Based on the real life Baja 1000 off-road event, Baja: Edge of Control pits players against the dangers of desert roads, mountainous terrain and cutting edge AI. Featuring close to 100 different tracks, countless parts with which to customize your ride, and more vehicles than Polyphony Digital can shake a polygon at. Baja: EoC is like an off-road fantasy come true.



There’s so much to cover for this game it’s almost difficult to know where to start. Well, I guess it’s best to start with the amount of tracks this game has to offer. There’s over 95 different tracks ranging from the Baja 250 courses, the Baja 500 courses and the ultimate Baja 1000 course. To take on these tracks 2XL has provided a hefty set of vehicles to choose from. Hence, players will be able to select from numerous off-road vehicles that can be customized and modified as players progress throughout the game. Earning cash from sponsors can be used to select shocks, drive trains, parts for aero dynamics, brakes, cooling and more. In addition to buying parts and upgrades, players can also fully customize their ride with detailed tunning and test run options.

The real test, however, is maintaining control and stability while racing over the rocky terrain and uneven dirt tracks. Unlike some racing games out there where you just hold down the accelerator and wait to turn left or right, Baja: EoC pushes the skills of any racing fan to the limit by forcing them to adjust to every detail and nuance of a track. If players forfeit the appropriate attention required to navigate the treacherous terrain, then they can kiss their ride goodbye or find themselves turned right-side down. According to the developers, the physics have been finely tuned to react and respond with startling realism. So it’s easy to lose control and even easier to lose parts from the vehicle. But the track isn’t the only obstacle standing in the way of players.

Baja: EoC embraces the competitive art of racing by enforcing the player’s competition – or the computer controlled AI – to reactively respond to the track in the same way the player does. This means that the computer is just as likely to slip through and oversteer a turn in the same likelihood of the player. This also means that players who disrespect their AI opponents on the track will also find that said opponents will probably block, bump or spin the player out of control if they ever get the chance. It’s just like driving in LA.

Discussing features of any game is good and dandy, but no game is complete without a multiplayer component. In the case of Baja: Edge of Control, there’s not only a fully functional online component for the multiplayer, but for those of you who don’t have friends half-way around the world, there’s also a split-screen option for up to four-players. I’m liking the trend of including both online and off-line multiplayer options...it’s like having the option of selecting mono when watching a movie, even though no one ever uses mono.

You can look for Baja: Edge of Control to hit store shelves later in September for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Be sure to stay tuned in for more details, news and info on all the latest games here at Blend Games.

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