Peter
Xbox gamer that is fond of single-player adventure titles but love the older classics the most. I think I hold the world record for most amount of people simultaneously mad at me during a game of Mario Party 2.
BAJA: Edge of Control HD is a remastered version of the original off-road racing game released for Xbox 360 and PS3 back in 2008. This all-new HD version is available for Xbox One, PS4 and even PC, all while supporting up to 4K resolution. Unfortunately, even 4K can’t help you reimage the mundane desert terrain and uninspiring gameplay.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UI09JYlwKM[/embedyt]
Once you’ve launched the game, the main menu greets you with some Spanish guitar music that feels like Carlos Santana is sitting in your living room with you. You’re approached with a few different gameplay options such as Race, Career and Multiplayer.
BAJA presents players with a variety of different race types. Circuit races are the most common race expected in the Baja Career mode, but you will be able to participate in rallies, hill climb races and more. One race mode that stands out, with some degree of originality, is the Baja. Here, a player participates in a number of tracks that can take upwards of 3 hours to complete. I couldn’t convince myself to finish an entire Baja event, but I explored various other types of races that the game offered.
Though this is a remastered version, the graphics still felt very plain and low-quality. There are a vast assortment of levels and tracks, but most of the tracks invoke feelings of deja vu with repetitive scenery and landscapes. There are jumps and tight turns, but proceed with caution. Unlike games like Forza and some of the Dirt releases, there is no rewind button to erase your mishap, only a reset button. Even on simulation mode, I found the steering very arcade-like. Your car will turn like a go-kart if you’re not accelerating – something I wasn’t expecting you’d be able to do it with over-sized trucks going 65+ MPH. Adjusting the camera view with the right thumb stick is troublesome as it does not revert back to its original position. Don’t even dare to switch the camera view to in-vehicle as half the screen is blocked, making it impossible to drive!
In the career mode you progress through different cups gathering XP, credits and sponsors. The more you progress, the better the vehicles get – especially when it comes to speed. The career mode is long and after many races the tracks all start to look the same. Hill climb and rally races are the only exciting events that I enjoyed participating in during my career.
At the end of the day, BAJA: Edge of Control HD is a mediocre arcade off-road racing game that can be fun occasionally, but otherwise was not worthy of a remaster in the first place.
Though this is a remastered version, the graphics still felt very plain and low-quality. There are a vast assortment of levels and tracks, but most of the tracks invoke feelings of deja vu with repetitive scenery and landscapes. There are jumps and tight turns, but proceed with caution. Unlike games like Forza and some of the Dirt releases, there is no rewind button to erase your mishap, only a reset button. Even on simulation mode, I found the steering very arcade-like. Your car will turn like a go-kart if you’re not accelerating – something I wasn’t expecting you’d be able to do it with over-sized trucks going 65+ MPH. Adjusting the camera view with the right thumb stick is troublesome as it does not revert back to its original position. Don’t even dare to switch the camera view to in-vehicle as half the screen is blocked, making it impossible to drive!
In the career mode you progress through different cups gathering XP, credits and sponsors. The more you progress, the better the vehicles get – especially when it comes to speed. The career mode is long and after many races the tracks all start to look the same. Hill climb and rally races are the only exciting events that I enjoyed participating in during my career.
At the end of the day, BAJA: Edge of Control HD is a mediocre arcade off-road racing game that can be fun occasionally, but otherwise was not worthy of a remaster in the first place.Previous
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