Baja: Edge of Control

What’s most impressive is the game’s physics engine.

As a debut title, it's a straight-forward affair. [Dec 2008, p.112]

It’s a punishing game but rewarding in equal measures, and will draw you in like no other racing game quite has managed so far this generation - bring on BAJA 2: World Tour.

You are almost always riding the finest line between screaming along somewhat stably and totally losing it, and in that sense, Baja succeeds tremendously. Those kinds of stakes may not appeal to everyone, however, and the majority of people who tend to like finishing races may not need all of the incredible realism that an intense sim like Baja has to offer.

Baja manages to capture the chaos and intensity of off-roading, but the finicky controls undermine the experience.

Baja: Edge of Control gets a lot of things right … and wrong. In virtually every category, it nails one aspect but completely misses the target on another.

The harsh difficulty level and simulated driving makes for a frustrating experience if you’re not in it for the long haul.

The game concept holds enormous potential and brings a rare realism to the off-road genre, but it requires a few tweaks to the gameplay, and a more elaborate career mode.

This off-road racing game does a lot of things well, but the PS3 version looks so bad that it's tough to recommend.

Every vehicle slides around every turn with an alarming lack of control. [Nov 2008, p.79]

Far from the grandest of racing experiences, Baja doesn't achieve a new level of depth or excitement, nor can it compete with the existing batch of off-road racers.

First of all, BAJA is in no way an instant classic. But it can give you that satisfying feeling after you won a match. The steep learning curve will scare of some gamers and if you're looking for more arcade just head over to the Motorstorm camp. But if you're a fan of the off-road genre just take a shot at BAJA.

A brave competitor to Sony's mud king, but it's all a bit too bland to get revved up over. [Nov 2008, p.96]

The attempt to make a more serious, demanding racing-game for next-gen consoles completely failed. The challenging control turned out to be simply frustrating, graphics would make even the PS2 look away in shame and the given tuning options can only make mechanics happy.

Baja is as ambitious and attractive in its proposal, as clumsy and little inspired in its execution. The longest races, the main feature of the title, eventually become boring; the adversaries AI is so over the top that becomes frustrating; and unfortunately the graphical section for the PlayStation 3 version is especially regrettable.

In the end, it seems like Baja: Edge of Control was trying to please everybody and, in doing so, managed to create an experience that isn't ideal for anyone.

Sadly, they didn’t capitalize on the potential and gamers were “stuck” with a mid-level game worthy of a rental at most.

So while Baja is technically impressive, it's also maddeningly difficult, and easily one of the more frustrating racers I've played recently. The controls are unforgiving, and the vehicle damage is definitely realistic but also provides a huge hurdle for actually enjoying the game.

At times, it’s an edge-of your seat experience that gives you a sense of accomplishment for sliding across the finish line in one piece. Other times, it’s a confounding mix of erratic handling, insane difficulty and drab repetition.