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Following the success of 2XL Supercross can’t have been easy for developer 2XL. The impressive dirt bike racer combined great visuals with fun gameplay, and proved that console-like racing games could work on Apple’s handhelds. It wasn’t without its problems though, most notably the complete lack of a career mode. This has been well and truly rectified in the equally well named follow-up, 2XL ATV Offroad. While a few control quirks still remain, this is an altogether better handheld racing experience.
As in Supercross, ATV defaults to a tilt-based control system. It’s really simple, with steering and pre-loading (how you get more air out of your jumps from ramps) handled by moving the iDevice. There’s a sense that your vehicle is driving on a tarmac surface rather than a muddy track, as your ATV can corner with remarkable grip even at high speeds, but steering is smooth and responsive. There’s an alternative virtual analogue stick control scheme, but we found this to be awkward to use, with too much of a dead zone at the virtual stick’s central resting point.
On-screen buttons are used for accelerate and brake, with a number of smaller buttons used for performing tricks. It’s the latter that caused the most control problems, with their small size making it hard to always hit the one you’re after, or to make the game recognise your attempted press at all. The more you play the easier this becomes, but initially it can be quite frustrating.
The career mode included makes a world of difference to how long you’re likely to spend with the game. Supercross became quite dull after only a few hours as there was nothing to keep you hooked. In ATV you have a reason to keep playing, with the numerous stages of your career offering different race events to compete in, points to earn and a higher ranking to aim for. There’s also a more casual play arcade mode, with all the included tracks unlocked from the start, and multiplayer for up to five players.
Maybe we should be used to impressive looking iDevice games by now, but the visuals on display in 2XL ATV always impress. 2XL has clearly built on the engine used in Supercross and the results speak for themselves. The environments are huge, the model details for the quads and the rides are better, the frame rate is smooth and the sense of speed is excellent. There is a disappointing lack of particle effects, but it’s something that can be overlooked given how solid the package is in all other areas.
The audio falls flat. The sound of the vehicles is unrealistic and will have you heading to the options menu in search of volume controls quickly. The engine sounds might as well have been produced by someone on the dev team blowing raspberries. Sadly the decent rock soundtrack used in the menus stops during gameplay, so unless you want to hear the terrible engine noise you’ll be playing in near silence.
2XL ATV is a great iDevice racer that has a lot more going for it than the developer’s previous off-road racer. It looks great, plays smoothly, has decent multiplayer functionality and will keep you in the driving seat for some time. The audio is a letdown, but if you want another quality iDevice racer that isn’t reason enough to give this a miss.
