We are in 2008, the seventh generation of consoles has invaded the markets for about two years, with PS3 and Xbox 360 that battle with exclusive and multiplatform strikes. Baja: Edge of Control , an off-road racing event that comes out simultaneously on the two competing consoles, is amongst the multitude of upcoming titles throughout the year .
The title received a discreet welcome from the critic, but nothing more, passing almost unnoticed in such a dense video game. Nearly ten years old (you feel old, now?), THQ Nordic continues in its work of retrieving the IPs of the old THQ, reprinting a remastered version of this curious title. Is this a second chance deserved? Let’s find out together.
Crazy races in the desert
Baja: Edge of Control HD (only Baja from now on) is, as mentioned, an off-road racing title based on the same competition held annually in Mexico. On the edge of sprinkled carriages we will find ourselves competing through desolate landfills that reminiscent of the Mexican setting, chewing on our wheels kilometers and miles of rugged roads, between dunes, cactus, mud and the more we have, the more it puts it.
The technical achievement obviously reflects its past gameplay, but the developers have made improvements to the shadow and light effects and, in general, have made the title shiny, making it as cool as possible an old title ten years.
The end result is not bad, and considering it was a remastered edition, rather than a real remake, it was difficult to ask for more.
There are absolutely no frame rate drops, a problem that particularly affected the PS3 version of the title: the game runs smoothly, both during races and during free run mode, which we will discuss later. It is also good to carry out the cars, which are really numerous and will make the happiness of the enthusiasts of this peculiar kind of off-road racing.
A plaudge goes to the soundtrack: although they are not original tracks, developers have included a wide selection of songs ranging from rock to punk rock, hard rock to metal, with a really great tracklist track.
Young career drivers
Baja opens up with a rather spartan game menu that introduces us to the different modes, the main one of which is definitely the career mode. In it, as tradition for this kind of titles, we will have to face different championships, divided by the class of cars that will be able to participate.
In each championship, of course, the goal will be to get first and accumulate credits, which will serve to unlock new cars and, consequently, new championships to attend. We will start to play with the less powerful vehicles, then move on to the next classes as we accumulate credits and, together, experience with the steering wheel.
A key role is played by sponsors: we will be able to host on some parts of our car the logo of different companies, who will pay particular attention to having their name printed on our vehicle.
But if we arrive at the end with their vehicle still intact. That’s because, though Bajamore points on an arcade experience, vehicles are destructive, and we must be very careful about collisions to get healthy and safe at the end of the race. In career mode, you can choose between two levels of difficulty, easy and difficult: our advice, especially for beginners, is to get started easily, as the game is a challenge already at that level.
It will not be easy to learn how to set up the complex curves offered by these off-road trails, as it will not be easy to learn how to calculate jumps to avoid having a potentially frustrating fall. The game takes time to be mastered, but in the end, satisfaction is guaranteed, thanks to a level of challenge that can never be frustrating.
