Yet another classic game has been remastered and released, but in this world of what seems to be a saturated market in terms of the remaster being a huge trend, does Baja: Edge of Control measure up?
The simple answer to that is no, it doesn’t even come close.
https://youtu.be/Biysztwy66k
Now, for me personally I loved the original PS3 version released back in 2008 and spent many hours getting frustrated at wrecking my car and it limping over the finish line, so I was excited to get my hands on this game to try it out.
So, the graphics have had a nice overhaul, but that’s about all the game has got going for it as far as I can see. You can tell that the graphics have been updated for the PS4, but I also feel more could have been done with them. In a market which is releasing quite a few racing games within a short period at the moment, THQ Nordic have taken a huge gamble in releasing this around the same time as Project Cars 2 and Gran Turismo Sport. A gamble which I’m afraid to say hasn’t paid off.
I did like the touches within the game like wild animals running across the course, but after a while I found myself aiming for them in the hope of running them over (which I never managed). However, where this game really suffers is with its collision detection system, it doesn’t exist! Going in to corners alongside another vehicle, I was trying to use them to bounce off and aid my turning only to find my car merging through half of that vehicle before any contact was made.
Then there is the scenery. Flying off the road toward a cactus tree I was hoping that it would stop my flight as a random small rock in the road can send both yourself and the AI vehicles into a car wrecking spin; no such luck. The tree just went through my car and left me flying. Then I tried to re-join the track and another tree that wasn’t even in my driving line stopped me going forward.
So, with all that said, what is there to draw you into wanting to play the game?
To be honest, not much. The soundtrack is fantastic with some heavy tracks which do fit in with the games feel and the game is still fun to play if you can see past the obvious issues. The loading screens offer some game graphics, but look worse than what I remember the PS3 graphics being.
One major thing that I personally feel is missing from the game is a replay mode after your race. The support helicopter constantly flies above your head as you race in case you need to make spot repairs after a rogue pebble sends you into a world record breaking tumble with bits of bodywork flying everywhere, so why is there no replays from that helicopters point of view? I’d love to relive how that pebble creeped onto the track just to attack me personally.
If you enjoyed the original, don’t spoil your memories of it by getting this.
In summary, it’s still an enjoyable play if you can switch off to all of the issues which need addressing before it can be played with any full enjoyment. For a fan of the original like myself, don’t waste your money!
I will give it a very generous 4/10 only for the fact that it did bring back memories and some of the graphics have been an improvement on the original
REVIEW. Baja: Edge of Control HD PS4
