THQ’s intro to the Baja racing genre probably could have waited for a better time to launch.  In the midst of a season with Rock Band 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3 and more this game will most likely be over looked.  Unless you are a diehard fan of the Baja racing circuit I question whether you will enjoy this game.  There have been many other racing games in the past that have incorporated Baja racing into a vast racing mechanic and it has worked.  This time around a game devoted just to this racing style doesn’t seem to fit the bill.

The first issue I have with any game is usually the graphics.  I am not sure who decided to put this piece together but it’s quite possibly their first time ever designing a game.  The visuals could have been done better on the Xbox than what I saw.  Note to developers-adding a blur effect does not give you reason to skimp on graphics.

The next issue I had, which usually I can over look the graphics if the gameplay is fun is the gameplay is not fun.  It’s a tedious task to control the vehicles, let alone get ahead of the pack.  I am not sure if they were going for racing realism (as I am not a Baja racer in real life) but I felt as if I was struggling to get ahead of the other racers even in the early levels of the game.  To me what makes a good racer is one with a learning curve attached.  Let me do well at the beginning to build my confidence and get used to the mechanics of the game, then steadily increase the difficulty when I am ready.  Not this game.

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