ATV Quad Frenzy DS review

“Every cloud has a silver lining”.
“Look on the bright side”.
“The glass is half full, not half empty”.
“Come on, things aren’t that bad”.

These are all sayings that might be said in an attempt to make things seem better when they are actually pretty bad. Admittedly, most things do have some positives, albeit very small ones sometimes. Unfortunately, ATV Quad Frenzy on Nintendo’s DS is not one of these things. This is one of those games when there’s genuinely nothing good about it at all.

High speed thrills? Not likely…

Initially things seem ok; the menu appears to be simple, and it’s easy to get stuck into a race after choosing your ATV and rider. It’s when you start playing though that it hits you. The races are the very definition of boredom and frustration. Your ATV has all the speed of a dead slug, trudging along at a whopping 40mph. The lack of any sense of speed is shocking, especially for a racing game that’s dubbed as being exciting. You might as well be controlling ride-on lawnmowers, as that’s what it feels more akin to rather than quad bikes.

The ATVs are easy enough to control, with left and right on the d-pad controlling which way you steer and up and down controlling your balance when in the air, but they’re the only controls that are needed. The left and right power slides, mapped to the L and R buttons, are completely redundant and really aren’t needed. The fact that you’re plodding along at a ridiculously slow pace means that no corner, no matter how tight, will require the use of a power slide.

Dumb & Dumber

If the races weren’t boring enough, the complete lack of challenge, either from course design or the artificial ‘intelligence’, just adds to the depression-inducing feeling of ATV Quad Frenzy. Tracks are basic at best, often having symmetrical layouts and requiring little skill to manoeuvre around. Jumps mean that a slight amount of skill and concentration is needed so that you land correctly, but aside from that there’s nothing that will challenge you.

The abysmal AI of the three ATVs in the races with you mean it’s rare that you’ll finish lower than first place, and seeing as you only need to be in the top two out of four in each race to progress, the game becomes a walkover. The AI ATVs seem to follow each other, and they’re so big in scale on the track, trying to pass them without sending your own ATV spinning off is like threading a rope through the eye of a needle. Watching an CPU-controlled ATV roll backwards down a hill, looking completely lost, brings one word to mind; cack.

Torture or Worse?

The main part of the game, the racing season mode, can be completed in little over an hour, if you have the patience and will power to play it for that long. There are 25 tracks to ‘race’ on, in environments such as deserts, lakes and swamps. Regardless of the environment though, the ATVs handle the same and the bland scenery and basic visuals do nothing to spark any excitement.

Races soon feel like a chore, and with no unlockables to play for, you’ll question why you’re playing. If you feel so inclined, exactly the same mode can be played through all over again, only this time any of the game’s ten (yes, ten!) stunts will be rewarded with points if pulled off successfully. Again, there’s no incentive to play through this mode, and there’s little to no difference when compared with the standard racing season.

Upgrades are available in both of these modes, allowing you to tinker with your ATV’s tyres, suspension and the like. However, because the races are so simple and provide no challenge whatsoever, there’s really no need to upgrade; the whole season, all 25 races, can be completed without having to upgrade once.

If, just for the sake of it, you feel like upgrading, prepare yourself for a whole world of confusion, courtesy of the game’s appalling menu system. Trying to navigate your way through the upgrade options, the track selection and actually getting to the point of being able to start the next race will leave you with a headache and even less motivation to play.

Every Cloud…?

There is a multiplayer mode available via wireless link-up, but with each player needing a copy of the game and the same gameplay faults plaguing the multiplayer, it’s unlikely you’ll want to bother.

There really is nothing positive to say about ATV Quad Frenzy – no silver lining, no bright side to look on, just a dismal and depressing game. The lack of any challenge and enjoyment in single player, gameplay dull enough to send you into a coma, and complete lack of what games should be about, fun, means that ATV Quad Frenzy is about as appealing as a punch in the face. Utter rubbish.