I have always loved off-road racing games.  As a matter of fact, the first game I ever loved online for the original Xbox was Rallisport Challenge 2.  Something about the tires spinning out in the mud and the dirt caking on the door panels has always caught my interest.  Last year, Codemasters came out with the stellar title Dirt, and this summer, THQ is throwing their name in the hat for the title of off-road king.  Known for the MX and ATV unleashed series’, THQ is no stranger to non-traditional racing titles.  For the most part, this game maintains their usual quality of game, and will definitely appeal to die-hard racing fans.

For me, one of the most important things about a game is the overall feel of the controls.  In this title, there is no disappointment on that front.  The cars handle very tight and maintaining control while traversing the rocky terrain proves challenging, yet fulfilling.  Also, I must admit that the occasional intentional running off the track or turning your tires mid-jump always brings a smile to your face.  The game feels very realistic, so there is a definite challenge to mastering the controls.  Once you get comfortable using the clutch for speed bursts and the e-brake for the tight turns, you will have a hard time putting the controller down.  The races in the career mode are always increasing in difficulty, so you never quite feel like you can dominate the game.  Overall, the game plays much more like a sim (Forza), than an arcade style racer (Burnout).

Since the game focuses more on the actual racing than the graphics and presentation, customization plays a vital role.  Many die hard fans will love spending time in the garage testing out the new parts they have unlocked while setting their vehicle up for maximum potential.  Another cool touch was the bonus of sponsorship- as you win races different companies will approach you to sponsor your ride.  It adds to the competition of the game, because their labels appear along the door panels of your chosen vehicle.  Finish a race with damage done to the doors and you receive no sponsorship money; finishing on higher difficulties will garner more money.  This added a unique addition to the otherwise dull “racing for points” system (Project Gotham series).

Though I enjoyed the game, there were definitely some obvious gripes I had.  First of all, we are now three years into the life of the Xbox 360- I KNOW THQ could have made this game look a little better- besides the lack of eye-catching graphics, it just seemed a little unpolished.  For example, this game my have the worst start up menu I have ever seen.  Once the game is loaded, there is a bare bones white screen with a small video playing along the bottom.  To top it off, the soundtrack is full of horrible Mexican vacation tunes!  Though this may seem like a small problem, I found it big enough to write about.  One thing I really look for in an off-road racer is the affect of dirt on your vehicle and vice versa.  In this game, the dirt hardly sticks to your vehicle, and your tire prints left on the track were almost unnoticeable.  Though these are small things, they still had a negative effect on me. 

The multiplayer of the game is very standard, and pretty fun.  You can play with up to three other people on the same Xbox or nine others online.  The racers are fast-paced and challenging, but I noticed some minor lag on a few of them.  Also, there is no real lobby system so you have to quite and regroup after each race if you intend on playing with your friends.  When we are this far into the next-gen console cycle, I feel like this is unacceptable.

If you are fan of off-road racers, you should definitely give Baja a try.  I personally liked Dirt a little bit more, simply because I’m a graphics whore and don’t care as much about customization.  In my opinion, the fun of being off-road is racing around with little care for your vehicle, and knocking over a few bushes on the way.  If you absolutely love deep, deep levels of customization, then this is the game for you.  If not, at least give it a rent…no matter what, off-road racing is just much more exciting than street racing.

Game Rating: B-