Nothing boosts the ability of a decent game to shine like a marked lack of competition in the genre on a console. This set of circumstances most definitely favors ATV Quad Power Racing 2. With its passable graphics, surprisingly good gameplay intentions, and an admirable stab at variety and longevity, the game manages to fill the off-road racing void on the GameCube for the moment… until inevitably something more polished comes along and points out all of the title’s shortcomings.

Starting with the graphics, the game does a decent job, though it is hard to consider anything about it that’s visually inspiring. There are a good number of environments to ride around in, each with its own distinctive, if bland, look. Probably the highest compliment one could pay to the game, and this is important, is that it rarely seems to slow down in any way. By keeping things fast and furious, it can at least be a little simpler to overlook the limited rider animations and how stilted or silly many of them look. What really hurts the game is how washed out each color palette seems for each environment. In many cases, textures turn into a visual mud of sorts, and in some places this quality can make riding around more complicated as you’ll struggle to see where the track is going, what incline the track is at while trying to land, or even what surface you may be driving into when contemplating a shortcut. Throw in a slightly blockier and polygonal look than many current games, and you have a visually bland game. At least it can’t be criticized for exhibiting frame rate issues.

For fans of the harder edges in modern music, there should be at least one or two tunes by someone you like on the soundtrack. Though it is a mix of groups less commercially popular than you’d find elsewhere, some could consider that a plus if the alternative is watered down Top 40 Metal. On the downside, the music can’t even cover up the somewhat lackluster sounds of engines racing as you abuse the terrain. Throw in some ambient sounds you may or may not notice in the background to boot and you at least don’t get too many moments lacking audio chaos.

If there is one area of the game that stands out above the rest in terms of effort, it would be gameplay. While ATV may not get it all right, there are signs of refinement in the design worth noting. Unlike previous offerings on the GameCube that have either plain stunk or that have been too extreme stunt/sports oriented, ATV is, for the most part, concerned with racing first and foremost. Even so, while having the skills to run strong races is important, you’ll likely struggle to take the checkered flag without at least dabbling in stunts, when convenient, to keep yourself moving. The resulting balance is satisfying, though more complicated than it should be due to sloppy stunt controls. The game gets extra points by asking racers to go out on a limb once in a while to pull of a stunt or two, risking a wipe-out. For the people who remember the likes of Road Rash, there is even an element of combat racing to consider as you ride alongside a competitor. Kicking him off his ride before he does the same to you is usually the rule, and pulling it off is often a plus since you can steal their stored boost power for your own use. While the overall racing experience is hardly revolutionary, ATV does deserve some credit for asking its players to find some balance in their game, which can be a good thing.

The only critical error the game makes in terms of delivering a high-quality experience is unfortunately in the area of control, specifically as it applies to performing stunts in the game. If this were a typical racing title where stunts end up being purely for replay or showboating purposes, this fault wouldn’t be such a big deal. Unfortunately, due to the necessity of regularly pulling off stunts to keep boost levels up, it is impossible not to get bitten by how inconsistent the controls can be. What seems unusual about the poor control is that none of the moves are any more complex than a single button press combined with moving your joystick in a specific direction. Even with this simplicity, you’ll often see your rider simply sitting down and enjoying the ride, completely ignoring the set of moves you’re trying to get them to pull off. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that you’ll see computer riders blowing by with no difficulties performing whatever tricks they like. So then because of control issues you will have to place high in the races to have any chance of surviving in the rankings, which are also based on stunt points, and you’ll rarely manage to accumulate enough to beat more than one or two computer-controlled racers.

At the end of the day, ATV Quad Power Racing 2 is hardly a perfect game, but since there isn’t much competition for it on the GameCube, people who like more arcade-style racing will definitely want to give it a look. Particularly so if you can live with the sloppy stunt controls, the game provides a balanced and generally enjoyable experience. Given another shot, hopefully Climax Studios can run with the positive gameplay they’ve designed and capitalize on that potential with tighter control and more impressive graphics.