Racing games are constantly trying to come up with new ways to draw in players. And because its such a hardcore genre, getting those players is hard to do. Baja: Edge of Control tries to take things to a new level with extraordinarily long races and uber-realism.

Players advance through classes, starting with the Baja Bug class (one of eight in the game) and work their way up. Win games, earn XP, get into higher classes. You know the drill. As you gain XP and money, you’ll also need to buy better cars in order to win races. But in order to get money, you need sponsorships (but to get those, you have to have a winning record). It’s an interesting, if not overly meticulous system.

Following the same pattern, vehicles are built to exact specifications: visually and in their physics. Driving around the tracks can be cool, watching the axle on your buggy bob up and down with the terrain. But when you’re trying to steer, especially with the lower tier buggys – yeh, I don’t think so. They are almost uncontrollable. If you land a jump wrong, you might even damage your car. The beginning races are very hard for that reason alone, making it even harder to level up and get good cars.

Developer 2XL Games has created more than 1,000 miles of realistic terrain to bounce your buggy over. All of the tracks feature interesting landmarks and big sky country.

It’s quite a sight to behold when you’re cruising across the dirt for hours at a time. While the graphics aren’t quite as good as something like Dirt or Grid, the open landscapes are beautiful.

The game features a career mode (mentioned above) that is fully fleshed out. Hardcore racing junkies will have a field day customizing their buggies for the big race. 2XL also created a Baja mode which you lets you participate in hour long races across open country. While I applaud the developer for including this, I have to admit, it wasn’t much at all

What plagues Baja the worst, though, is the presentation. What could have been a super-cool, testosterone-driven game comes out as a mildly entertaining package. The menus look like a business slideshow presentation and the music that should “get you going” just kind of sputters a country tune. This game really lacks personality.

Developer 2XL Games went all out creating the most realistic experience for players. Sadly, that’s what keeps it from being fun. For me, the best racing games start with “Burn” and end with “Out.” 

Gameplay: 6.0
The driving mechanics are hard, especially in early levels, and will often leave you frustrated.

Graphics: 7.0
Environments impress with big, open country, but rarely look great. The presentation as a whole is extremely bland.

Sound: 5.0
The music matches the presentation in personality.

Difficulty: Hard

Concept: 6.5
Built for the hardcore crowd.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Solid online offerings for those wanting more replay value from this game.

Overall: 6.0
This game was made for a specific group of hardcore race fans who will dig the hour-long races and in depth customization. Mainstream race fans will be disappointed.