Baja: Edge of Control

Overview

Baja: Edge of Control will feature revolutionary physics and vast open racing worlds. Baja combines real world racing with arcade style fun to challenge gamers to realistic, unforgiving terrain. Baja will also offer 1000 miles of steep mountains, thick mud and deept canyons in nine various worlds, from Baja, Mexico to Nevada.

Gameplay

As the retail box says, the game's "revolutionary vehicle physics deliver unprecedented life-like handling, and a support management system allows gamers to monitor and repair realistic vehicle damage as fenders fly, tires are blown, suspension is stressed and engines overheat." Baja supports four-player split screen multiplayer capability, 10-player online and LAN as well as multiple-screen panoramic view.

Baja: Edge of Control features several different race events, with the most familiar one being a standard circuit race. These circuit races will be on courses spread over several miles, and will last around ten minutes. Baja rally races are much different then rally events you'd see in the WRC rallies, because the rallies in Baja include altercations with traffic and wheel-to-wheel affairs. The races will still be point-to-point, but you'll only have to beat the select cars in the same racing class as you.

Time trial events are also available if you like to race alone or if you need practice without worrying about opponents on your tail. Hill climbs are very similar to Time Trials. They are point-to-point races up and down mountains, in purpose built monster cars. Open Class races in Baja are similar to drag races since the slower car classes start racing first. The faster cars that take off last will have to pass the slower cars and be the first to finish in order to win, since there are no class specific races like in most events in the game. The most noticeable race mode in Baja is endurance racing. These races are pseudo-real time, not like the 24 minute Le Mans races in GRID that use a fast day/night cycle to resemble 24 hours. These races will take hours to complete, and include the famed Baja 1000.

Licensed vehicles in Baja: Edge of Control include VW Beetles, H3 Hummer, Toyota Tocoma, Ford Ranger, F-Series Fords including the F-100; and more! Racing classes include Unlimited VW, 4X4, Mini Trucks, Open Wheel, Class 1, and Trophy Vehicles. With all of these classes combined, there re over 160 vehicles in Baja.

The career mode is fairly standard compared to most racing games. It will include gold, silver, and bronze medals, awarded to the top three finishers in a race. The career mode also includes a completion percentage meter and unlockable cars as you progress through various events. An experience meter also controls which items you can unlock as you progress as a Baja race.Rather than races being separated into event types in Career Mode, they're separated into vehicle classes, starting with your first vehicle, the Baja Bugs. You will work your way up to higher racing classes by earning credits from finishing good or sponsor contingency loot. Racing series sponsored by Oakley, BFGoodrich, and Kicker car stereo will offer a slight learning curve and helps to promote progression.

To begin your career you start out with a few thousand credits, but stadium trucks cost around 600,000 credits. Earning enough credits to unlock those while spending credits to upgrade your current vehicles will take a while. Upgrading and tuning your cars is critical to being successful against the AI.

PlayStation 3 Issues

Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3 edition of Baja: Edge of Control suffers from less than spectacular visual quality. Somewhere along the way, the PS3 version of the game took a graphical hit, and doesn't look quite as sharp as the Xbox 360 version. Many critics made note of this in their reviews as well.

Xbox 360 Game Installation

Baja: Edge of Control requires 5.6GB of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.

Xbox 360 Games on Demand

On March 16, 2010, Baja: Edge of Control became available on the Xbox 360's Games on Demand service. It costs $19.99 or 1600 Microsoft Points.