4-Nov-2001 The hills are alive with the sound of engines and screeching tyres. The hills are alive with the sound of engines and screeching tyres.
A kindly old hermit reaches the top of a mountain. Surrounded by the glories of nature, he sits in beatific contemplation. As he finishes his sketch of the beautiful waterfall and begins an ode to the lark, he's run over by a giant Chevy Blazer with two-foot-wide tyres. Serves the old codger right, doesn't it? All the fun to be had in the country is from racing, not sitting down.
This is an off-road racer where you really do have the opportunity to go off the beaten track - as long as you make the checkpoints, it doesn't matter how you get there. Suddenly everywhere's a short cut. All the 4x4 vehicles are authentically modelled from some of America's leading mullet-wagons. Win races to upgrade your Ford, Hummer, Mercedes, Dodge, Jeep or Chevy and eventually you'll have access to the pro and unlimited versions of the cars, which are ridiculously souped-up, stripped-down versions capable of great speed and handling.
And with courses like Hawaii, Yosemite and Moab, which tend towards the vertical, you're going to need them. Although the game'sgo-anywhere environments aren't that special, there's a range of interactive scenery which makes for some entertaining two-player games. One minute you're leading the pack at the climax of the last lap, and the next you're impaled on the front of a speeding train or pushed off a cliff by a falling boulder, cursing your luck while your so-called friend wipes tears of quiet joy from his eyes.
Okay, this is an arcade racer, but it's just a shame that so much realism's been sacrificed for a pick-up-and-play feel. Once you've taken two minutes to master even the trickiest car, you're unlikely to have to make any real driving decisions. Although you're flying through the air a lot, a bad landing doesn't tend to hurt much and you're always back on four wheels seconds after a crash. You don't feel every bump like in ATV Offroad Fury, and there's no thrill of the chase like Smuggler's Run. But as far as it goes, Wide Open's definitely better than moving off your arse and actually getting some fresh air for once.
Joff Brown
// Overview
Verdict
Brainless, fun racing, but too lightweight for its own good
Uppers
The sprawlingest races in videogames - is that a word? More falls and brawls than WWF Good variety of races and tracks
Downers
No finesse in car handling Environments aren't stunning We've seen this sort of thing enough already
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The sprawlingest races in videogames - is that a word?
