4x4 EVO 2

"What could have been a great title turned into an average one"

One of the things the GameCube is lacking is good racing titles. Sure there are a few out there, but not tons.

Now Universal Interactive has published the newest racing title for the GameCube, could this possibly be the game we have been waiting for? Read on to find out.

Graphics:
Anyone who looks at this game will no doubt be surprised with the graphics. It just looks so rushed, you won’t believe your eyes.

First off, the most obvious of the bunch, is the textures…there aren’t any good ones to be seen anywhere. The vehicles really don’t have any good textures especially, with the exception of some reflections (which we’ll get to in a minute). The windows are basically just grey squares, everything looks flat, and they just stink overall.

You won’t find any eye-pleasers when it comes to the environment’s textures either. Unless you like pixelated surfaces which look rather flat, and what seems to be next to zero bump mapping…then you’ll just love the textures in this game, although I would be scared to come across someone who enjoys these things.

The lighting and reflections are yet another interesting aspect of the graphics category. There are some reflections on the vehicles at times (depending on the weather), and when this happens they do look fairly good. You will be able to see trees, signs, bridges, etc. on the 4x4 as you drive by them, and depending on what camera you are using, you may even be able to see the opposition come up behind you.

But lighting wise, it’s rather poor. For example, on the Autumn Leaves track the sun is always in the south, so obviously when you are facing that direction the shadow of the vehicle is at the back…where it should be. But as you move around you can face all directions and the shadow will still be at the back of the vehicle as if the sun was shining at the front of it. Hmm…interesting wouldn’t you say?

Of course, there are always little perks…
The levels are definitely huge environments to drive around in, especially fun in free roam mode. And there are also things like leaf effects (they blow around as you drive by, but then land as you stop) and particle effects.
Plus for the most part, all of the vehicles do look similar to their real life counterparts.

Controls:
The controls are done not too bad in 4x4 Evo 2, you steer with the left joystick and use R to accelerate and L to break/reverse, which is the best way to play a racing game. But for those who don’t quite like the feeling, you could also just use the left joystick and the C-stick (hold forward to accelerate and pull back from break/reverse).

Then to change the camera angles you just have to hit Y until you find the one you like, or hit pause and assign new camera angles to the button. Personally, I like the Chase Near the best, with Hood as a close second.

I couldn’t find any responsiveness problems, but it is sometimes difficult to have complete control over the car. Such as turning and stopping while you are backing up.

Gameplay:
If anything, the main drawing for a person to play this game is the career mode. You are given $100,000 to purchase one of the loads of vehicles available. And when I say “loads of vehicles” I mean just that…there are an amazing amount of 4x4’s you can choose from and then spend money buying parts and upgrades so you can create a bigger and better off road monster. Things like buying new tires, getting a new engine, improving your suspension, and so much more.
If you like customization, you will no doubt enjoy this aspect.

Unfortunately, this is really one of the only good aspects of the game. As you will notice once you start racing, things can get boring after a while for multiple reasons.

The level design, while huge, can get confusing and because of that…long. You will find that even though there is an arrow directing you, it does a poor job…you have to make quick turns and pass through specific gate-like objects (posts, skulls, etc.). But because the arrow does a poor job at directing you, you are going to have to go through the course about one or two times just to get an idea for when you have to turn and such.

The AI of your opponents are atrocious, they are either really stupid or amazingly difficult (although it’s usually closer to the latter). For example, you may be driving along side by side trying to pass him completely, but then you see a rock approaching. With neither of you moving from side to side and still focused forward, he’ll all of the sudden decide to run into the rock that’s in his path as opposed to driving around it.
Other times, when the AI is difficult, you will find that you can’t keep up for some reason. On for example, a straightaway, I floored the gas yet the opponents kept getting farther and farther away. Of course I just figured I needed to upgrade my vehicle, so I spent quite a bit of cash on a number of parts and was ready to go. I played the track again but no approvement was made.

Overall, the races just seem to be flat and boring. You will have more fun driving around all alone in “Free Roam” mode. After doing all of the customizations I figured I would be getting an enjoyable experience, but instead I didn’t want to come back after only a few hours of gameplay.

One thing that is hands down dreadful are the load times though. The GameCube is known for it’s fast load times, but this game is horrible in that aspect. Load times could be anywhere from 15 seconds and up, plus halfway through the loads it made funny noises coming from out of my GameCube. Not a good thing!

Sound:
The sound is great…if you like listening to your engine, and only your engine, roar that is. Sure, you can hear other little tiny effects once and a while like your tires screeching…but it only happens once in a blue moon. Unless you change the camera angle to “Sky Cam,” then instead of your engine you will hear the repetitive and annoying music all of the time.

Longevity:
With a large amount of cars and the customization features, you might play this game for a little while. But for the majority of everyone out there, you will get bored fast and won’t want to come back.

Overall:
If you play 4x4 Evo 2 at all, it will most likely be for a short amount of time. Sure, there might be a couple of good aspects in the game causing it to be fun for a little while, but for the most part it gets boring fast.

You would think that since it’s been about 10 months since the Xbox version released, more time would be spent improving visuals, audio, and just about anything else you can think of. Unfortunately this is not the case.

- Josh McConnell

Graphics – 4.0
Poor textures, lack of bump mapping, lighting problems, and more means the GameCube’s power is not being taken used.

Controls – 7.0
Fairly easy control scheme to work with for the most part, with responsiveness problems thankfully lacking, but it may be difficult for some.

Gameplay – 5.0
All of the customization features and the Free Roam mode are the only good things about the gameplay. Races get boring fast, AI is annoying, should I continue on?

Sound – 4.0
Engines, engines, engines. That’s about all you will hear from the sound category, except for poor music in the Sky Cam camera angle.

Longevity – 5.0
Some may play this for a little while, trying to accomplish all tasks and make the best 4x4 you can. But for the majority of gamers out there, not much can be found in this that’ll keep you playing.

Overall – 5.0
What could have been a great racing title for the GameCube turned out to be a flop. If they worked on the title more and fixed some of the problems, 4x4 Evo 2 would have gotten a higher ranking.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/02, Updated 11/01/02