Minimum Requirements: G3 Macintosh, MacOS 8.6, 64MB RAM, 300MB free hard drive space, CD-ROM, OpenGL compatible 3D acceleration with 6MB RAM, TCP/IP connection (for internet play)
Network Feature: Yes
3D Support: OpenGL and Glide
Retail Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Availability: Out Now
My friend Jack is a pretty good song writer. He's been writing for over a decade now, and although he has yet to top "The Furniture Song" from the early '90s, there's a noticeable improvement in the quality of his material. The problem is, you wouldn't know it by listening.
See, although Jack's gotten very good, his equipment hasn't. Aside from a few modifications, he's basically using the same guitars, same keyboards, same mics and same 4-track that he had back in '88 when we'd tear through some Night Ranger and Duran Duran in my parents' garage. So whenever Jack sends me new material, rather than listen to the song, I listen to what the song tried to be.
I'm going to do the same with Terminal Reality's 4x4 Evolution.
4x4 Evolution suffers from what the Shakespeare scholars call "vaulting ambition." It wants too much, reaches too far, and therefore ends up screaming at the blood on its hands.
A simple look at the packaging of 4x4 Evolution indicates that this game is something different. Gone are the lavish paintings, doctored screen shots and moronic preview quotes ("If you liked [insert ground breaking game here], you'll love [insert lesser copycat game here]!"). Instead, Terminal Reality went with a more striking, solid approach from the Old Navy school of design. I'm not basing my review on the packaging, of course, just pointing out that the unique design is a precursor to what's inside the box.
I knew coming into this review that 4x4 Evolution would allow for online gaming between Macs, PCs and Sega Dreamcast. That's certainly a first, as even Mac to PC gaming is becoming quite rare, thanks to Microsoft. What I didn't know is that the CD would contain both Classic and Mac OS X Public Beta versions. Now that's cool. Despite the beta status and the relatively small number of users, Terminal Reality threw it on (albeit unsupported), indicating to at least this reviewer that they intend to continue pushing the envelope. It's encouraging. It doesn't work very well, but it's encouraging.
Trouble is, sometimes the Classic OS version doesn't work very well either. Perhaps its because I'm playing the final release with greater frequency, but it seemed to lock up more often than the beta did. It never crashed in the middle of a race, but did once at the end and quite a few times while loading up tracks or truck information. Also note that these screen shots are left over from the beta preview becuase the game locked up each time I attempted a capture. At least in the OS X version I didn't have to reboot the computer each time the game putzed out.
When the software is running correctly, 4x4 Evolution is quite the thing to see. As with Fly!, Terminal Reality paid so much attention to detail that you don't even take notice of the cooler aspects of the graphics until you've played the game dozens of times. With the right 3D graphics card, the edges and curves of the vehicles are incredibly smooth, even if some landscaping such as telephone wires and shrubbery are not. More impressive than the vehicles themselves is the way they're affected by the environment and how they, in turn, affect the landscape. Sunlight reflects beautifully off of chrome just as dust kicks up and water ripples behind tires. The landscape, although hued in a somewhat murky brown, is gorgeous to look at...when it's not being ripped up by locked tires and polluted by exhaust fumes.
While I'm speaking of pollution, let me make a plea to game developers everywhere. Please, please don't uphold the misconception that energy and attitude can be fused into a game with faux heavy metal music. The Dukes of Hazzard somehow survived many seasons with nary a whammy bar or double bass drums, and Smokey and the Bandit was quite successful without them as well. As far as I remember, their chase sequences were punctuated by little more than banjos and tambourines. And seriously, how many SUV owners out there do you think own the latest Limp Bizkit CD. They're all listening to Enya, for cryin'-out-loud! Racing music should fun, not obnoxious. Let the gameplay exude the attitude.
Okay, tantrum overwith. Back to the review.
Curiously, the realism of the graphics conflicted with the arcade feel of the physics. I've rarely been behind the wheel of an SUV, but I can't imagine they're as bouncy as they appear in this game. If your wheels remain in the dirt, the vehicles handle well. Hit a few bumps or fall off a cliff and it's kiss reality goodbye. No damage, no rollovers; like motorized cats, the SUVs always land on their wheels. I assume this is because, as in Fly!, terminal reality licensed actual vehicles from real companies, and I doubt these companies want to see their products wrapped around tree trunks or in halves on either side of the railroad tracks. Not that this lack of destruction detracts from the gameplay, of course. It actually helps it by keeping up the pacing.
When I ran through the five courses of the preview version, the tracks seemed huge. I didn't get that this time around despite a total of 16 courses. Most of them are fairly tight, it's just the ever-expanding horizon makes them seem so big. This is one of those games where I think I'd rather watch an expert than play it myself so I can enjoy the scenery. I'd ask him to turn down the sound, though. Along with the ridiculous music, the truck sounds themselves are laughable. The engines sound more like a little kid making "vroom vroom" noises as she pushes her Matchbox cars around the kitchen floor. 4x4 Evolution is the only game I've ever played that benefits from having the sound turned completely off.
It's ironic that the audio is pretty much the only aspect of this game that can't be customized. Dozens of graphic quality controls are offered, along with environment tweaks. Drive in conditions from mid-day to pitch black, from clear skies to snow. There are the various vehicle makes (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Lexus, etc.), colors, and equipment upgrades as well. I'm not a car junkie, and I couldn't care less about axle ratio and torque split, but if I want to change them, there's the slider. Again, this is another contradiction. I can't imagine that players who enjoy fiddling around with this stuff will be pleased that their vehicles bounce around like ping pong balls no matter how much money they sink into suspension.
And there's the rub. The developers reached too far to make certain aspects of the game realistic while curiously ignoring others. So although it's gorgeous to look at, hard core racing fans may be disappointed. On the other hand, casual gamers like myself will probably enjoy the "Bump 'n' Jump"-style racing action but will quickly grow tired of all the part purchasing and customization required to successfully participate in tournament mode where the real action is. I just want to race, you know? I want to drive headlong into rushing trains and along riverbeds and in pitch black during snowstorms with my headlights off.
With 4x4 Evolution, Terminal Reality is using this approach to computer gaming; speeding into the darkness with the headlights off. I hope they'll give me a lift.
Review: 4x4 Evolution
4x4 Evolution suffers from what the Shakespeare scholars call "vaulting ambition." It wants too much, reaches too far, and therefore ends up screaming at the blood on its hands.
When the software is running correctly, 4x4 Evolution is quite the thing to see. As with 
Curiously, the realism of the graphics conflicted with the arcade feel of the physics. I've rarely been behind the wheel of an SUV, but I can't imagine they're as bouncy as they appear in this game. If your wheels remain in the dirt, the vehicles handle well. Hit a few bumps or fall off a cliff and it's kiss reality goodbye. No damage, no rollovers; like motorized cats, the SUVs always land on their wheels. I assume this is because, as in Fly!, terminal reality licensed actual vehicles from real companies, and I doubt these companies want to see their products wrapped around tree trunks or in halves on either side of the railroad tracks. Not that this lack of destruction detracts from the gameplay, of course. It actually helps it by keeping up the pacing.
And there's the rub. The developers reached too far to make certain aspects of the game realistic while curiously ignoring others. So although it's gorgeous to look at, hard core racing fans may be disappointed. On the other hand, casual gamers like myself will probably enjoy the "Bump 'n' Jump"-style racing action but will quickly grow tired of all the part purchasing and customization required to successfully participate in tournament mode where the real action is. I just want to race, you know? I want to drive headlong into rushing trains and along riverbeds and in pitch black during snowstorms with my headlights off.