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Ageography lesson to begin with,
children. Better known as ‘that
squiggly bit of land just south
of California’, the Baja peninsula is an arid
landscape filled with all the American desert
stereotypes: cacti, sand, cow skulls somehow
detached from the rest of their bodies. Every
autumn, this unforgiving place plays host to the
Baja 1000, a festival of chafing skin played out
via the racing of various motor vehicles over a
slightly misleading distance. It’s pretty close,
though. Fed up with developing automotive
outings caricatured by increasingly energetic
names (Motocross Madness, ATV Offroad
Fury, MX Unleashed), the guys at 2KL Games
decided to try something a little more realistic.
The results are pretty impressive, at least
from a statistical perspective – nine separate
Baja tournament races, each 25 square miles in
size. Hostile terrain indeed, through which the
longest race will take a hefty four hours. We’re
in fantasy RPG territory here folks, and in areas
of depth that spread beyond mere surface
area, too. For starters, 168 real-world vehicles
will be included for your driving pleasure, and
they’re obviously not your typical showroom
models. From a trusty Beetle to customised,
heavily sponsored trucks costing upwards of
a million dollars, variety isn’t just the realm of
bumpy terrain.
“It’s the Gran Turismo of off-road racing”
was the sound bite 2XL president Rick Baltman
trotted out in sunny San Francisco, and it’s easy
to see why that’s the case. An impressive 400
tuning options await the vehicles, ranging from
more obvious engine fiddling (cam alteration)
to preventing your virtual self losing their lunch
(by fitting suspension racks the size of an
elephant’s leg). 2KL is also looking to include a
rather nifty wealth accumulation system, split
halfway between your actual track position
and which of the 300 or so sponsor boards
manage to survive the trip. While this might
prove a little pointless in the heat of battle,
it’s a fresh touch. As is the game as a whole,
in fact. The only conundrum remaining is if a
game so deeply entrenched in a niche can find
buyers. Such mammoth races will surely scare
many away. Only time will tell…
Dave Shaw
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