PURE Review
Tricks are the main draw of this game. The racing alone is satisfying, and if you tried to just race a race without tricking at all, that may work - it actually does, trust me. The trick system is a bit complicated, but once you focus on using it, it starts to become second-nature in no time. You basically preload when coming onto a ramp, then let go of it as you're at the top of the ramp to jump high into the air, and while in the air you trick away. The key is to perform the trick as you are leaning forward or backward or do a tweak to your trick, which makes for about 12 different tricks, not mentioning your special, combos, and flips. There are a few other tricks, but to keep things simple you'll just keep using the same few tricks. It does get frustrating when your preload goes wrong and you end up tricking 5 feet above the ground before crashing, when you get your trick buttons mixed, when you misjudge how long a trick takes, and when you land just a little off-balance. Thanks to the generous reviving system your race won't be over with one mistake - maybe in the later stages perhaps.
As your boost/trick meter fills up, from landing and not crashing of course, you can have more boost and move onto the next level of tricks. There are three levels of tricks: basic, intermediate, and advanced, then you get a special, and all but the special can be tweaked. Using boost depletes this meter, but it's also not wise to sit on the boost. You use the boost to go faster into ramps so you can better feed into the tricks you perform in a never-ending cycle. Much like other trick or style games, you must diversify your moves in order to excel or else the meter fills up slower. One thing to also keep in mind is that staying in the air forever and tricking may be slower than trying to lean forward and hit the ground faster. At times, it's easy to over-trick for no gain, trick when it's not needed, and managing the meter does get a bit tedious when a race is close, but if you use it to your advantage, the trick system is far more than just a flashy add-on.
The presentation is top-notch. Never have I played a game where the menus and screens were such a joy to scroll through, and the intros movies to each event are handled well. Information is spread out and presented to you as you advance through the early stages, and at any time you can view tutorial movies for all things about the game. The graphics look great, but as a player you'll hardly notice them with things going by so fast. Lighting is realistic, the dirt appears to accumulate on your character and ATV as you race, and all the details are fleshed out for quite a depth into the horizon. Most of these tracks are quite large too, with many alternate paths, and even some paths you can only reach via a jump. Voice-work is sparse but good when it's used, and the sounds during a race feel authentic and real. There are nice sound effects sprinkled throughout the many aspects of a race, and everything feels loud and raw, the way it should sound. And the soundtrack is neither memorable nor annoying.
Pure is just what the name implies, a game about pure fun. There's no story, no emphasis on hardcore modding, and you can make it a trick or racing game until you get it all under control. If you like racing, this game provides serious competition; if you like tricking it up, this game lets you do that too; and there are endless possibilities of ATVs to create. There is nothing that completely blows your mind, just a solid title all around. Since the market has shied away from trick-based games, and maybe the current racing titles are too boring, perhaps Pure is the game for you.
- Gameplay - 90
- Presentation - 100
- Graphics - 90
- Sound - 85
- Replay Value - 95
- Overall - 92
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
92%.
