his series has to be one of those quiet surprises of the PlayStation 2 console. It has sold millions of units and nobody can figure out why. The past two iterations in the franchise were done by developer Rainbow, who has since gone on and joined THQ. Rainbow must have taken the magic with them, because while this title is about ATVs – of course – it does very little for me.

Maybe this is because its formula remains so shockingly stationary in a video game world where a series like Tony Hawk practically reinvents itself with each successive iteration. Not this franchise, however. As if not wanting to do any of the heavy lifting for itself, its improvements are rudimentary – being able to buy parts and tool through different racing circuits in single-player and some minigames in multiplayer. That’s the kind of evolutionary leap that other titles made eons ago, making this a freak of nature. The departure of Rainbow is evident in the fact that the developer turned around and did something different with MX Unleashed, but this title holds no such ambitions.

As if this wasn’t enough, the game’s look needs an overhaul as well. A lot of the environments were bland, and there were even some texture tears. On the bright side, I liked that the collision was fair to the player. If you hit a track barrier while going slow enough, you could push it around instead of automatically being bucked from your ride. Barriers could even end up in the middle of the course and get in the way of other riders. Overall, while the racing itself and the tracks were acceptable, it felt a little looser than previous ATVs, and I thought that the preload was too inconsistent. I’d end up doing wheelies half the time instead of preparing for jumps. Where’s the fury? I just don’t feel the passion.