Score International Baja 1000 for Xbox 360
- HDTV Support: HDTV Support
- ESRB Rating: E10 - (Everyone 10+)
- Publisher: Activision
- Genre: Racing / Driving
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You're Not Missing Much
Pros
The framerate does hold up well.
Cons
Awful and frustrating controls, bland graphics, poor soundtrack, short in length.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
There are so many better and less frustrating options out there, and very little incentive to check out Baja 1000.
Baja 1000 could quite possibly be one of the worst racing games on the Xbox 360 (and even PS3). Granted, it was meant to be a budget title, but I've actually seen better games released at the same $40 price point. Test Drive Unlimited comes to mind, for one. Going against titles like Pure and Motorstorm : Pacific Rift, as well as THQ's own Baja offering (which wasn't so hot itself), Baja 1000 falls flat at delivering an even competent racing experience. What's worse, it was developed by the same team who had previously created Excitebike 64 and MTX Mototrax. A lot that is going on in this game just bears repeating the same question: "What the hell?".
Baja 1000 is an offroad racing game that seems to want to be more like Evolution Studio's Motorstorm racing games than perhaps a racer similar to Dirt, or even Pure. The selection of vehicles are unusually similar, including dirtbikes, ATV's, buggies and trophy trucks. There's even a boost mechanic during races. But make no mistake, this is far from the same quality product that Motorstorm was. Even though the game looks and seems similar, the busted controls and weak graphics say otherwise.
The controls of the game are just plain bad. Not in quite some time have I played a racing game that has had such "janky" controls and physics as this one. Instead of having tight controls like Pure, or realistic physics like Motorstorm, the handling of every vehicle in the game scream "rush job". Every turn feels like it requires more effort than it should, and finding yourself facing in the wrong direction is an occurrence that happens more frequently than it should. The controls also seem to have an added bonus of doing whatever it wants to do at times. I've found my vehicle (mostly the ATV) turning in a direction that I didn't force it to go in. There were too many times where I found myself pressing Select to place the car back in the right direction. For a novice player, or even an experienced one, the controls can be so infuriating that one may play this for 20 minutes and never want to have anything to do with it again.
Even if the controls were tolerable, the game really isn't that long. Including constantly fighting against the bizarre handling during races, the game's career from beginning to end could be completed in a handful of hours. Not exactly great for a racing game, a or any game. But when it comes to racing games, you should expect at least 25 hours or more of gameplay. The length may be merciful considering the poor design, but if the game played better, it would be unacceptable. Plus, if you're even thinking about playing the game online, you've got to ask yourself how many other people are that sadistic enough to even play this game online, which then you would realize that the online experience is probably non-existent. Which it is.
The graphics don't fare much better, either. If this game were even released back in 2005 (during the Xbox 360's launch), it would still be considered primitive and bland. The objects are a bit too blocky to seem realistic, and the texture work seems like something that's been taken from the PS2 and had the resolution increased. If there's anything good to say about the graphics, is that the framerate does stay fairly smooth, and the sense of speed is not that bad. However when the overall package is compared to a game like Pure (which was released around the same time as Baja 1000), well, that's like comparing a DS game to a Xbox 360 game. There is no comparison.
The sound is not so hot, either. The engine sounds are overbearing and loud, which seem to cover-up the soundtrack fine. The soundtrack feels like something out of a late-90's Playstation title, full of forgetable rock music that developers would trick you into thinking that the game is a more extreme experience than what it really is.
In the end, Baja 1000 is something to bypass altogether. The game looks bland, but plays badly. One of the most important things a racing game needs are tight, responsive controls, and Left Field failed pretty bad in that aspect. Even the most experienced gamers will find little to like and tolerate in Baja 1000. If you want a great off-road racer, there's plenty to pick from, so there's no need to mess with this one.
Baja 1000 is an offroad racing game that seems to want to be more like Evolution Studio's Motorstorm racing games than perhaps a racer similar to Dirt, or even Pure. The selection of vehicles are unusually similar, including dirtbikes, ATV's, buggies and trophy trucks. There's even a boost mechanic during races. But make no mistake, this is far from the same quality product that Motorstorm was. Even though the game looks and seems similar, the busted controls and weak graphics say otherwise.
The controls of the game are just plain bad. Not in quite some time have I played a racing game that has had such "janky" controls and physics as this one. Instead of having tight controls like Pure, or realistic physics like Motorstorm, the handling of every vehicle in the game scream "rush job". Every turn feels like it requires more effort than it should, and finding yourself facing in the wrong direction is an occurrence that happens more frequently than it should. The controls also seem to have an added bonus of doing whatever it wants to do at times. I've found my vehicle (mostly the ATV) turning in a direction that I didn't force it to go in. There were too many times where I found myself pressing Select to place the car back in the right direction. For a novice player, or even an experienced one, the controls can be so infuriating that one may play this for 20 minutes and never want to have anything to do with it again.
Even if the controls were tolerable, the game really isn't that long. Including constantly fighting against the bizarre handling during races, the game's career from beginning to end could be completed in a handful of hours. Not exactly great for a racing game, a or any game. But when it comes to racing games, you should expect at least 25 hours or more of gameplay. The length may be merciful considering the poor design, but if the game played better, it would be unacceptable. Plus, if you're even thinking about playing the game online, you've got to ask yourself how many other people are that sadistic enough to even play this game online, which then you would realize that the online experience is probably non-existent. Which it is.
The graphics don't fare much better, either. If this game were even released back in 2005 (during the Xbox 360's launch), it would still be considered primitive and bland. The objects are a bit too blocky to seem realistic, and the texture work seems like something that's been taken from the PS2 and had the resolution increased. If there's anything good to say about the graphics, is that the framerate does stay fairly smooth, and the sense of speed is not that bad. However when the overall package is compared to a game like Pure (which was released around the same time as Baja 1000), well, that's like comparing a DS game to a Xbox 360 game. There is no comparison.
The sound is not so hot, either. The engine sounds are overbearing and loud, which seem to cover-up the soundtrack fine. The soundtrack feels like something out of a late-90's Playstation title, full of forgetable rock music that developers would trick you into thinking that the game is a more extreme experience than what it really is.
In the end, Baja 1000 is something to bypass altogether. The game looks bland, but plays badly. One of the most important things a racing game needs are tight, responsive controls, and Left Field failed pretty bad in that aspect. Even the most experienced gamers will find little to like and tolerate in Baja 1000. If you want a great off-road racer, there's plenty to pick from, so there's no need to mess with this one.
