Xbox 360 Review: PURE
What do you think when you hear Disney? Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, right? But ATV’s, offroading and freestyle tricks? I think not.
That’s why Disney Interactive got Black Rock Studios to handle the development to one of the most fun, exhilarating and extreme off-road racers that is known as PURE. And you know what? It’s literally a “pure” thrill ride every time you grab the controller.
Simply put, PURE is an off-road racing game with insane freestylin’ action that would even make pro ATV riders sweat. There are seven real world locations (Italy, New Mexico, Wyoming, Thailand, New Zealand, Glamis Dunes and Ocotillo Wells) with over 30 tracks for you to use as your own playground.
The gameplay is essentially split up into four main modes: the PURE World Tour, Single Events, Freestyle or Sprints. The PURE World Tour is where you can make your name known by competing to become the PURE World Champion.
PURE allows you to build your own ATV from scratch with tons of parts available for you to work with. As you race, you’ll unlock more parts, outfits, special tricks, garage slots and new locations to race in. A character customization option would have been tight, but the only things you can do with your character are change the helmet color and unlock a few costumes.
The controls in the game are “pure”-ly simple for anyone to pick up and play. There are all sorts of trick moves to pull off while in midair and that’s when the real fun starts. By pulling the Left stick in any direction combined with pressing A, B, Y or LB/RB buttons, you’ll pull of some intense tricks. The level of tricks you can do depends on how much boost you’ve earned during the race. The more boost you earn, the more your Thrill Bar fills up and allows you to pull off B button tricks, Y button tricks and eventually, your Special Trick, which is unique to each character. The game could have used a few more trick options, but I’m easy to please.
In terms of the graphics, the locations are beautifully crafted and the game is incredibly detailed to the point of noticing which way your shirt blows in the air and seeing how much mud and dirt are splattering onto your clothes. But by far the best and most striking thing in the game is pulling off one of your Special Trick moves and just floating in the air through a stunning backdrop.
As for the characters themselves, they are truly animated making multiple gestures throughout races when speeding by another racer or just making a perfect landing on a trick. I was really awed at seeing how they reacted in certain situations during races.
Disney’s PURE features online play for up to 16 players over Xbox Live. The best thing about getting online is that there is no drop off in gameplay or design. It looks just as good online as it does off. You can play in ranked or player matches, controlling preferences such as the engine class, location and the type of race you want to play in. But my recommendation would be to wait until you have at least opened up the Class B engine before getting online, because some of these online gamers are brutal.
That said, PURE is one of the most thrilling off-road racers on the Xbox 360 and is, simply put, a really fun game. I can’t explain the joy of flying through the air and pulling of a combo of tricks and successfully landing to boost pass the next racer to the finish line. And I’m not even a fan of ATVs or off-roading, but you just have to play yourself to understand. I really couldn’t find too many things that disappointed me about the game besides the lack of more trick moves and more customization options. But other than that, the game is, well, “pure”.
