CHAS REVIEWS THE SIM
Gotta say I like it !!! Soda Offroad Racing is a great addition to the Papyrus stable of racing sims. It offers realistic driving, easy to train ai and a professional track editor and just plain mud and fun. Everything the little boy in you could want for Christmas or a rainy muddy day with a 4x4 :).
First the game itself and then my favorite part (the track editor).
The game although not up to Nascar 2 graphics standards is better than alot of other sims available for some very basic reasons. First the graphics are visible. They are clear to see and not dark. All points approaching on the track are clearly visible as well as all trucks. This is a real joy as compared to some other sims I have tested recently.
Another good point to the Soda Offroad Racing is the garage. Setup is essential to racing offroad just as much as it is to racing any other type of circuit. I found using the garage to be quite simple and it didn't require a degree in mechanics to work your way around it. Just enough to make a difference between winning and losing. One thing different here than with the other sims is that you can actually set your horsepower and tires to the track. If you feel you will need more or less horsepower to run a certain type of track you can adjust the engine to provide it. It is very similar with tires. You are given the option to adjust the tire tread depth between normal, shallow and deep. Two very good and important options in offroad racing and they weren't forgotten.
The sim itself provides you with 3 different types of vehicles. The 800hp 2x4 truck, 150 hp 2x4 buggy and the 800hp 4x4 truck. There are 6 paint jobs to choose from and I haven't played around with the game enough to know if you can alter the paint jobs yet though.
Included with the game are a total of 18 tracks in 3 different settings. The settings are country, desert and tropics. The country settings includes 6 tracks while the desert and tropics settings include 4 tracks each.
In a test race (I couldn't help myself) I was impressed at how my system easily handled the framerates (and bear in mind I am always skeptical of any game that runs under Windows 95). But more opponents are needed and perhaps we can figure out a way to increase the number in the future :).
But the track editor is by far the best part of the game. It is easy to use and very professional. In an hours time a new track could easily be completed (unless you happen to be the fusspot I am). I have included a few tips about the using the track editor in the track editing section on this page. Also, in the near future expect to see some new tracks posted here as well. The final note I want to make about the track editor is that it has the ability to have the ai completely learn the new course !
Well, that's about it for my review of Soda Offroad Racing. As I mentioned, the game has some very good features (besides the track editor) and I can't help but give it two thumbs up. But then again I'm not so much into graphics as I am into just enjoying myself.