E3 2002ATV Offroad Fury 2 impressions

ATV Offroad Fury 2 is the sequel to Sony's popular quad racing game. Both games were developed by Rainbow Studios, and the sequel improves upon the original in a lot of ways, not the least of which is the addition of online play.

The racing in Offroad Fury 2 is really fast-paced. You get a great sense of speed while careening around corners and up and down hills. The textures used for the tracks look pretty clean, and the rider animations for turning are fantastic. The rider also has a lot of different trick animations. Tapping directions and one of the three trick buttons lets you pull off a great variety of tricks. Animation also plays a key role in wrecks, which look realistic to the point of being painful. Watching the ATV fly up into the air and tumble around with no rider on it is quite hilarious. The game controls really well--the bikes have nice, bouncy suspension that makes hopping off hills and flying around corners extremely fun.

ATV Offroad Fury 2 is scheduled to be one of the first games out for Sony's new PS2 Network Adapter.