Plot: What’s it about?
The Live Arcade has some great race games, but the selection of offroad style games is limited. But now we have Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad, a game that promises a realism based experience, upgrade system, and depth in track and vehicle selection. I was impressed by the game as soon as I started the first race, as this is a slick, polished game. The visuals look great for an arcade title and the controls felt excellent. This is what makes or breaks race games, as even mediocre controls can doom a race game. But here we have tight, precise controls that replicate a more realistic race style than most offroad titles. The exception to this is a mechanic that drops hazards onto the track, but it doesn’t impact the races much. I suppose it adds some flash and changes things up, but I could have done without that gimmick. You are limited as far as veering too far off course, so don’t expect to take shortcuts as the old invisible walls will shut you down. But overall the races are a blast thanks to the almost flawless controls, so genre fans will find a lot to like with Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad.
Video: How does it look?
As I said above, this game has polished visuals that look terrific. The tracks all shine, with such varied locations and conditions, but each is well detailed. I found the desert based visuals to be my personal favorite, due to the scenic background visuals, but the others look great too. Besides who doesn’t want to run offroad in a lush jungle, right? The vehicles are just as well crafted, with good attention to detail that makes all the little touches stand out. In short, the game just looks awesome.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sound design is good too, with the expected roaring engines and collision crunches. The vehicles all have good power to the engine sounds, as well as general track noise like skidding around corners and trading paint with rivals. When you really wreck the sound is as horrific as you’d imagine. The voice over work from McGrath comes through well also, though it is used a little too often and might irk some players. So while the sound is perhaps overshadowed somewhat by the visuals, the game still sounds good and fans should appreciate the experience.