Six contenders storm their giant jeeps up and down big hills, which are dotted with smaller hills and valleys known as bumps and dips. The object of the race is to come first after three laps by not rolling your motor over a hundred times and cracking your head. Where hardcore really differs from the competition is the way in which you're expected to negotiate the courses. Instead of just having to take corners and go really fast, in Hardcore you have to read the track, take the lines of least resistance. This is actually a refreshing idea, so well done Gremlin.
What's surprising, given the unusually slow pace of the action, is the equally slow frame rate. Whilst the trucks and tracks are very nice looking, well textured and admirably colourful, the clipping is pretty cack. Sometimes it's obscured by the twists of the course, but often it's obvious, especially given the varying height of the horizon as you climb and dip.
The trouble is that once the novelty value has worn off, there isn't a lot of substance to Hardcore 4x4. Rally is the yardstick by which these things are judged, and unless you're desperate for a change Hardcore just may not be enough to sustain your interest.
