Pure - Review

Added October 2nd, 2008 by Justin McBride

The extreme sports genre has always been one that empowers us to live our fantasies.  Pure is yet another in a long line of ATV racing titles that allows for just that. The talented team at Disney Interactive’s Black Rock Studio definitely had their work cut out for them when it came to making Pure stand out from the current crowd. That being said, it’s clear they’ve done a great job in that regard and have produced what is quite possibly the best ATV racing game this generation.

There's something special about Pure's relatively unique execution of the sport of ATV racing which somehow manages to make other games in the genre seem rather stale and unexciting in comparison. It accomplishes this by expanding on the vertical plane with its vertigo rush moments. These moments see you flying through the air without a care in the world, feeling your senses blur as the camera pans back ever so slightly to emphasize the gravity (no pun intended) of the situation.

Pure puts quite a bit of emphasis on its trick system which is both simple to wrap your head around and rewarding in practice. Standard tricks are pulled off by pushing the left analog stick in one of eight directions while pressing one of three face buttons. These tricks are also segmented into easy, intermediate and expert tiers and can be tweaked by pressing one of the bumpers. You’ll only have access to one from the outset while the other two are unlocked once you earn enough “juice” from successfully landing tricks. Once you completely fill the “thrill” bar a special trick is unlocked.  These tricks are performed by pressing both bumpers while pushing the analog stick in any direction. These outlandish tricks carry with them the added bonus of completely refilling your juice upon a successful landing.  This juice can also be used as a nitrous boost for your ATV. A nice balancing act is created once you realize that the tricks you can pull off are entirely contingent on how much juice you possess.

Of course, there’s more to ATV racing than flying through the air and pulling off tricks. There’s also racing and this is something Pure captures quite well. With a full field of sixteen competitors, races are intense and the wins are gratifying. The sense of speed, imparted by screen blur and camera shake, is quite impressive, especially when boosting. What makes Pure so great is how well it meshes racing and tricks. Tricks earn you boost, which can be used to pull ahead of the pack or to acquire the speed you need to pull off additional tricks.

There are three event types in Pure in the form of Race, Sprint and Freestyle modes. Race events are straightforward races around tracks filled with big trick opportunities in the form of small dirt mounds and hundred foot drops. Sprint races are all about maximizing your speed and precision handling of your ATV. The tracks are much shorter than their race mode counterparts and as such, the lap count has been increased. Jumps are few and far between, making boost a valuable commodity. Finally, Freestyle events have you focusing on pulling off tricks in rapid succession to increase your combo multiplier and in turn, your score until your ATV runs out of gas. Along the way, you’ll find floating icons in generally easy to reach places which provide various bonuses. The key to taking advantage of these icons is simply reaching them before your opponents do, adding an extra layer of competition to the already chaotic mix.

The Pure World Tour, which serves as this title’s career mode, features ten tournaments with between three and seven events each. As you begin, your chosen rider is at the bottom of the barrel and has to work his or her way up the leaderboards to reach number one. To do this, as you’d likely expect, you’ll have to win. The series of races are relatively straightforward and progress mostly linearly. There’s nothing truly standout about this mode other than the fact that it’s the place where you unlock tracks, different engine classes and the parts you’ll need to build and customize your ATV. This conveniently brings me to my next point.

The garage is where your ATVs are conceived and built from the ground up, piece by piece, from the parts you’ve earned in the World Tour. Every aspect of your ATV, from sprockets to handlebars is different, allowing for a wealth of customization options for gearheads addicted to that sort of thing. With the sheer number of customization options, the odds of seeing someone with an ATV just like yours is slim to none. If you don’t care too much about ATV customization, there are quick build options to create an ATV that specializes in race or freestyle modes (or a combination of the two) by simply holding down a button and watching the ATV assemble right before your eyes.

Getting back to the single player portion of the game, it’s a bit disappointing that the Pure World Tour is the only mode with some real substance. The other two modes, the single race and trial modes are pretty much standard fare.

Online, Pure excels at offering a smooth, competitive experience for up to 16 players. All three event types are available online including one extra thrown in for good measure. The Freeride mode allows players to ride freely around a chosen track without having to worry about their scores, lap times or fellow opponents for up to half an hour. To keep things competitive for those that want it, the top players in four areas (fastest lap, highest jump, high score, and biggest combo) will be ranked.

Visually, Pure can be downright stunning as you tear through the lavishly detailed set pieces (which are based on real locations) replete with breathtaking vistas and gorgeous scenery all around you. Even the character models look great in their own way, reacting and animating quite realistically to everything around them, be it the smallest bump or a trick gone on a bit too long leading to a sketchy landing where they’re barely able to get back into the seat. And to add yet another feather to Pure’s already well-stocked graphical cap, it runs as smooth as velvet. One minor problem that doesn’t do much to detract from the overall experience is some slight pop-in but to even call it a legitimate problem would be nitpicky.

There isn’t much I can find fault with in this game. It’s certainly one of the best racing games out there and possibly the best in its little subgenre as well. I do wish there were a few extra modes, or more to flesh out the single player offerings outside of the World Tour, which I found to be a tad lacking in the depth department. At the end of the day, these are just minor complaints in a sea of great design decisions, amazing visuals, and flat out fun ATV racing. I hope to see more from this franchise, because I see a great deal of potential in this title alone. So, should you check Pure out? By all means, give it a shot. There’s nothing else quite like it.