Sony's ATV Offroad Fury series was one of the big surprises on PS2, and while the new PSP version was not nearly the same shocker when it was announced, the game came back to stun when word came that the title featured full online play abilities on PlayStation Portable. Bringing much of its technology from the PS2 game to the portable system, Climax Group looks to have concentrated on the feature set for this game and has delivered the full package for a series ready for a little more variety and competition.
The core gameplay behind ATV Offroad Fury fits PSP well, with slippery steering as your ATV bounces up and down hills working well with the PSP's analog nub. Pre-load snapping also feels natural and quick on the system for a good, loose feel. Our only issue with the gameplay is that the framerate just doesn't pump out the kind of 60FPS smoothness displayed in Ridge Racer on PSP -- the locked framerate used in the PSP demo on the show floor (which we are guessing is more or less final code) was more or less holding its own, but after getting to know this series so well on consoles, you can't help but notice that it's not punching out at the level you're used to.
Graphic concerns take the game off the wholeshot, but the feature set in Blazin' Trails puts it back in the running. Main game modes offer a variety of choices for short bursts of play leading into longer play sessions -- Lap Attack and Single Race allow players to get scores up in a short period of time, while the Championships mode takes you through the full field of competition. A Practice system has been put in to teach players the finer things about racing ATVs, and a Freeride mode lets people just buzz around these gigantic, open circuits. 10 minigames are included for play in the PSP game, including Treasure Hunt, Bomb Dodge, Graffiti, Soccer, Basketball, Hockey, and Rings of Fire, all of which are multiplayer-focused for kicking up different dust every time you link up. Linked players cam also share and collect ATVs and hidden secrets earned in the game when they're not out to bury each other racing.
And, of course, there is the online mode. While we couldn't connect to the server for playing ATV Offroad Fury, setting up and online game looks easy. Much like with PS2 online play, you set up your connection (with the ability to scan for nearby HotSpots, and WEP configurations for storing passwords) before you hop into the online lobby. ATV Offroad Fury had an adventurous online feature set, with an additional Online Community mode for just connecting up to the hosting without playing. Here, you can check for record scores, chat, add friends to your buddy list and more.
Online functionality is right there on the main menu for multiplayer modes (and unlike Twisted Metal, the word "Online" is used over and over instead of "Infrastructure Mode" to hammer the idea home), so you can't miss it, and with the relative ease of setting up a connection, servers should fill up following the game's release later this month. We will have review impressions and media of the final game once it's boxed up and ready to go.