Off-Road Challenge

by Bobba Fatt
January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST

It may not be perfect, but if crashing, smashing, and plunging through muddy wastelands is you dish, Off-Road Challenge is a meaty main course.

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Off-Road Challenge should be the first video game branded with a whiplash warning. This arcade-style thrasher hurls you into the action via a basic racing mode, a two-player split-screen matchup, or a circuit feature that enables you to customize your vehicle by earning cash for upgrades. Off-Road reaches for road-warrior bliss but, due to a string of minor drawbacks, it never quite puts the pedal to the metal.

For starters, only four trucks and six tracks are immediately playable. A better variety of initial trucks would�ve been nice, especially since you�re blown away by the A.I. opponents from the start.

Most of the six tracks look alike and share similar textures, but the obstacles, from catapulting hills to winding roads to icy bridges, vary enough to lend each course a personality. The fast, fluid visuals are blemished only by slight pop-up and bonus items that are too small to distinguish from debris. Fortunately, cool touches abound in the backgrounds, like an F-16 vs. UFO battle above the desert around Las Vegas. Finally, the hard-rocking soundtrack is tainted only by an announcer who rarely speaks, but keeps repeating a few phrases, like "Ugly start." As for the controls, San Francisco Rush pros will be right at home with Off-Road�s responsive but loose handling.

It may not be perfect, but if crashing, smashing, and plunging through muddy wastelands is your dish, Off-Road Challenge is a meaty main course.