Pure Hands-On

Blackrock Studios' ATV racer is just around the corner, but we thought we'd take one more look at the game before its launch. While we've seen the game a few times already on the Xbox 360, we thought it was time to see how the PlayStation 3 version stacks up. From what we've seen, we're pleased to report it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Xbox 360 version. The game is looking pretty solid, and while the team at Brighton-based Blackrock Studios are no doubt busy polishing the game as we speak, for the most part it looks complete.

Pure's gameplay is split among three modes: race, sprint, and freestyle. The first two are pretty self-explanatory and consist of five- and three-lap races respectively. One interesting caveat is that the sprint races feature a modified, shorter track than that in the race mode. The freestyle mode, on the other hand, requires you to pull off as many insane tricks as you can, all while keeping an eye on your ever-dropping fuel gauge. You'll fill up the tank at the end of each lap and can also pick up fuel bonuses along the way, in addition to other upgrades such as score multipliers when performing tricks. When you've eventually run out of juice, the event is over.

We've seen the Wyoming, Italy, and New Mexico stages before, so we headed to a new stage this time around: Ocotillo Wells, California. Set in the baking hot California desert, it's perfect for an off-road racer like Pure. The stage takes place in an aircraft graveyard with the shells of old cargo and passenger planes strewn around. The track is littered with old fences, spare tyres, corrugated iron, and scrap metal for that authentic feel. It might not offer as many chances to grab some insane airtime, as Italy does, but the curving corners and steep jumps make it well suited to faced-paced races.

The track, and the game as a whole, has a washed-out colour palette which suits some of the more rugged terrain such as California and New Mexico, but we hope the more exotic environments such as Italy's Lake Garda come to vibrant life in the final build. Visually the game is looking pretty decent with solid menus, some interesting characters, and great level design.

Extreme sports fans will be happy to know there's a pretty wide range of tricks you can pull off in Pure. Preloading a jump by pulling down the forward with the analog stick will buy you some airtime. Once you're off the ground you can pull off a move with one of three face buttons in combination with a direction on the analog stick. Freestyle motocross fans will be familiar with moves such as the nac nac, cordoba, bar hop, coffin, indian air, 9 o'clock nac, ruler, cliffhanger, tweak air, and maddocopter. There are three levels of moves, and as you pull off a string of successful ones you'll unlock the next. If you successfully execute enough, you'll be able to pull off some lengthy special moves such as a "shaolin funk"--just make sure you have enough airtime or you'll land belly-up.

There were two stock-standard ATVs available to us: the race rental, which is tweaked for better handling and acceleration, and freestyle rental, which is ideal for tricks and boosting. While there should be many more to choose from after the final game is released, you'll also have access to an exhaustive garage mode which lets you build a bike from scratch. There's an almost overwhelming number of options to choose from, including (deep breath) racing frame, swingarm, "a-arms," shocks, rims, tyres, engine, handlebars, sprocket kit, brakes, boost, body livery (decals), nosecone, front fenders, rear fenders, radiator scoops, seat, "nerf bar," bumper, frame guards, hand guards, and grips. If that sounds too daunting, you can also choose presets with a single button press. While some of those choices have performance trade-offs, many are there purely for aesthetic value. Still, having the option to create your own ride from scratch is a nice touch.

The soundtrack, looks like it will focus on electro and indie-rock numbers and from the sound of it, Blackrock has included a pretty solid lineup of tunes. We heard tracks from Wolfmother, The Subways, Pendulum, and The Futureheads in the game.

So far we've only seen Pure's single-player mode, but we hope to get behind the wheel in some multiplayer racing soon. Pure is revving up for a September release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.