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Reviewed by Jimmy | 11.02.06

Intro
It's time to sit on the quad one more time as we review ATV Offroad Fury Pro. This time around Climax has upped their annual ATV franchise by overhauling and fine tuning all aspects of its racing engine. ATV Offroad Fury Pro is going to put a smile on the long time fans faces, and hopefully a few new faces as well. Check out our mud flapped review of ATV Offroad Fury Pro.

Game
Let's get right into this review. I'm sure if you clicked on this link then I don't really have to explain the ATV Offroad franchise, or what the game is about. ATV Offroad Fury Pro is a straightord arcade styled racing with alternative vechicles on some extreme terrain. Digging in with our engines are idle, here we go.

Before you start into your career in Offroad racing you can take a few lessons in the 'training' mode available off the single player menu. The training activities go over techniques for driving your ATV, Bike, Buggy, or Truck. Each vehicle type can have up to 9 lessons which should be good enough to prep you for the real deal. ATV really isn't a hard or complex game, but knowing the little ins and outs will help you race to your full potential.

In the 'championship' mode in single player you have three selections, start the championship tournaments, and check your email and sponsors. Before, I get into the tournaments, I'll run over the email and sponsors in ATV OFP (ATV Offroad Fury Pro). Like your typical sports game you'll be able to read emails from different people from officials to sponsors updating you on new parts, events, or offers. It's a nice integration and it's great for boosting confidence becaise when you score a tournament win, you'll have mail, and it will be from the other sponsors trying to wean you over. Like they say, "It's good to be number one".

For the sponsors you can have three different companies at one time. The sponsors are divided between clothing and vehicle classes and each offers their own special deal along with a finishing bonus. For a better idea, here is an example from the game. Nac's racing in the atv class offers special shifter 350cc, and a 1st place award of $150, 2nd place $75, 3rd place $25 and a negative penalty of $750 if you finish in 4th. So in this case if you really wanted that shifter, then go with Nac's racing, if not the negative penalty really doesn't out way the positive finishing bonuses, especially when other companies offer $500 and $1000 finishing awards. The sponsor addition is a nice touch and adds extra depth to ATV Offroad Fury Pro.

Let's get to the racing.... In the 'event map' you choose your racing championship which are broken down into division categories (National, Freestyle, Circuit, Endurocross, Rally, Snowcross, Legends, and Olympics). Yea, it's a lot, right from the start you can tell that ATV OFP is pretty hefty and will be sticking around inside of your PSP for a while. The major difference between each racing mode is the vehicle you'll be driving. All the vehicles are customizable, from their engines, to their paint scheme and logos. This level of customization really adds up given the amount of vehicle classes, vechile types, and the ability to tune them to your specifics. The one problem with this huge selection and wide range of customization is that the vehicles all in a certain class perform generally the same. Even after tuning my ATV, I didn't notice much difference from the non-tuned ride.

The weak points in ATV Offroad Fury Pro have to do with its limited racers of four racers in a race, and the overall numbing effect ATV OFP can have over long play. ATV OFP is a good racing experience, but it does get a little dull going through the races which kind of blur together. With the vehicles handing the same, and the typical arcade style rubber band A.I., it's really hard to get any unique moments during the game. ATV OFP first two laps are generally the best, and since the game is set up for a five laps in the championships, you're in for a long drawn out race.

To change things up, and to give yourself a kick you can switch up to some multiplayer races. ATV OFP offers the ability for three players to go online and race over Ad-Hoc or infrastructure with a host of features including buddy lists. Online, the action is fast and fun and remarkably lag-free, although it's a little barren right now that should change. If that isn't enough to rope you online, then consider the fact that the rubber band A.I. will be eliminated. Nothing is worse then a racing game that lets you catch up, and online, well, no one will let you catch up. There is more with the promise of downloadable upgrades, and current ability to download and build your own events with the track editor. It's going to take a bit for the community to grow, but if they stick with it, ATV OFP will be a rich and rewarding game over the long run.

GFX/SND
Graphically, ATV Offroad Fury Pro looks great with finer detail to the overall production, car models, environments, and textures. From the indoor events to outdoors the draw distance is impressive and looks up to respectively up to par with the console version. Also important is ATV Offroad Fury Pro is a steady frame rate for smooth action and climax delivers. ATV offroad fury pro is the best looking of all the games and I can only get better as climax ups its game.

The audio side of ATV offroad fury pro is the standard engine sounds that really don't capture anything special. I had to fiddle with the audio balance between music and effects until I found a good middle ground, which meant dropping the music down to 40%. The music variety is standard for this type of game and offers up a nice alterative rock background. There are 34 tracks offered, most of them from bands I didn't recognize. I really got into a few of the tracks and might just check out a few of these kids. Overall ATV OFP keeps on moving forward lapping itself year by year.

Lowdown
ATV Offroad Fury Pro is the best of the series and a top-shelf racing game for the PSP. Climax has packed this disc full of events, vehicles, and options that will keep you on the dirt for a while. Even though ATV Offroad Fury Pro can be a little repetitive, it's still fun. I recommend that you check out Sony's 2006 offroad offering, and hopefully you'll dig and enjoy all the game has to offer.

Good Lots of Vechicles, Upgrades, and Races. Good Online Mode. Solid Graphics and Controls
BadOnly Four Racers in a Race, Gameplay gets Repetitive

Gameplay: 8.5, Graphics/Sound: 8, Innovation: 6.5, Mojo: 8. Final: 8 / 10

  • New Cross-Connection Compatibility with ATV Offroad Fury 4 for PS2 - Players are now able to share customized circuits, exchange and upgrade vehicles, share trading cards, and access chat rooms and newsgroups with the upcoming ATV Offroad Fury 4 for PS2
  • New Shared Online Community - Players can access message boards and view scores, rankings, player profiles, and exchange game data with other players.
  • Multiplayer Gameplay - Gamers can compete locally against friends or race fans around the country via wireless multiplayer connectivity, either via Ad Hoc or Infrastructure Mode.
  • More than 30 ATVs, MX bikes, buggies, and Trophy trucks.
  • A vehicle tuning system allows players to change tire type, exhaust, gear ratios, and more.
  • Customizable component parts for vehicles and riders along with color designs and logos.



ATV Offroad
Fury Pro

 
Publisher
Sony
 
Developer
Climax
 
Genre
Racing
 
Released
Oct 2006
 
ESRB
Everyone


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