0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - ATV Quad Power Racing

      

ATV Quad Power Racing is a racing game based around all terrain vehicles, with a focus on Quad Bikes, the game was developed by Climax Brighton a studio that has undergone many name changes over the years. The game was published by Acclaim Sports.

The game released for the Playstation first in North America in the August of 2000, releases for Europe and Japan followed in bi-monthly pattern with Europe in October and Japan in December, As well as a Playstation release the game came out on the Game Boy Advance in North America in 2002.

The Game Boy Advanced version of the game was developed by Tantalus Interactive a studio that would go on to develop games such as RiME and The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD, the Game Boy Advanced version of ATV Quad Power Racing released in August of 2002.

The game has four modes to choose from, the first time attack allows the player to take on a track and try to set the fastest time they can, single race mode pits the player again a field of AI controlled opponents, before the race the player can choose their rider, the track they wish to race on and their quad bike.

The quad bikes have their own unique stats for example the Dirt Demon has very good handling but low top speed and average acceleration and brakes, the player can also choose weather to have a manual or automatic gearbox. The game also features a two player mode, this mode is split screen one on one race, these modes only have access to tracks and quad bikes that have been unlocked.

Races consists of the player plus five AI controlled opponents, this is a strict racing game so no weapon pickups or speed boosts with the player having to rely on their own skill, this is made slightly harder by the quad bike and rider both controlled by a separate analogue stick, with the right stick steering the quad bike while the left leans the rider.

The main mode in the game is the championship mode where the player again facing off against five AI controlled rivals this time over multiple tracks from three terrain types, forest, desert and ice. The championship mode is separated into Amateur and Professional championships with one of each for each terrain type.

The amateur championship on each terrain type needs to be won before the professional championship is unlocked, the professional mode tracks do differ slightly to the amateur championship ones. When starting the game the player has the choice between six different riders and two quad bikes for each terrain, upon winning on all the amateur tracks an additional two quad bikes for each terrain are unlocked once the player has won all races the best quad bike in the game is unlocked.

Quad bike racing game no story or story elements present

Critically this game was panned, with the exception of an above average score and an average score the remainder were below average down to poor, as usual though we will start with the best which comes from German publication Mega Fun who scored the game at a 64.

The review commented on the conventional racing games and when they become exhausted developers move onto more and more niche vehicles, this now being the time of Quad Bikes. The review continues saying that the title will not be given much attention because of its extremely average quality.

The now defunct Gaming Horizon is up next with an average 50 for their review score, the review opening their review conclusion with. What more is there to say? Don’t even think about picking up ATV: Quad Power Racing. The review then called into question the development time saying, This game must have been in development for a whole two weeks, either that or it is a left over first generation PSX title.

GameSpot scored the game two points lower at a 48, they concluded with that some ATV enthusiast may get enough out of the game to warrant a rental, those who are only mildly into the sport however will be disappointed by the repetitive graphics, steep learning curve and overall lack of variety and fun.

Review scores from here take another nose dive, now down to a 39 from PSX Extreme, the review so disappointed to finish the review I will notify everybody that ATV: Quad Power Racing has been destroyed, processed through the trash compactor, then thrown into the recycling bin.

They concluded with. This is another big waste of money, instead of picking up ATV, use that for either Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX or save it for PS2. Awful visuals, awful gameplay, ultimately horrible sound, with lacklustre control and little to no replay value show

From here we head to the very bottom of the barrel for the lowest review scores which comes from NowGamer who scored ATV Quad Power Racing a dismal 29. The review summing up with how underdeveloped the game is, the reviewer then commented on the controls and how if you opt for analogue control the game will switch it off during the race, they also commented on the large number of games of this low calibre that are appearing on Sony’s console.

Next up we have a three way tie with IGN, GamePro and German Publication Video Games all scoring the game at a 30, Starting with IGN, with the review expecting for from developers as he gets older, and as a consumer anything that costs money should be fun.

The review concludes with, I can understand why this one is billed as, "...the only Quad racer in the world, period." Perhaps this means that unlike, Quarterback Club 2000 and 2001, they won't actually try this again? Well, let's hope for now anyway.

GamePro simply concluded with Acclaim steps to the line to publish Climax's ATV: Quad Power Racing, an off-road ATV racer that will sap the happiness and energy out of all who play it. While Video Games called the game technically outdated, pixilated and crippled by slowdowns, the review recommended spending your money on a real quad bike.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude where if you are looking to trade in your copy of ATV Quad Power Racing, Gamedude would be willing to pay just 50 cents for a copy. If on the other hand you are in the market for a copy of the game from them you could pick one up for $4.

Retrogames.co.uk up next who have one copy of the PAL version available, this copy is in excellent condition with a 9/10 disc quality rating and can be picked up for just £5, please be aware this copy will only work on PAL consoles and not North American or Japanese consoles.

Next on to eStarland.com who have two used copies of the game currently available, the first is a disc only copy and is priced up at $1.06. The second used copy on the market is a complete copy which can be picked up for $2.98, at the time of writing this eStarland are not currently offering a trade in for this game.

Finally on to Amazon.com where we find a plentiful supply of copies available with prices for a good quality or better copy of the game pretty cheap ranging from $4.48 up to around the $10, too many good, very good and like new copies to count in this price range.

If however you are in the market for a new copy of the game which are not as abundant but still not too badly priced with prices starting at $11.91 another new copy is available for $11.93 as well, prices are currently reaching a high of around the $20 mark for a new copy.

Written by

P J Gibbon