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While there have been loads of extreme, off road racing titles released in the past few years, Acclaim's ATV Quad Power Racing 2 is a sequel to an almost forgotten PS1 title that came out well before Tony Hawk mania struck. Additionally, ATV Quad 2 is appearing on the racing-deprived Gamecube, where it's likely to enjoy a warn reception. ATV Quad 2 allows players to race as one of 10 real life off-road racers through 15 tracks and 5 distinct environments. The arcade-style action is fast and simple, yet the game allows players to master some surprisingly intricate stunts and techniques. There are several modes of play in the game, including single-race, time-trial, career and, arcade modes. These modes are implemented competently and allow players plenty of variety. The usual single race, time-trial, and arcade modes let you to race in competition with other races with a minimal time investment. However, the most interesting part of ATV Quad 2 is the Career mode works as a tournament and you earn points as you progress through a series of races. This is also where you can unlock extras such as bikes and tracks. It's fairly easy to do, and once you open a track in this mode, it's available to play in the other modes as well, making it worth your time. There's also an addictive Challenge mode, where you have to complete increasingly difficult tasks such as racing through a series of checkpoints, or performing a stunt before the clock runs out. This mode can be quite addictive, and definitely adds a lot to the gameplay. For newbies, the game also includes a helpful ATV Academy mode where you can learn the basics of handling your bike and tricks. This is quite helpful and teaches you the game's techniques painlessly. Going through the Academy might seem a waste of time for veteran gamers, but completing the training unlocks additional features. In addition to those options, ATV Quad 2 also features an interesting Freestyle mode, where the mission isn't to race, but perform tricks on a challenging indoor track. This mode seems deceptively simple at first because the indoor tracks seem less intimidating, but don't be fooled. You'll need just as much skill to get through these as the outdoor tracks. Adding to the realism, the game offers real tracks and sponsors with their own billboards throughout the tracks. Additionally, you'll race against ten actual drivers, each with a unique and aggressive racing style. You start with a limited number of tracks and vehicles but can unlock more as you win races and competitions. Once you get on the track, your mission is relatively simple: win the race. You can do this easily in the first few levels, but things get harder once you reach the later levels. In addition to earning points for your final race position, you can earn bonus points by performing tricks. The tricks are relatively simple to perform and once you master the technique, landing these becomes second nature. One important strategy during the race is to preload the vehicle by pressing down on the preload button, which gives you extra air when you jump. However, you have to press the button at just the right time, or you won't receive the maximum boost. ATV offers a decent selection of special trick moves, but the twist here lies in the special combat moves. To make things more exciting, players have the ability to kick other riders and knock them off their vehicles, which not only costs them a lot of valuable time, it gives you even more bonus points as well. The fighting system cool feature that might remind you of the classic Road Rash series, and definitely makes ATV Quad Power Racing stand apart from the pack. ATV Quad 2's production values are excellent, with a large variety of track environments to race. The game offers indoor and outdoor tracks ranging from muddy swamps, to snow-covered mountains and dusty desert terrain. The tracks look great, though maybe a little bland, with impressive weather effects including rain and snow. Races take place in day or night and the light-sourcing system is excellent and makes the environments appear surprisingly realistic. Some of the tracks are quite elaborate, but the game engine handles this beautifully. ATV Quad 2 moves at an impressively smooth frame rate throughout. Its bike animations are also quite good and players can select from multiple camera angles including an effective first-person mode. ATV Quad 2's soundtrack is fairly decent for the genre and features tracks from a variety of well-known and unknown metal and punk artists that fit the game's mood perfectly. ATV Quad 2 looks and sounds excellent and really takes advantage of the Gamecube's processing abilities. Some of the textures are a little bland, but the game moves at a fast clip. It creates a convincing sense of speed and the engine does a good job in recreating the intensity of off-road racing. However, most players will enjoy the cool crashes and fight animations the most, and the game delivers these in spades. Overall, ATV's visuals are very good for the genre and console. Each
track throws a variety of challenges at the player including huge jumps, tight
turns plus each one has different branches. Controlling the ATVs is quite
intuitive with a streamlined interface that allows players to concentrate on the
action. However, the game's deep tricks system is quite deep, and lets you
perform stunts like wheelies and power-slides. Performing these stunts has the
added bonus of adding to your score. The physics engine is excellent, and the
performance of the ATVs is realistic and believable with cool crashes and
realistic responsiveness that makes you feel grounded in reality. However, the
ability to kick the other riders adds to the fun and the game allows you to
perform some incredible stunts with relative ease. This approach achieves an
excellent balance between realism and action that should please gamers looking
for something that's not going to take hours to learn how to play. Its easy to
get into, simple to play and offers a lot of replay value thanks to the various
modes and secret options. So in the end, ATV Quad Power Racing 2 is a solid
title that should please fans looking for a fast, action-oriented racer.
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