‘Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad’ Review (PS3)
Manufacturer: 2XL Games
Specs: Xbox Live Arcade | PSN
Rating: 2/5
Based on seven-time AMA Supercross champ Jeremy McGrath’s latest passion: four-wheel offroad truck racing, Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad, from developers 2XL Games – who are well-known for racing games like Baja: Edge of Control and 2XL ATV Offroad 2009 and utilises the same proprietary XLR8R engine to create the arcade racing action in 60fps full 1080p HD. Featuring five vehicle classes, six race tracks, online multiplayer for up to eight players, and a career mode that sees you take on 23 courses of off-road action, Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad sounds like a race gamer dream but in practise it turned out to be a lot less so…
The Good
This high-octane and addictive racer features deep customization and advancement within four categories of vehicular upgrades and an experienced-based leveling system. Whether it is a rally car or a trophy truck, there are plenty of fully-licensed vehicles to choose from. Players can race four-wheeled, 800-horsepower offroad race trucks with tons of customizable options, as well as five vehicle classes including Rally Cars, Pro Buggies and Pro Lite Trucks
There are six race tracks that include the snowy hills of the Netherlands to the Amazon Rainforest, which can all be played in both eight-player online multiplayer, which boasts dynamic interactions between all competing vehicles so players can see and feel the impact of mid-race collisions; or in career Mode, which sees payers take the role of superstar Jeremy McGrath in his bid for the Pro2 championship within the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series – again, all with real-time online statistic tracking and leaderboards.
The Bad
In the press release for Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad it states that 2XL worked with Stephane “The Flying Frenchman” Roncada (a former AMA East Coast Supercross champion), to utilize his real-world racing knowledge to help with the design of the race tracks and help with the tuning for the various difficulty levels offered so they present a challenge to all level of players as they progress through career mode. All I can say about that fact is that 2XL wasted their money!
Even as someone who plays racing games very infrequently (I can count the amount of racing games I’ve played on one hand), I sailed through Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad. In fact on a second play-through, on the hardest difficulty setting, I timed myself. I completed the entire game in 2 hours with bathroom breaks, came 1st in every race and sometimes won by as much as 30 seconds!
Graphically the game looks OK for a download title and I did have fun playing it. But due to the ridiculously easy difficulty levels, if you’re a racing fan, this is probably only worth buying when the price drops…
Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad is available now on PSN and XBLA.
