COGconnected - Baja: Edge of Control HD is a fun and challenging remaster of an off-road title from 2008 that drops in a year where 're-age' is all the rage.
Christian Wootton from GameGrin writes, "Back in 2008, off-road racer Baja: Edge of Control was released and console gamers were able to pretend they were Steve McQueen (yes, that one) or Anna Jo Cody and race cross country in everything from a VW Beetle to a highly-tuned Trophy truck. Jump forward 10 years and THQ Nordic has released a HD remaster of this old favourite on Steam."
Annually-released games tend to offer incremental updates, but WRC 7 was a significant step up for the series. In many ways, WRC 7 outshines DiRT 4 thanks to its authentic physics, improved graphics, and new epic stages. The WRC 2017 saw significant regulations changes permitting more powerful cars harkening back to the Group B era, which made the cars in WRC 7 much more exhilarating to drive, requiring a more aggressive approach. These changes meant Kylotonn had to tweak the physics engine, and the resulting handling is noticeably more realistic than previous games in the series. There’s a satisfying sense of weight to the cars, which makes flinging them around corners immensely enjoyable.
Then there are the exceptional stage designs. WRC 5 was criticised for featuring special stages that were too wide, flat unrepresentative of the real-life locations, but WRC 7’s are brutally unforgiving and capture the intensity of rallying, featuring treacherous narrow sections, bumpy terrain that can send your car off course and sheer cliff drops. WRC 7 also introduced gruelling Epic Stages that can take up to 15 minutes to complete, and each environment was brought to life thanks to the game’s revamped graphics engine. WRC 7 is without question one of the most intense rally games ever made, and we look forward to seeing how the series evolves in future iterations.
Redout is criminally underrated. More than just a competent WipEout clone, 34BigThings’ futuristic racer is in a class of its own. Controlling the craft takes skill to master thanks to the game’s revolutionary twin-stick setup controlling the pitch and air brakes independently, the sense of speed is superb, and the rollercoaster-style tracks are colourful and consistently thrilling. Redout’s intense pumping soundtrack harkening back to F-Zero GX also deserves recognition, since very few modern racing games feature original music scores any more.
After a successful Steam release, Redout Lightspeed Edition launched on the PS4 and Xbox One consoles bundling previously released DLC but had the misfortune of being released on PS4 just a few weeks after WipeOut: Omega Collection. Competing against the return of an established IP in the anti-gravity racing genre with a bigger marketing budget was never going to be easy, but Redout outshines WipEout Omega Collection in many ways, particularly in the physics department. The Italian developer’s post-release support has been exemplary too, with recent updates adding new track textures and 4K support for Xbox One X. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing this fantastic futuristic racer, make it your next priority.
