The graphics are amazing, to put it bluntly. ATV Offroad Fury looks exactly as it would on a PC, which is not surprising, since the same engine was used for Motocross Madness. The textures are a little bland and somewhat low resolution, and some of the textures suffer from "color mixing". If there is a sequel, hopefully they can add additional PlayStation 2 improvements with the engine, to make the game look almost photo realistic.

There are 23 courses, including indoor stadium courses. In addition to that, there are over ten ATV's for you to select from, and almost 20 different stunts you can do in the game. As always, variety is a good thing. Much like Motocross Madness 2, there are open areas for the Freestyle competition, and small detailed tracks for pure racing. Also, the level of interactivity is right up there with previous Motocross games, as you can drive on, in, or around just about every building or item in the area. Neat little extras, such as supersonic jets and helicopters which fly by overhead (complete with great stereo sound effects) are included. A pure adrenaline pumping addition!

Unlike the Motocross games, the collision detection is very advanced. You never pass through an item in the game, and where you hit/get hit is accurately reproduced. An enemy on an ATV can land right on your character's head, causing him or her to wince in pain as he or she is knocked off the bike, which then proceeds to run your character over while it skids across the ground. Sounds gruesome, but it makes the game all the more realistic. No passing right through your vehicle or trees in this game! If only more racing games had collision detection like ATV.

One problem that some people may have with the game, is with the camera. It almost seems like the camera is on a dolly, and when you go left and right, it just swings the camera over to the side. It takes some getting used to, though after a while, you hardly notice it. People who suffer from motion sickness might have problems with it though, so if that is the case, make sure to try before you buy.

Control is very accurate, albeit basic. The analog stick is used to turn, or tip your ATV forward or backward. Along with the usual gas and brake buttons is a button which lets you perform stunts in combination with a direction on the control pad. If you make a mistake, it's your fault this time. ATV probably as accurate as a racing game can get in terms of control on a non-simulation level.

The AI might be way too high for some. It is pretty difficult to get the upper hand in races, until you have played the same race many times to get a feel for the track. Thankfully, there are many new stages and ATV's to unlock to reward the patient player.

Sounds are the usual campy grunts, groans and "ow"s that you'll find in the past Rainbow Studios games, but the music is something else. Looking at the track list, it looks just like someone took their personal CD collection of the past decade, picked his or her favorite tracks and filled the rest of it with Sony-brand filler. Most of time, the music is pretty good, and fits right in with the game, but some songs just do NOT fit. Soundgarden is a great band and their songs work well in racing soundtracks, as the song in Road Rash can attest to. Soundgarden is part of the soundtrack, but the song is Spoonman, a relatively low adrenaline song. Listening to it while racing makes you wonder where the radio dial on the ATV is, for something more rocking. More thought needs to be put into the soundtrack next time.

Multiplayer is very fun. There is nothing like racing against a friend! The frame rate is very solid in split screen, and looks just like the single player game. There is an added bonus of being able to change the split screen to either horizontal or vertical, as well.

Overall, if you love racing games, this is a must-have game for your PlayStation 2 collection. ATV Offroad Fury is near perfect in it's own right, but hopefully Rainbow Studios will make a sequel that can truly harness the potential of the PlayStation 2.