Baja, Edge of Control Game For PS3 Review

I have probably owned and played just about every off road game out there for the playstation, and this is definitely one of the best, if not THE best of the bunch. Of course with any game, it's not perfect. My biggest complaint is that there are no dirt bikes! Having a Baja without dirt bikes doesn't seem natural, but it makes up for it with a wide variety of buggies and 4x4's. It may be the price to pay in order to have the game experience the way it is, but it's a very big price to pay! My only other real complaint is that when you drive a vehicle in the 4x4 category, it's not 4 wheel drive. The 4x4's react and drive very much like all the other classes with no additional traction from the front wheels. Hopefully in the quest to make the ultimate off road game, these two issues will be fixed in some future version, but this game is probably as close to perfect as any other game I've played. The #1 thing that jumps out immediately is the graphics! It is displayed in full 1080i, or 1080p resolution. The next thing is the incredible size of the environments. This is as real world as it gets. You can drive through the environments and find new discovery's in a true freeride mode. I was a little surprised at first with how long it took to get to a point that I could see in the distance, but soon realized that it was more true to life and that I was just expecting it to be more like other games with backdrops that you can see, but never reach. Of course there are still limits and you will eventually reach the end of the environments. Perhaps someday the game developers will be able to download satellite data and create an entire world that mirrors ours, but until then, this will definitely do. This game is from the makers of MX vs ATV so you know up front that it will be good, but it is not just another version of the old ps2 favorites, this goes way beyond!
Some other points to this game that I love is that there is no magical "boost" button that sends power from seemingly nowhere like a rocket out of the back of the vehicle. Instead, it has a clutch that when worked will give a certain amount of boost, but the power is directed to the wheels and is only effective if the vehicle is on firm ground. The clutch, as well as many other parts of the vehicle, can be upgraded as you earn more credits from winning races and picking up sponsors. Also, a number of mechanical as well as cosmetic parts of the truck are subject to damage and there are gauges to monitor things such as water temperature, clutch damage, suspension damage etc. If you abuse the clutch you can burn it out etc. and you must stop and repair it. You can also tune the vehicle by changing the ratio of each gear as well as the final gear ratio etc. There is a way to pre-load the suspension to make the vehicles jump further, but there is no meter to tell you how much pre-load you get which also seems to add more of a realistic feel to me. Out of the 3 off road games for the PS3 that we own so far(Pure, Baja 1000, and Baja, Edge of Control) the Edge of control is by far the best and worth every penny! The trees actually shudder just like real trees when contacted and you will see an occasional jack rabbit and other wildlife romping around as well! I'm often tempted to stop and fish, and start up a camp fire at times it's so realistic. Here are a few more screenshots for your viewing pleasure.