The developers had some good ideas for gameplay, but unfortunately they are outweighed by the more negative factors. There are two modes of play: Arcade and World Tour. Playing the Arcade style is pretty straightforward: pick car, race. World Tour mode has more to it: Three divisions with two cups for the first and three for the last. During your world tour you will earn cash to buy or upgrade your vehicle (there are 27 to choose from). You can buy engine, shocks, tire, and special modifications, each with its own strength and weakness depending on the track you are racing on (there are 11 tracks, five of which are circuit). This is a great part of the game that makes you plant ahead and think for a moment as to if you should buy now or wait. When choosing a vehicle to buy, stats such as handling, top speed, and others are represented, and it is extremely important that you choose a vehicle that has the best attributes for a particular track. Unfortunately, the developers forgot to include weight as a factor. You can have the best stats needed for a particular track, but if you're too heavy or too light, you'll lose control awfully quick.

The game's strongest point, however, is its race tracks. The tracks in Off-Road 3 are among the most interesting and fun tracks I've ever played in a racing game. The Canadian Rockies track in particular could very well be the best by sporting sharp, near-vertical paths and one or two alternative ways to get to the finish line. Of course, not all of them are perfect. One rather annoying track is the Black Forest, where you race at night. Thanks to the game's lack of good lighting or real-time lighting (or real-time anything) its nearly impossible to see anything more than a couple feet ahead, even with your headlights on.

The AI in Off-Road 3 is pretty unremarkable. Either it zips ahead of you and makes no mistakes, or it's so stupid that none of the cars are able to complete even a single lap.

Another annoying and frustrating feature is the game's collision system, or rather, lackthereof. Around each car there is an invisible barrier that stretches out two or three feet from your car; it is an evil and wicked spell crafted by the Gremlins of Annoying Gameplay Issues. The Barrier of Annoyance makes you bounce off all other cars, but if you hit an obstacle (like a wall or a tree) you will not be able to just zip around it. You will have to back up a good distance, and turn away from it; if your invisible barrier touches it again, you must repeat the process. This, combined with the game's rather sluggish controls (and lack of being able to make any kind of sharp turn), provides for a hair-tearing experience. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the magic barrier makes any breakable objects (such as boxes) to burst into pieces ten feet in front of you.

The graphics in the game are simple and on the low-end of the technology tree. The car models look good, but, much to my disappointment, are unable to be damaged. The graphics for the background and tracks are also simple, yet they are good enough to make most of the areas seem realistic...that is, if it wasn't for the ugly camera clipping problems and overuse of 2d sprites in some areas.

There are four camera views available in the game. One is First-Person view (sorry, no behind-the-wheel-and-dashboard), the second is Great View of the License Plate But Little Else view, the third is a good just-over-the-top view, and the last is an extremely far view which makes the already-sluggish controls even slower.

Apparently, the sounds in the game got the least attention when everything was in development. There are the usual generic skidding sounds and engine revving, but some sound rather odd, such as when you are driving through snow or mud; they don't seem to fit in anywhere. The music consists of a few songs by Blink 182, Eve 6, Incubus, Girls against Boys, and Diesel Boy. Some of them go pretty well in the game, though a few others will most likely be tuned out by the player.

In the end, Off-Road 3 can be fun, but it is also dampened rather frequently by the game's large arsenal of bugs, glitches, and annoyances. Diehard fans of the Off-Road series might like, it but otherwis...there are plenty of other cars on the road...or fish in the sea...or something like that.

· · · Mithril