Just when I thought I’d raced everything there was to race, Acclaim Sports releases ATV: Quad Power Racing, and fat tire off-road ATV action is on my little gray box. Graphic sophistication isn’t as much a selling point of Quad Power Racing as the chance to hop on a vehicle that goes anywhere and race some good-looking tracks. Acclaim did a good job with the design; there are three distinct stages, each with different ATV quad choices, and a few secret add-ons. The forest tracks are narrow with lots of obstacles, but suffer from most of the graphic glitches. The desert and snow tracks are more open and clean looking, and having such different areas makes up for the typical 3D gotchas. The music and sound don’t add a huge amount, and I wish there were some option to choose music tracks; as it is, the same song plays over and over for a single track and stage.

Like any good Racer, ATV: Quad Power Racing offers a huge amount of options for setting up the game environment. Obviously, the goal in each track is to be #1 across the finish line; Quad Power Racing doesn’t give props for second or third place. Unlike some racing games, where a complete stage is open and you race to open up other stages, only the first track in each stage is open at the beginning of QPR. The gameplay style is very different from stage to stage, so mastering even a single track can be very difficult. The forest stage demands precision, balance, and speed control, while the desert stage is all about speed, and the snow stage is all about control. Each stage includes two default ATV quads; one is an all-round vehicle, the second is weighted more toward speed or acceleration with weaker attributes in other areas. Six riders are available to choose from, with height/weight stats that can affect handling and performance on the track.

The first thing I noticed about the tracks is how huge they are! It’s a blessing and a curse. The time to learn a track can be considerable, especially taking branching paths and secret shortcuts into account. However, even though the total track count seems short at first, there’s a lot of distance to cover between start and finish lines, and more racing than you might first imagine. Options for racing include the Time Attack, Single Race, Championship and Two Player Mode. Time Attack and Single Race Mode let you check out all tracks, and try to record a high score by time or place. Two Player is good split-screen action, with only a little slowdown noticeable as being worse than the main game. Championship Mode is really the meat of the game, and takes you through any given level, racing each track to open it by placing first in a field of six. Each win in Championship Mode allows you to compete at a harder difficulty; if it gets too easy, you can choose manual over auto-transmission, or change weather conditions.

Weather conditions aside, track conditions vary widely by default. These ATV quads can really go anywhere, and you’ll have a chance to drive on sand, snow, ice, water, wood, rock, grass, and more. As rugged as the quads are, they’re really touchy about bumping. This can get frustrating in the narrow forest tracks, since you’re almost always in the pack. You’ll spend a lot of time watching your racer go flying over the handlebars until you master position and balance on these off-road machines.

Quad Power Racing comes in somewhere above average difficulty, leaning toward ‘hard.’ There are more than a few technical details on how to ride an ATV quad, and the manual does a pretty poor job of explaining, so you learn by trial and error. Luckily, the controls are fairly intuitive, but I would say this game has a steep learning curve. Add to this the tough opponent A.I., some touchy 3D items, and you’ve got a prescription for a busted controller.

I’m a complete sucker for racing games that let you use the right analog stick for speed control. With full analog support and Dual Shock, ATV: Quad Power Racing has some good things going in the control department. I was mostly frustrated that the ATV quads don’t move at a quicker pace, but fast for these racers is like 70mph. I guess Acclaim did a good job representing the more sluggish and tippy vehicles, but it’s a little hard to get used to after racing jet planes, speedboats, or F1 cars... Anyhoo, one of the hardest things about controlling your ATV quad is balance. The manual mentions they’re tippy, but the truth is that you have full control of your racer - front, back and side-to-side. Learning how to go over jumps and not fall seems more like a snowboarding game than a Racer, but especially at faster speeds, even taking a sharp turn standing up or leaning wrong can cause you to take a nasty spill. With an ‘extreme lean’ feature controlled by the shoulder buttons, it’s possible to wiggle your way into tight curves and even adjust while in the air, but do so at your own risk! The forest level is probably the hardest in this respect, since it mixes long straight sections with huge jumps and hairpin curves. With any elements (rain, snow, ice, mud) thrown into the mix, you’ll have an even harder time staying on the track. Don’t get me wrong - we’re not talking simulation here, but Acclaim didn’t put together a silly, easy racer. Especially for those who liked BMX or dirtbike racing games in the past, Quad Power Racing should please; it doesn’t feel like a standard racer with ATV quad models tacked on. And for this reason, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

I’d say my final call on ATV: Quad Power Racing is that it’s an acquired taste for most people, even hard-core racers. Anyone who likes the sport overall will be thrilled with what turned out to be a fairly good representation of being on an ATV quad. But the sluggish controls and touchy balance issues will frustrate anyone just looking for a fun, arcade racer. Worth a rental, no matter what. Now if I can just find someone to back my idea for that Amphibious Vehicle Racer... :^)