I like to think of Pure<\/em> as this generation\u2019s SSX<\/em>. It\u2019s an over-the-top, balls-to-the-wall, bladder-quaking extreme sports racing game with a heavy emphasis on pulling off death-defying tricks that would make Evel Knievel crap in his red, white and blue jumpsuit. Take out the snowboards and snowy mountains in favor of ATVs and expansive dirt and mud filled tracks and you\u2019ve got Pure<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Pure<\/em> perfectly balances breakneck, edge-of-your-seat speed, smooth, effortless controls and driving physics that manage to deliver sound realism when grounded yet are absurdly unrealistic (in a good way) when airborne. It is so much more than some shallow arcade off-road racer too. Thanks to a well balanced trick and boost system, the game has a subtle layer of strategy you may find surprising. Within each race you have to constantly decide when to go for big air and a crazy string of tricks to power up your boost and when to forgo risk, stick to a lower altitude and use your earned boost to speed by the competition at the most opportune moments. How much boost you have stored up also relates back to the types of tricks you\u2019re able to perform. The trick system is tiered, you see. As you fill up the boost meter you gain access to more advanced tricks (including spectacular special tricks at full capacity), but as you use boost power and the meter drops below certain levels your ability to pull off the flashier tricks diminishes.<\/p>\n

This tiered trick system is remarkably deep with over 80 different aerial maneuvers to experiment with and a combo multiplier that rewards your skill at quickly linking together successive tricks.<\/p>\n

The track designs Disney\u2019s Black Rock Studio were able to create are another standout feature to the Pure<\/em> experience. From the timberlands of Wyoming to the tropics of Thailand to the frigid glaciers of New Zealand, Pure\u2019s 30-plus track environments take you all across the globe to real-life locales rendered with such pristine detail and beauty you\u2019ll probably have to wipe drool off your chin at least once a race. Seriously, the expansive vistas you\u2019ll see while towering high above the below will make your jaw drop to the floor in awe. These tracks are so much more than the typical \u201cdrive around in a circle\u201d tracks you\u2019re used to in racing games as well. Multiple routes and hidden pathways are in mass supply, ensuring that every race and every lap is different from the last.<\/p>\n

Pure<\/em>\u2019s mode lineup is fairly predictable for a racing game. You\u2019ve got your World Tour single-player campaign, single races, time trials and that sort of thing, with three individual event types including Race (standard 3-lap race to the finish line), Sprint (short 5-lap race on small, close-quarters tracks), and Freestyle (trick event to beat out the competition with the highest score). 50 events in all, the World Tour isn\u2019t particularly long or complex, but the difficulty is balanced nicely to gradually increase with each stage without ever getting too hard or too easy. As you complete events you\u2019ll also unlock new parts to use in creating and customizing your own garage full of personalized ATVs. At any time you can assemble a new ATV from the ground up, starting with the frame and engine before getting to all the minor details like paint schemes, handlebars, body shape, tires, bumpers and so forth. The customization options are unbelievably robust, enabling you to get under the hood and build the four-wheeler of your dreams in great detail.<\/p>\n

With the World Tour only of moderate length, online play becomes the key feature for extended replay value. Many of you will likely be disappointed that Pure<\/em> contains absolutely no local multiplayer content whatsoever (no split-screen, no nothing), but for me (someone who hates sacrificing viewing real estate for split-screen play) online play renders any form of local play obsolete, especially when it\u2019s as good as this. It doesn\u2019t get much better than blazing around a track bumper-to-bumper with 15 other racers all battling it out to reach the finish line first.<\/p>\n

Racing games in general don’t get much better than this either. A publisher largely known for budget kiddie fodder and licensed TV\/movie games, Disney really pulled a rabbit out of its hat with this one, folks. Pure<\/em> is pure fun. It\u2019s a terrible pun, I know, but it couldn\u2019t be any truer. If I had to vote right now Pure<\/em> would get my nod as racing game of the year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pros:<\/strong>
\n+ Spectacular track designs
\n+ Deep, intuitive trick and boost system
\n+ Precision controls
\n+ Stunning environments and detailed ATV models
\n+ Awesome ATV customization options
\n+ Intense online play
\n+ Bumpin’ soundtrack<\/p>\n

Cons:<\/strong>
\n– No split-screen multiplayer
\n– World Tour mode could’ve been deeper<\/p>\n

Game Info:<\/strong>
\nPlatform: Reviewed on Xbox 360, also available for PC and PS3.
\nPublisher: Disney Interactive Studios
\nDeveloper: Black Rock Studio
\nRelease Date: 9\/23\/08
\nGenre: Action Sports\/Racing
\nESRB Rating: Everyone
\nPlayers: 1-16 (2-16 online; no local multiplayer)<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I like to think of Pure as this generation\u2019s SSX. It\u2019s an over-the-top, balls-to-the-wall, bladder-quaking extreme sports racing game with a heavy emphasis on pulling off death-defying tricks that would make Evel Knievel crap in his red, white and blue jumpsuit. Take out the snowboards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[384,23,49,927,3,21],"tags":[6227,6081,696,6407,699,6079],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3956"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29300,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3956\/revisions\/29300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}