular?

Luckily for you, the answer is yes. This isn’t to say it’s an exact copy then paste job though, as the title looks to forge its own identity amongst a genre which is seemingly being further filled each month.

One of the new features in ATV Offroad Fury 4 is the addition of a new story mode. There's not really much of a plot, as the player basically joins up with a team of riders, racing all over the world and working up through the ranks in a quest to win the championship title, which you would have earned by the time you achieve it.

While it’s nice to see a rhyme and reason behind your dirt riding, the real toy you’ll be playing with is the track editor. Customisation is the name of the game as whatever your mind thinks up is possible. Think Tony Hawk meets dirt and engines in terms of possibilities.

Handling has been tweaked, and it feels a lot more natural than before. The brakes are no longer overly sensitive as I noticed in my research gaming, and there's a much greater sense of physics occurring in the world around you, which is great to see for a last-gen title.

Multiplayer modes are just as imaginative as in any other titles, and there's reliable support for up to eight players in a game. While races and freestyle modes are perfectly acceptable, they're pretty conventional fare and aren't the kind of thing that will hook you for hours on end - the mini-games will do that instead. And if all that gets too repetitive you can always share created tracks, messages and rankings with PSP and PS2 owners of the game.

ATV OF 4 does an impressive job of adding to what makes the genre such a hit. The game's controls are simple enough for novice players to jump right into, but also have enough little intricacies to keep the interest of more experienced racing enthusiasts. The graphics and sounds have also been polished up quite a bit from previous iterations. The character and vehicle models are sharp, the tracks look great, and the animations do an excellent job of conveying a real sense of speed, while there is enough audio fare to keep engine heads happy.

And as with previous Off Road Fury games, the handling is fun and accessible while the competitive AI supplies a surprisingly tough challenge right from the start. Add in a decent online multiplayer mode, and you've got a great example of a last-gen game that's still offering great value for your money.

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