Game review: Baja: Edge of Control

Format: Xbox 360, PS3; Publisher: THQ; Price: £29.99

The Baja 1000 is a renowned off-road race that takes place in Mexico every year, and this is the first attempt to capture its essence. Like the real-life event, the gameplay is a mixture of dramatic terrain and endurance, with rugged courses that give you a lot of freedom.

The career mode is extremely tough at first as you start off in a very low-powered car, plus the handling is extremely tough and the collision system is difficult to get used to. However, if you can negotiate the difficult learning curve you can start to enjoy some of the unique things this game offers, including the Baja events themselves (which can take up to three hours).

Graphics on the Xbox 360 version are passable, but the PS3 incarnation looks, frankly, sub-standard – the landscapes stretch nicely into the distance but detail is minimal.

You have to admire the creators’ attempt to do something different, but you’ll only really appreciate it if you can put up with a lot of unnecessary idiosyncrasies.

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