4x4 Evolution Review

4x4 Evolution is a hot-wheels, off-road racing game. It concentrates heavily on the authenticity of vehicle physics and off-road driving and it presents a very bold project in these times, when we're literally flooded with similar games; games that present severe competition for 4x4. Behind this project lurks the developing team of Terminal Reality, the makers of Nocturne, Fly! and so forth...

Care to go sailing?

Coming out of the water...

4x4E has an excellent rendering system that induces an exceptionally realistic feeling of a driving simulation, which is mostly thanks to the real world physics; from the vastly detailed natural environment, to the accurate suspension of the trucks and SUVs. As always, racing games leave a greater impression if played against live opponents. The AI routine is fairly weak in some cases during racing, but this has been slightly balanced with the vehicle class selection in quick race mode. In the single player mode there is a selection of two race modes, which is rather unimaginative. I myself expected a lot more features in the single player variant. Since a lot of possible options and features were left out, I also anticipated a huge amount of car models and more customization options. Overall, the single player mode lacks more varied gameplay and gameplay depth. There are millions of ways to make a race exciting in the single player mode. The so-called SERIES mode, has a simple, but at the same time, increasingly interesting gameplay. As you purchase the SUV of your preference, you must participate in a series of races in order to earn some greens. This is realistic but I'm afraid unoriginal, and how many times have we seen it all before. The cash chasin' thing has been going on since Road Rash, and for as long as I can remember. When you receive enough cash for car parts, you'll have to upgrade the vehicle in a very cautious manner before each race. The car components can be installed before each race. Attaining certain elements will help track handling in every approach. You will be able to adapt to the requirements of the track. When it comes to regulating such stuff, almost nothing was left out. Everything needs to be taken into consideration; muddy roads, heavy and bumpy terrain, weather conditions, and even small obstacles like gravel and fallen branches. For these tough ways of driving, the suspensions have to be carefully set to a more efficient style. Roads with sand and gravel may call for tire adjustment, applying a deep cut for easier usage of the SUV.

The significance of car improvements puts a very genuine aspect into the game.

Mud, sludge, and dirt hit your chassis and tires, you look for the fastest way to the finish, crossing a small stream while your favorite vehicle rushes like hell, and as you penetrate the final checkpoint you jump with delight realizing that you kicked the living daylights out of your opponents. Driving though the live and rich off-road environment in a high-speed 4WD vehicle, your adrenaline will start to pump out of your ears, and your eyeballs will pop out when you suddenly realize that the SUV flew up in the air! If you modified the car for this kind of driving, then landing on the ground won't be a predicament. Yet again if you didn't, you will either crash and flip over, or you'll have to struggle for a half-a-bloody-hour to maintain the control. However, the controls are generally good and I had no objections in this respect. Eventually, this kinda driving gets extremely boring. This could have been easily corrected with more features. Maybe something on the lines of single player missions, tasks, and goals which may significantly improve the games excitement and cast out the boredom. Normally, this will be a different game genre, but it is will also be an excellent way of taking the best of both genres. For instance, something between Need For Speed and Driver. This is where the originality lies - fast and breathtaking racing mixed with a good story and missions to complete while rushing to be in the first place. As I mentioned earlier even Road Rash initial player motivations, and even cops chasin' you and stuff makes the excitement last longer. In regard to the camera movements, there's the standard Need For Speed variety, although one important angle had been left out, namely the behind-the-wheel point of view (that's the one where you can see the fancy car interior).

As the game begins, you get to see a selection of famous SUVs, presenting 8 types with at least two or three car models each. You have 15 big tracks to test the possibility of these babies. Personally, I feel that there could have been more tracks, but that would probably require an additional disk. As we know, Terminal Reality created an outstanding shoot-em-up game - Terminal Velocity, which introduced revolutionary graphics and vast areas for flying and exploring. Once again they didn't fail. The impressive wideness in 4x4 builds up memorable feelings, that otherwise don't last. The cars have a 'Porsche Unleashed' graphic quality, and some of the tracks possess the excitement of the Midtown Madness series. Car model textures are fully detailed and beautifully animated. This is noticeable if the view of the camera is placed in the zoomin-by outlook. You can distinguish the front and rear suspension physically applying itself to the unforgiving ground. The details and the visuals are supplemented with several weather situations. Fog, rain, and extremely dark nights display shadows and light effects that are smooth and pleasing to the eye. Plus, the terrain textures seem plentiful, especially in hi-res Open GL modes, providing us with streaming animations of the background and the SUV models themselves.