ATV: Quad Power Racing 2 - A refreshing take on an already classic game

Description

ATV: Quad Power Racing 2 is all about big tricks, big boots to the face and big finishes. It's arcade ATV racing like you always wanted it to be. ATV Quad Power Racing 2 combines 10 of the top pro riders in the world and 40+ real-life sponsors with the fast, edge of your seat, arcade gameplay the fans of the original know and love. Get ready to get injured, ATV Quad Power Racing 2 is coming in February 2003 from AKA Acclaim.

In ATV:QUAD RACING 2,you get an opportunity to catch big air off jumps, power-slide around corners, and perform more than 20 different tricks for style points. You can also choose from ten professional riders, including Kory Ellis, Tim Farr, and Dana Creech, as you race against the computer or friends in a variety of multiplayer modes.

Game Types

Career

Players first must create a profile by selecting from a list of characters. In Career Mode, the character starts out as an Newbie, working his or her way up to become a Master. There are three levels in Career Mode- Amateur, Professional, and SuperStar. In order to move up in status you must complete the previous level. As you progress you unlock more ATVs and tracks. Also as you win, you begin to develop the rider's skill level and attributes.

Basics

During the course of Career mode, you play in a championship that consists of five races. By winning races AND getting trick points, you achieve position points and move up or down in the standings. At the end of the five races, the rider with the most position points gets 1st Place, the second best gets 2nd Place, and the third best get 3rd Place. You have to achieve one of these to be able to continue on to a harder Career mode and new races.

Arcade

Arcade mode is a little different from Career mode. Unlike in Career mode, you are timed. In Arcade mode, racers compete in a two-lap series. In order to complete each track, checkpoints are placed throughout the track to prevent time from elapsing. You must complete each track to move to the next one. Like Career mode, you also can boost your players attributes and skill levels.

Freestyle

In Freestyle mode you are put into an indoor arena, unlike the outdoor tracks in the other modes. Here you perform tricks in an arena full of ramps and other stunt enhancers. You may select from various time limits or keep racing under unlimited time.

This allows you to practice tricks, gain points, and break records. You can do a one minute, three minute, five minute, or ten minute round to break score records. You can use the infinite time mode to easily break other records, such as biggest air or longest jump. During this, choose an ATV that is best suited for tricks, not racing.

Challenge

There are two types of challenges in Challenge mode. There are Ground Challenges and Tower Challenges. You must complete each challenge to move on to the next one. You can earn either bronze, silver, or gold. Earning gold unlocks the SuperStar riders.

Time Trial

In Time Trial you may choose any available track to race from. In Time Trial you race against your best time and try to improve on your lap speed.

Custom

Custom mode can only be unlocked after completing Career mode. Once you do that you have your chance to create your own Championship race. You choose which tracks to include, how many races, points system, and difficulty. Custom mode can also be unlocked for use in Multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer

In Multiplayer mode you can race with up to four friends at a time. There are three different types of multiplayer races which include:

• Single Race — Race with other CPU players.
• Head to Head — Race with your buddies without any CPU players.
• Championship — Compete for the championship.
• Freestyle — Perform tricks to see who can get the highest score.

ATV Academy

Control Training

This is the simpler of the two training modes. This teaches you the basic skills of controlling an ATV.

Lesson 1

Accelerate (A), then brake (B) and stop in the white box.

Lesson 2

Use the boost (X) and stop in the white box.

Lesson 3

Pop a wheelie (Down + A) all the way into the white box.

Lesson 4

Get ALMOST into the white box and do a stoppie (Up + B) into it.

Lesson 5

Do a left/right bicycle (Left/Right + L + A) into the white box.

Upon completing Lesson #5, you get the Dimension, an ATV.

Trick Training

This is the harder of the two training modes. This teaches you the most basic of tricks.

Lesson 6

Just go over the ramp.

Lesson 7

Use the Preload (R) (and the boost, if needed (half full)).

Lesson 8

Do a Scissors trick (B + Up).

Lesson 9

Do a Scissors (B + Up) and a Split X (B + Right) in mid-air.

Lesson 10

Do a flip (Up/down in mid-air).

Upon completing Lesson #10, you unlock the Viper, an ATV.

Cheats

Cheat: Get Everything
Unlock all maps, ATV's (including the ATC), and all challenge files. Type in your name as "GOLDRUSH" either when creating a new profile or after a race.

Unlock New ATVs
To unlock the Dimension and Viper ATVs, complete ATV Academy Training and Trick Training. To unlock the ATC ATV, win eight races in Arcade Mode.

Max Stats
Enter your profile name as GINGHAM.

Unlock All Challenges
Enter DOUBLEBARREL as your profile name.

All Riders
Name your profile BUBBA.

All Tracks
Enter ROADKILL as your profile name.

All Tricks
enter FIDDLERSELBOW as your profile name

All Vehicles
enter your profile name as GENERALLEE

Champ
Enter REDROOSTER as your profile name

Hint: Fast start
At the beginning of a race, pop a wheelie to get an early jump on the competition.

Hint: Forest Tracks
Hate the water on the Forest tracks? When you get to the jump that takes you through the long part of the river, just as you pass the barn on the right, get to the right bank and ride on the bank. The game will give you the "Return to Track" message as you get close to the logs on the bank close to where you normally would come out of the river. Don't worry about the game resetting you, just use your pre-load to "bunny-hop" over the logs and voila, you're back on the track! If you do this each lap you can shave about 15 seconds off of your previous lap times, not to mention smoking the computer AI. Note: Stay close to the water when you get on the bank or the game will reset you. If you go too far up the bank it takes too much time and you get reset. I found this out by riding around in the time trial mode, try it and see what shortcuts you can find.

Boasting twice as much quad as its console brethren, does the Xbox version of QPR2 pack twice as much fun?

Avi Fryman. March 10, 2003

At first glance, there isn't an iota of difference between the Xbox and GameCube versions of ATV: Quad Power Racing 2. Both games feature the same vehicles, challenges, and redundant adrenaline rock soundtrack. How many times can you listen to Godsmack's "Bad Religion?"

A closer analysis reveals a handful of minor differences that almost serve to give the Xbox version an edge. Split-screen multiplayer challenges involve two players on the GameCube and two-to-four on the Xbox. During single-player challenges, there are five computer opponents on the GameCube, as opposed to a more robust seven computer opponents on the Xbox. During the freestyle arena challenge, the audience takes flash photos on the Xbox, but remains dormant on the GameCube. Any of this might matter if the Xbox had a more natural controller, but the exact same challenges on the exact same difficulty setting are easier to overcome on the GameCube, if only because the controls are more fluid and intuitive. And other than the aforementioned (and admittedly impressive) barrage of flashes, the games look identical. (It should be noted, however, that they feel quite different in the tactile sense. The Xbox controller has a much more erratic and intense rumble feature than its GameCube counterpart, almost causing the controller to leap to the floor at times.)

If you've never played an ATV game, the concept is simple. As in other extreme sports titles, you've got to pass challenges to unlock tricks, most of which you will perform while airborne on your 4x4. You've got a number of basic skills to start out with, all of which are quickly learned in the tutorial mode. For example, from the start, by accelerating with the A button and pushing down on the left analog stick or controller pad, you'll pop a wheelie. Later on, once you've earned the right, you'll be able to perform handstand spins and the like in the midst of massive jumps, using various button combos. Nearly every track is full of jumps, granting you ample opportunities to fly high and strut your stuff.

Although limited to a meager fifteen tracks in the racing modes (three variations of five different locales), QPR2 features a number of impressive elements that will make it worthwhile for casual gamers and obsessive completionists alike. Graphical touches include blinding sunlight (arguably brightest on the Xbox), convincing water-on-the-camera-lens effects, a rich color scheme, well-designed tracks, and a nice variety of camera angles to sort through. The ability to kick opponents off of their quads gives this title an extra edge, although additional extreme elements would have been welcome. (As in the other versions of this title, although the box boasts of "an arsenal of vicious fighting moves," your arsenal consists of a singular kick, each and every time.)

When you're in a particularly good groove, the game play often feels almost as satisfying as titles such as SSX Tricky, although there will be times when you wonder why even the simplest trick simply won't register. This problem, common to all three console versions, is most pronounced on the Xbox, perhaps a side effect of the overall awkwardness of the controller itself.

During the standard racing challenges, there are several keys to success, beyond merely driving fast. Paying special attention to the weight and abilities of your vehicle is crucial. Landing with all four wheels squarely touching uneven terrain is crucial. Timing the preload acceleration technique (by holding and then releasing the right trigger button) appropriately prior to jumps is crucial. When you develop a good sense of your vehicle, honing these skills on the fly is deeply satisfying, particularly if it means putting a long stretch of track between yourself and the competition.

Keeping an eye out for ATVs falling on you from overhead is an issue as well. Some ATVs are prone to longer, higher jumps, whereas others are easier to handle on the ground. Either way, it's a good idea to perform tricks whenever possible, as each trick will add some juice to your boost meter. You can also steal another player's boost power by knocking them off of their ATV with a tap of the B button. Holding down the Y button will engage your boost, during which vapor-trail motion lines indicate that you are driving really, really fast. This too is deeply satisfying. Careful not to get knocked off of your quad or you'll lose all of your boost power!

Aside from the standard training, career, single race, arcade, time trial, and freestyle modes, there are also two types of special challenges to keep players occupied for an additional stretch: ground and tower challenges.

During the ground challenges, players race against the clock while performing specific tasks, such as avoiding traffic cones, or maintaining a wheelie from the starting point to the finish line. Passing these challenges will unlock "Superstar Riders," and will also hone some of the skills you need on the track. While you may never rely on a "stoppie" (which is essentially a frontal wheelie) during normal game play, it doesn't hurt to learn how to pull one off for an extended period of time. Overall, the ground challenges are nothing to write home about, but unlocking those extra riders will please fanatics.

The tower challenges, which are considerably more impressive, involve quickly driving through a series of oddly shaped vertigo-inducing courses suspended over water. As in the other console versions, these challenges would have served as a stronger selling point were there more than four of which to speak. Still, these challenges provide an additional means of practice for newcomers, and will also serve to please advanced players for an evening or two. Maintaining your balance on narrow tracks full of dips and curves is trickier than it may initially seem, and while some may find it too tricky, those with the patience and dexterity to beat the top time will be treated to a tasty adrenaline rush.

The freestyle mode is limited to a single large arena with big jumps and large holographic hoops suspended in mid-air. This is where all of the flash photographers do their best to impress with a flurry of lighting effects, as alluded to earlier. It's also where the challenge involves performing enough combo tricks to achieve a score of 70,000 to 1,600,000 or higher -- no easy task. Jumping through the hoops helps. Hoops or no hoops, those familiar with the overall vastness of the environments in Sony's ATV: Offroad Fury series will feel cramped in such an enclosed space, another example of this game falling short of its overall potential.

In the end, despite the few extra features mentioned at the start of this review, unresponsive controls prevent the Xbox version of QPR2 from outdoing its console brethren. The lack of an online element serves to further accentuate the inferiority of this title in relation to Sony's ATV: Offroad Fury 2. Still, with so few quality 4x4 games on the market, QPR2 may be worth checking out.

Cancelled Sequel

At E3 2004, Acclaim Entertainment announced new titles for release, one of them being ATV Quad Power Racing 3 which would be developed by Acclaim Studios Manchester instead of Climax Brighton and would be released in the winter of 2005. The game was later cancelled after Acclaim closed down the Acclaim Studios Manchester and Cheltenham studios due to their financial difficulties and eventual bankruptcy.

With plans for a third ATV Quad Power Racing game scrapped, Climax Studios was eventually approached by Rainbow Studios for another opportunity to develop another ATV racing game, which would be to continue Rainbow Studio's ATV Offroad Fury series, starting with ATV Offroad Fury 3 in 2004, which Rainbow had to abandon after being purchased by THQ to develop MX Unleashed and the MX vs. ATV series. Climax Studios would go on to develop two installments of the Offroad Fury series on PlayStation 2 and port them both to the PlayStation Portable.