The second installment of this all-terrain action game has a lot of hype to live up to and that hype is probably one of the reasons I decided to give it a try. The game is very deep with customizations, options and play modes to equal any other racing game – too bad you have to drive an ATV to ruin it all.

Game Play options include: Single Player and Multi-player. I didn’t experiment too much with the multi-player option but like the rest of the game it is pretty in depth. Fury 2 supports the new Playstation 2 Network Adapter that allows configuring the game to play on a LAN, the Internet, or i.Link. Of course you could just plug two controllers into your console and play split screen mode. In multiplayer mode there are standard Race and Freestyle modes plus some pretty cool games. The games generally take place in small areas and consist of: Tag, Hockey, King of the Hill and Treasure Hunt. Hockey is pretty fun in the tight quarters of an ice rink and the slipper surface makes for some interesting driving.

Of course I didn’t start off right away in Single Player or Multiplayer mode.  I went right to the Training Course.  What a waste of time.  The training course consists of a baseball diamond and one hill and the tutorial lasts about 2 minutes.  So I guess I did get thrown into Single Player mode pretty quickly, but first I had to set up my profile.  Setting up my racer was very thorough; you have the ability to customize all aspects of your appearance: helmet, goggles, gloves, jacket, pants, and boots.  You can match or clash it is up to you, there are 14 different outfits to chose from at the start of the game and more choices open up as you progress through the game.  I can’t forget the ATVs themselves, there are 14 of them to chose from in the beginning with many more locked out from the get go.  Each ATV has its own characteristics of speed, acceleration and suspension.  However choosing the right ATV isn’t that big of a deal – most of them are comparable as long as you pick a well rounded ride.  Once you are all decked out and you have your wheels the Single Player options are waiting for you.

Single Player mode has three options Single Race, Championship or Freestyle.  Championship is the progression mode where you race against different computer components on different courses and you have to place high enough in each race to get points to advance.  Pretty straight forward but very difficult to do.  There are 8 different Championship challenges with 2-5 races per and each race is between 3-5 laps at least as far as I progressed (which wasn’t far). A single crash and you can pretty much kiss the race goodbye – the competition is very unforgiving.  I thought Freestyle mode would be different – I was wrong, it is equally as hard if not harder.  In Freestyle mode you can chose Amateur or Pro and one of 6 different locations to play on.  Sub-categories include Classic, Free Ride or Objectives.  In Classic mode you are just trying to get a certain amount of points, Free Ride is just what it sounds like and Objectives is where I spent most of my countless hours.  Objective provides a list of six different objectives to complete for each location: Green Targets, Red Targets, 10 Combos, Score 10K, 25K and 50K.  I admit driving around and getting the Green Targets is a piece of cake, they are close to the ground or a quick hop away and there is plenty of time on the clock.  As easy as Green is, Red is insanely impossible.  The Red targets are on top of buildings, way up in the sky or at the top of cliffs.  Plus just driving to each target takes up almost all of the time on the clock.  I tried to complete a single red course at least 30 times and never succeeded.  No problem I moved on and easily completed 10 combos in the allotted time, I could even get 10K with ease, but then again 50K seemed unreachable in 2 minutes.  So now I have the Green Course cleared, my combos done and 10K complete, I’ll just save and try the #%$* Red course later – oops sorry you can’t save until you complete everything, ugh!

Now that I have explained most of the game modes let me describe the game play and controls. Game play is pretty intense with very intricate courses with plenty of bumps, jumps, mud puddles and switch backs. The Freestyle landscape is just as diverse with mountain passes, home construction sites, and snowy wilderness to traverse.  Trains fly through the environment, but other than that it is just you, your ATV and nature. The controls are not as smooth as I would have expected for a second generation game.  There are the typical gas, break buttons, but to pull off any tricks takes a minimum to 2 buttons. One button to set it up and the other to execute and that is just for basic moves, for more advanced moves you need to hold down a third button.  If you keep your finger on the gas you could be holding down 4 buttons at once – unacceptable.  When it comes to pulling off stunts I always compare back to the master – SSX – that is the way it should be done and Fury 2 failed miserably.

Another aspect of the controls/game play I found annoying is the requirement to set up for jumps. This might add reality to the game, but it is a huge pain.  Before any jump or bump in order to go over it cleanly or get any air you need to push forward on the controller/D-pad to “load” your shocks.  At the top of the jump you pull back to spring off the hill and get mad air, very cool stuff.  Too bad you also have to steer with the same controller so you typically round a corner and then you are supposed to load/unload for the next hill – it is as easy as it sounds, it isn’t.  Perhaps if I mastered this I might have done better in the race sections too.

OK enough with the bad there must be something good about this game.  I have already hyped the depth of the game with its different play modes and customizations.  There is even one more option: Waypoint Editor.  This option lets you build you own race track.  It pretty much gives you a cookie cutter piece of land and you put up different gates to define the flow of traffic and turns.

Of course like all recent games they have taken the graphic quality to the next level.  It amazes me how these new games on my same old PS2 continue to look better and better.  The landscapes are lush and expansive with tons of details.  During races the frame rate stays high and constant.  One cool thing is when you are racing (with 5 other competitors) and someone just jumped longer or higher than you and they are about to land on you, you can see their shadow right on top of your ATV.

I saved the best for last, the sound.  The game consists of 21 different songs that you can play in Jukebox mode or just let them flow during the game.  You can remove any song you want from being played and you can change the song that is playing any time you want during the game.  Here are some highlights from the play list:

• Amplified – Cypress Hill
• Pick up the Pieces – Riddlin’ Kids
• Courage – Alien Ant Farm
• What’s Golden – Jurassic 5
• Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja – Lost Prophets
• Thick Skin – Systematic
• American Cliché – Filter
• Science – System of a Down
• Here to Stay – Korn
• Paragraph President – Blackalicious
• Parade – Garbage

I typically cranked the music because it was just so good and intense, perfect for this type of fast paced game.

So, do awesome sound and rock-solid graphics make up for poor controls and frustrating game play? Almost, I give the game 2.5/5 planets, but if you have patience and can master this one you have plenty of options to entertain yourself.