E3 08: Pure hands-on impressions

11:58 AM on 07.18.2008   |   Dale North

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Pure is Disney Interactive Studio's take on off-road ATV racing. It was developed by Brighton, England based Black Rock Studio, who you might know better as Climax Racing, the creators of Moto GP and ATV Offroad Fury. They built upon their experiences to create one pretty stellar racing experience.

The first thing I noticed about Pure was its stunning visuals. Everything from the lush vistas to the vehicle models impressed, and the levels seemed to go on for miles. Players speed their 4-wheeler over huge jumps and through realistic looking mud and dirt. 

The main mode of the game is called the Pure World Tour. It covers seven locations across the world, including New Zealand, Thailand, Italy, and US locations like California. All the stages were developed with a focus on "verticality," with a preference on large changes in height and jumping options. They want to make sure your ATV gets some serious air. 

Pure isn't straight racing. You perform tricks to acquire "boost." Boost can be used to increase your speed or perform tricks. To start, you can only perform jumping tricks by hitting one button. But, as your boost level increases, other buttons will be added to increase your options. It's dynamic, so if you use boost to blow past an opponent, you might not be able to use that high-level trick yet. If you do manage to jump high enough to do that trick, you're rewarded with a refilled boost meter. Creative combinations of boosting and tricks are needed to win the race.

Pure has a deep vehicle customization mode. ATVs can be built from the ground up using almost 70,000 different part combinations. It's not just stats; all of the part changes are represented visually. It was quite impressive to see each part come together, piece by piece, in real time, to create a vehicle. Of course, if you're not concerned with individual parts, a recommended vehicle can be put together, and then you can customize it to taste. 

In my hands-on session, the racing felt great. It took me about a lap to get used to the jumping, which is done by pulling back and then flicking forward the analog stick. After awhile, it felt intuitive, and probably more realistic than assigning jump to a button. In the jumps, holding down a button and any of eight directions on the d-pad initiated a trick. After jumping and starting a trick, you have to worry about your landing. It took me awhile to get right, but was quite fun once I got it down. Handing the controller back to the Disney rep, I really got to see how some experience helped to pull off some crazy tricks. 

While always a racing fan, I've always leaned towards cars over bikes and ATVs. That has definitely changed after spending time with Pure. I really got the sense that learned skills and practice would eventually pay off, and that victory would feel rewarding, and not lucky. On top of this solid racing experience, Pure is pure eye candy.

I look forward to September of this year, when Pure will launch for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.