G4TV

The ATV game is not an easy thing to do well. Rainbow Studios set the high water mark a long time ago with the original ATV Offroad Fury for the PlayStation 2, and no one seems to have been able to exceed it since. Pure is the first contender with the potential to do it to come along in years. But is this a new leader of the pack, or just another also-ran?

Holeshot

Pure is best described at ATV Offroad Fury meets SSX. The basic racing is very smooth and easy to control with wide-open tracks overflowing with shortcuts and alternate routes. In fact, there are so many alternate routes on the bigger tracks that you'll want to stay near the back of the pack just to see where everyone else is going. When forks in the road whiz by at these speeds, they're easy to miss.

Each track has in abundance is opportunities for sick air. Fairly early on the game, your rider will be jumping from dizzying heights that would make an airline pilot reach for one of those little brown baggies. And it's a good thing, too, because the only way to build your boost meter is by performing trick after trick.

Tricks come in four flavors. The basic aerial acrobatics are performed with the A button (on the 360 controller), followed by the B button, the Y button, and finally (once you've earned it), the opportunity to pull off a lengthy, signature move. And each trick can be tweaked for extra points and boost. It's a very intuitive system, and one that you'll master almost immediately. Skill isn't really a requirement here – just air time.

Stunts don't just give you more boosts but more access to the field. Instead of a single track, think of each level having multiple routes that interweave with each other at various heights. By hitting that ramp just right, you'll be able to reach new and often faster areas than your opponents. Hitting it wrong will have you greeting the ground in no time flat.

Neck and Neck

Another neat part about Pure is the ability to upgrade your ATV as you progress through the career mode. Winning (or even just earning points) unlocks new events, new parts, and upgrades for older parts. And while you can choose to race on one of the pre-fab ATVs that comes with the game, the real meat is customizing your own ride.

And that's not to say customizing the paint scheme – though you can do that – but rather, the bolt-on parts. You can build multiple machines that focus on top speed, acceleration, tight cornering, or the all-important ease of performing tricks for those freestyle moments. The customization setup works really well, though it's sometimes hard to find your new parts when you jump directly to the garage from a race, and it's very easy to get overwhelmed with all of the part choices even early on in the game.

Tied at the Line

Pure definitely holds its own against the early entries in the ATV Offroad Fury franchise. The big problem is that the game tends to get old rather quickly. Where the trick system is so easy to learn and use as you'll quickly feel like you're just going through the motions. Still, even after getting all the initial enjoyment out of the game, Pure is still definitely fun to pick up for short, satisfying bursts of speed.

Review by: Greg Stewart