"Not worth a rental; a very poor effort. This port is not even graphically better than the DC version."

4x4 Evolution (3.19.01, Terminal Reality) is a port of the game previously released for the PC and DC. I have to say, I played the DC version and thought it sucked, so when I went to Blockbuster last week (on another episode of my quest to play – and review - every PS2 racing game that has ever been and will ever be released), I was very surprised to find it on the PS2 shelves. I gotta be honest with you, I was extremely tempted to cross it off my “games left to play” checklist, with the excuse that I played the DC version… but that wouldn’t be very fair, now would it? So off to the checkout counter I went, brushing off all past bias, and actually a little curious to see how well this game adapted to the power of the PS2, and to see if any improvements had been made.

Graphics: 4/10
Well, the instant I fed the disc to my PS2, I knew that I was probably going to be disappointed once again. Quite simply, the graphics of 4x4 Evolution are horrible. The cars are OK, but they lack refinement that we expect on such a powerful system. The textures are bland, both on foreground objects and in the background, including the terrain, and racing through a track becomes a chore, simply because everything is so lackluster and repetitive. Virtually every tree, barrel, bush, and even pile of dirt on the tracks is represented by a singular model – every tree looks just like every other tree. It reminded me of handheld LCD racing games or early PC games where a given bitmap simply pops up. Simply put, it’d be hard to convince me that the graphics here are any better than those of the DC version.

Sound: Music: 6/10 Effects: 6/10
The BGM is the same boring old stuff every bad racing game throws out. You know, the rock/techno hybrid. It’s nothing special, but at least it’s not that bad. I just wish racing devs would start taking the initiative to produce the caliber of music we see from devs like Namco. Of course, if they can’t get the racing part of the game right, then they shouldn’t be concentrating on music either, I suppose.
. . . Sound effects were pretty much like the graphics. Very bland; all the engines sound the same, every time you hit a certain surface or change terrain it sounds the same. Nothing in the effects department helps out the environment or feel of the game.

Gameplay: 4/10 subscores: Control: 3/10 AI: 6/10
The DC version of 4x4 wasn’t much fun at all to play, and it hasn’t changed a bit for the PS2. Yes, we are going off-road here, and we are talking about SUVs (the worst possible racing vehicles), but that doesn’t explain why the trucks literally coast all over the place. It’s not just constant oversteer (which should happen), it’s almost like constant lack of any type of reasonable traction - even with the best tires and the best suspension AND a lot of modifications to balances and customizations. Every time I corner in this game I wonder how simple of a physics algorithm they must have used (or a totally incorrect one altogether?).
. . . In my mind what really destroys the gameplay is the fact that all the races are totally void of intensity. You don’t feel the speed of the cars even in close contact, in tight corners, or at high speeds. The courses aren’t that challenging - only controlling your car is - so I never got into this game, at most points I just waiting for the race to finish.
. . . Where 4x4 Evolution shines though, is the Grin Truismo-style variety and modification capabilities. There are supposed to be over 100 cars (although I only noticed about 75), and there are tons of mods for every SUV, such as engine upgrades, chassis mods, brakes/suspension/tire upgrades, and also physical customization modifications (something absent from GT that many of us wish for). So there’s plenty of variety and plenty of opportunity for people to race, say, their own SUVs in the game (if you for some odd reason own an SUV in real life).
. . . One annoying thing is the AI. It seems the AI is very prone to bumping you out of position, many times rolling your vehicle over. Even if your vehicle manages not to tip, usually this means the end of the race.

Length/Replayability: 6/10
While you could say that having many SUVs to choose from leaves plenty of room for replayability, it seems that every vehicle drives and feels just about the same. This was the most disappointing aspect about this game in the long run. What 4x4 Evolution does offer is a much longer standard game. You will need a long time to get anywhere. But do remember, while I counted it as a positive towards this score, the game is so mundane (and at times irritating) that I wanted to give up long before I got anywhere.

FINAL SCORE: 5/10
The problem with this game is that I can’t really recommend it to anybody at all. I can’t think of a racing fan who would like it, and quite simply this game shows a tremendous lack of effort on the part of the developer. Overall the game feels extremely incomplete. There’s not just a lack of polish or refinement - there’s a complete void of any real substance. Simply put, it’s games like these which make my goal to play every racing game on the PS2 painful at times.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 07/26/01, Updated 07/26/01