Striking a flawless balance between blood-pumping racing and vertigo-inducing aerial stunts, Pure is an unexpectedly excellent arcade racer that fans of the exaggerated snowboarding franchise, SSX, will find all too familiar.
With SSX currently being out of commission, Black Rock Studios seized the opportunity to mesh racing and tricks on ATVs – and the result is a fast paced racer that, despite its similarities to an older series, is phenomenally fresh.
Hauling ass down mountain trails as you try to make the best possible time is inherently fun, but adding tricks and combos to the mix of 16 racers is like an injection of awesome in the veins of something that’s already entertaining. Between laps, you’ll come across plenty of varied routes that don’t so much act as shortcuts as they do alternatives – if you’d rather avoid the risk of a biting it at the end of a huge jump then taking a smoother, windier route could prove more useful, but hitting dirt ramps allows you to pull off easy-to-use and stylish stunts which in turn unlock more difficult stunts. From there, ridiculous special moves – break dancing over your seat while back-flipping? Hell yes! – that are comparable to SSX Tricky’s physics-defying Uber Tricks become available.
The result of your acrobatics is boost, and cashing in on the earned juice will aid in careening up and down the few hilly tracks the game offers, as well propelling you to new heights with which to stunt.
The entire things feeds itself in such a perfect way that, despite having a noticeably limited number of tracks to trick on, each race is equally as rad as the last.
Dashing through mud at breakneck speeds and launching hundreds of feet in the air can only go so far. Stunningly realistic visuals, from the immense detail on the rocky mountains to the slinging mud that cakes each inch of your driver and his/her ride, and a pump-you-up soundtrack help the sensory experience along, but you’ll crave a little more depth. That’s where the garage comes in. Winning races brings about new gear to equip to your custom quads, and each piece has a recognizable effect on how each race feels. The interface and management of it all leaves a bit to be desired, as you’ll only be able to compare parts by, um, writing their stats down, but the amount of sweet engine, suspension and purely aesthetic unlockables available will please anyone looking to approach this arcade racer with a more technical eye.
I mentioned that the tracks were limited, but reversed-races in a smidgen of globally diverse environments isn’t the sole caveat. Though the events are infinitely amusing from start to finish, having more than the stock-standard “Race” mode and a faster paced version of it in “Sprint” would have been nice. The “Freestyle” event is a fresh addition that demands continuous stunting and power-up collecting to prevent running out of gas in a build-big-combos event you’d expect to see in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
Pure manages to be so spectacularly awesome from its regular ol’ World Tour career mode all the way to its 16 player online matches. Like SSX did for the PS2 back in its heyday, Pure redefines extreme sports by simply tweaking what already made it a superb genre, and even if the comparisons to other arcade sports titles puts you off, try this fantastic racer regardless. I’m already jonesing for a sequel, and I’m nowhere near finished kickin’ it in this mud puddle.
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