sprites & bites

I was asked to write a review for this game PURE of course I jumped at the chance to play a game before release.  But what I failed to mention to them and what I should reveal now is that I hate racing games.  I hate them mostly because I am rubbish at them and feel more at home with a good story-driven game.  

So it has been hard for me to decide how to approach this review.  Of course I have to be impartial and just say really whether it is good or bad and hope that my hatred of racing games is brushed aside.

So I popped in the disc today thinking “yeah yeah its going to be another generic racing game that I am rubbish at and I am going to hate”.   To my pleasant surprise though, the game is actually a huge amount of fun.  So okay racing is boring, but it is spiced up by the ability to do tricks in the air - and not just a few feet into the air, but several hundred feet.  My first massive jump was met with a few “ooh aah  wow omg thats high…. OUCH” and I came down crashing on a rock with a sound that echoed probably the snapping of a broken neck.  Despite my bruises I quickly got back on the quad bike and continued my race - and came 4th !!  Beginners luck

Lets start with the basics and the menu system.  You have 7 options - World Tour, Single Event, Trial Mode, Online Play, Garage, Leaderboard and Options.  The menu is quick to navigate  and you can easily select your chosen mode. 

World Tour is the career progression mode where you play through a series of events and unlock tracks, costume, quad parts and so on.  

Single Event is just that - a single race for practice or for fun.

Time Trials consists of the standard race modes but with no other racers.  You are on your own to improve your lap times. 

Online is the online multiplayer and of course needs no description. 

Within the above modes you also have different types of races - standard race, sprint and freestyle.  Races have bigger tracks, Sprints have shorter tracks and freestyle is in a class of its own.

Freestyle I found was the most difficult mode.  Not only do you have to score high on the tricks, but there are collectibles which you must get to even finish the line.  For example, you must keep getting the fuel collectible, if you run out of fuel it is race over.  This I found the hardest part because the A.I. usually beat me to the fuel because I was not fast enough.  You really have to be in the lead in this mode to have a chance of topping up your fuel.

pure game

I just had a play of online mode in some unranked player races.  I can report no lag, although this may change when the game is released on Friday and more people play online.  The game plays as smooth as a baby’s bum.  Despite the game being extremely fast paced, I have experienced no glitches or framerate issues and it plays exactly how a next gen game should play.  In addition if you do not have a full room, it can fill the race up with A.I. controlled racers to give it a busier feel. 

Visually PURE looks fantastic.  The tracks are highly detailed although the trees could do with a little fine tuning.  What is it about trees which makes them so difficult to render in games?  I have never found a single game that does trees well.  But anyways, this does not really matter much as the trees in the distance look fine, it is only up close when you have splatted your body against one when they look like cardboard cut-outs.  The tracks themselves have great variation in them although it could do with having a few more tracks to add to its repertoire.  Having said that, in each track there are multiple paths so you can vary it a little by switching paths each time for a new view.  Some paths have short jumps, some have massive jumps, it all adds to the mix.

Mod Your Quad - In addition to the career mode and other modes, there is a garage.  Here you can build your own quad bike from scratch or if you are impatient like me you can press the button to allow the computer to choose what is best.  Every part can be customised and upgraded and even give it a paint job to suit your mood.  What is great about this is once you have upgraded and fine tuned your quad bike to suit, you can then take that quad bike and use it online for your races. 

Tricks and Stunts - A major part of the game and what separates this game from others is the use of stunts and tricks.  Get a good long run up to a jump and with a button press or two you can be doing aerial manouvres that would even impress the Red Arrows.  The buttons on the controller represent different tricks alongside pushing the left stick in the direction you desire.  At first you are offered “A” stunt (by the use of the A button).  If you are successful and do not crash you are offered B aswell, B is a more advanced trick.  Then if you have 3 or 4 successful tricks in a row you are offered the even more advanced “Y” trick.  Now you hold onto the ability of the “Y” trick until you crash out.  Two successful “Y” tricks will give you the amazing special LB+RB (xbox360 version) trick which ultimately ended up in me crashing every time.  It takes timing to do the tricks and because the game is very fast paced it takes good concentration to pull the advanced stunts off successfully.  Succesful tricks also provide you with nitro boost eventually, so there is a purpose to being good at the game.  Sadly, I am rubbish at it.  One thing I should mention that is very important is that PURE does not seem to display rubberband A.I. - if you are beating the A.I. then you are beating them fair and square and they do not unfairly zoom past you at the slightest knock.  In my second race I was miles ahead and I crashed.  I got back on the bike thinking I would end up in last place and I was still in first place.  I am sure having no rubberband A.I. will please everybody. 

So this is my review for PURE.  I am really happy with this game.  Despite hating racing games, PURE is a lot of fun and is suitable for all ages.  The creation of quad bikes is not necessary but recommended and if you are lazy then let the computer do it for you.  

I really cannot criticise this game at all, it does what it says on the tin and does not make wild claims about being something it is not.  If I had to criticise something, it is the lack of local multiplayer.  It is not a big issue for me, but I can see that it may be a problem for some and I think this omission may be a deal breaker for some players that unlike me, actually have friends to invite around.  

This is a must-buy for all racing fans. 

SCORE - GREAT/10

Pure is developed by Blackrock Studios and Published by Disney Interactive Studios.

It is released in Europe on Friday 24th September on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.  PEGI Rating 3+