"Easily the best off-road racing game, ever"

First off, I should admit that I am a huge fan of off-road racing games, so my review might be a little biased. That said, I can say that this is the closest any off road game, or just about any racing game in general, has ever come to perfection.

Graphics 10/10 - and I wish I could give it higher. Simply put, they are absolutely amazing. The polygon counts are sky-high on every vehicle, including the ones that's you'll only see once or twice as traffic. The trucks you'll get to drive are unbelievably detailed. Every curve and angle on the models is absolutely perfect, and the textures are right down to the tiniest detail. Each and every marking, decal, or label on the trucks is present, and not just as a blurry mark, but as a detailed, readable marking, from the paint jobs down to the tiny ''sport'' on the side of my Dakota 4x4. The special effects are just as good. The reflections on the trucks' paint are almost photo-realistic, and the lighting is the best I've ever seen. The way the trucks' headlights glow in the replay videos, or any time you get a good frontal shot of one, is breathtaking. To top it all off, the frame rate is fast and smooth on even ''average'' gaming systems, from a Celeron 450 with a decent video card and up. There's no way to explain in all in words, you simply have to see it to believe it.

Sound 7/10 - Nothing special, but nothing that will tempt you to sacrifice your speakers to the fire god, either. The engine sounds are good, and sound very close to the real trucks, but there is no change in the tone no matter how highly upgraded the truck is, which seems a small oversight. Considering the number of trucks and upgrades (more on that later), however, it could take another CD for that kind of sound detail. The music is decent, but typical, techno-rock that will soon fade into the background, but never gets really annoying.

Control 9/10 - I can't really give a really accurate score on this, because I'm playing with a keyboard since I had to leave my Force Feedback wheel at home (no room on my desk at college ='( ). However, even with the KB, the trucks handle exactly as they should. I've heard complaints that they are loose and difficult to control, but that's the way off-road trucks are. 4x4 EVO boasts an extremely realistic physics model, and it serves it up well. Watching the replays, you can see how each wheel reacts to the terrain, and once again, it looks like you're watching video footage. Incredible. I can't give it a ten in this category only because I haven't had a chance to try out wheel control or force feedback support, but I don't want to take off too much for my own lack of hardware.

Gameplay 10/10 - As high as the other scores are, this is where 4x4 EVO stands above the other games in it's category. The career mode is great, the Gran Tourismo of off-road games. The number of trucks might now quite compare with GT, (about 80 or so), and many of them are just variations of the same truck (there are 4 Dakotas, for example, club cab and quad cab, each in 2- and 4-wheel drive), but with the limited number of off-road vehicles available compared to street racers, I think that's pretty impressive in itself. The game does support add-on vehicles, though they can't be driven in career mode. The selection is also good, ranging from small compact pickups to massive SUV's like the Expedition, and each is available in a wide range of colors. Each vehicle can be upgraded, and not even the Gran Tourismo games come close to the number of upgrades in 4x4 EVO. You can buy upgrades in 9 categories (Appearance, Chassis, Brakes, Engine, Electronics, Drivetrain, Lights, Suspension, and Tires), and there are enough upgrades to keep you busy with one truck for quite a long time. This isn't like GT, where you can win a few races and almost fully upgrade a car. It you want a fully modded race truck, you're going to have to work for weeks to earn the hundreds of upgrades in the game. Although not every new part will give you a massive horsepower boost, the effect each part has is noticeable and realistic. Many parts also change the truck visually, like roll bars, brush guards, and lift kits.
The races themselves are realistic and fun, taking place on 15 well-designed tracks in a variety of off-road environments. A few of the tracks might seem oddly familiar to fans of Terminal Reality's last major racing game, Monster Truck Madness 2. In fact, much of the game, such as some of the terrain graphics and track map, seem to be pulled directly from that game, but considering how good it was, that's not a bad thing. The game also supports expansion tracks made by the game's developer or just creative players, and there are a few available already.

Multiplayer 10/10 - I haven't tried it, so I have to just take the word of other players here. Fortunately, the word is good. 4x4 EVO is the first game with cross-platform multiplayer, enabling PC, Mac, and Dreamcast users to race against each other. That new feature alone is enough to earn the game a high-score, and I hope it sets a trend that more games follow.

Replay value 8/10 - Although some of the courses might get old eventually, the number of trucks and upgrades will keep you playing this game for a long time.

Overall 10/10 - Like I said at the beginning of the review, this is the closest any off-road racing game has come to perfection. There really isn't anything I can think of that the game could use, other than more of the same. None of the Test Drive Off Road games, or any other off-road game, have ever come close to this. If you enjoyed any of them, you'll love 4x4 Evolution. If not, you probably still will. It's worth a lot more than it's $40 price tag, so don't hesitate to pick it up. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/00, Updated 11/14/00