4x4 Evo (PS2)
Trucks, if you're hauling corn or towing a trailer they're great. If not they're a waste of time because they get an excuse to take off the whole back end you your vehicle and sell it to you for about the same price as an SUV. SUVs, great if you want to guzzle gasoline and you have some money to burn. If not, they're still nice to look at but look at bit clunky when driving (a side effect of being so monstrous). Add in the all-around great jeep and put them in off-road racing and you get 4x4 Evo.
This game looks and plays like one of those car commercials with the truck (or SUV) driving through the rain or through a canyon. Also much like those car commercials, in 4x4 you never really see that many other cars that racing against you. It would be nice if the AI opponents were closer together and it wasn't just you against the track most of the time.
I know these things can drive faster than how they clunk around in 4x4 Evo. I see SUVs in those LA high speed police chases every day, and those things don't let up. The game would be much more engaging if they gave a greater illusion of speed.
The cars are authentic made from specifications taken from Dallas area car dealerships. Vehicles featured are from top names in the field: Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, Ford, Mitsubhisi and Lexus. All of which are a feast for the eyes in their realism. Then again, how hard is it to animate a car. I guess the answer is: a lot harder than I think.
The textures are smooth and the vehicle models look good. It's a shame that there isn't a higher frame rate. As a result of this sluggish framerate, there isn't much of an illusion of speed which can make or break a racing game. In this game it breaks it. On the upside, the animations are smooth and the shocks even bounce up and down.
I'd like to take this moment to bring to light that this game needs more SUV rollovers. I mean then all can't be equipped with ABS breaks, can they? I'd like to note that throughout the whole game there was not even one single tire blowout. Those SUVs are notorious for that sort of stuff, especially those shoddy Ford/Firestone pieces of junk.
The Bottom Line: This is a pretty crawling racing game that doesn't get very far from the starting line. It looks great, but gameplay is what counts. If you don't mind racing by yourself most of the time, and just soaking up the scenery, this one might be for you.
SOUND: 5/10
- Standard engine hums and whatnot. thing to write home about.
GRAPHICS: 9/10
- Wow, the cars look great. The tracks look great and the weather effects are true to life.
CONTROL: 4/10
- The vehicles are a Bit hard to handle, but I don't have any gripes.
REPLAY VALUE: 6/10
- Different weather effects, lots of vehicles and options.
FUN: 5/10
- The fun gets killed by the lack of competition and the slowgoing cars.
OVERALL: 5.8/10
