ATV Offroad Fury is one of those franchises that has been a constant throughout the life of the PlayStation 2. As the PS2 enters its twilight, Britain's Climax Studios looks to carry on the tradition that Rainbow Studios started back in 2001. Having produced 2004's ATV Offroad Fury 3, the production team has proven that it's more than capable of picking up the torch and running with it. We got a chance to play an alpha version of the game back in April. It gave us a chance to try out the online features, but honestly, it was barely out of the alpha stages and badly needed some graphical polish. Since then, we've gotten to see a bigger, better build of it, and while it still remains to be seen whether anyone who's not into four wheeling is going to sweat the improvements, they're certainly evident in the new build that Sony showed us.

The game will feature a new story mode, reminiscent of Tony Hawk's Underground, in which players go from rookie to pro by working their way up the racing circuit, complete with FMVs to spice up the drama. In addition, MX bikes, trophy trucks, and buggies make their series debut alongside the series' namesake ATVs. They'll be divided into two classes for play: heavy vehicles (trucks and buggies) and lightweight (ATVs and MX). Each vehicle type will have its own unique handling and physics, so the pros and cons of each type will stand out.


Offroad Fury 4 will also feature specific championships for each vehicle type, so look for Supercross and Rallycross events among the many modes of competition. In addition, the game will feature a story mode that takes players from chump to champ as they work their way up the ranks of the series new Baja-style racing. Baja racing puts less of an emphasis on one single race and more on spot-to-spot participation on the map, with four vehicles fighting to get to an end point based on vehicle class. From what SCEA says, Baja racing will play a heavy role in the storyline of the game, as will characters from different points of the globe. We haven't seen any of the story mode in action, but are admittedly a little dubious as to how original or compelling it will turn out in the final product. We'll have to see it in future builds.

As for the controls, things feel a good amount tighter than what we played prior to E3. The MX handling feels much tighter than before, when even a basic trick left us eating mud pies. They're also much more distinctive in handling and speed than ATVs. They're very agile and turn tighter than any vehicle, but they're certainly more fragile and shaky than the more solid ATV. We've also been reassured that it has already improved since the game build that we received was burned. In the heavier classes, the weight of the trucks made a huge difference in their mobility. While they could take more damage than other vehicles and could drift the most, they were also much bulkier to manage than a buggy, which feels lighter, but can't take hits as well. All around, we're even happier with the feel of the game since our last session with it.