A Wild and Bumpy Ride

Renegade Kid's DS racer ATV Wild Ride was ported to the 3DS eShop last year with a huge improvement upon its DS release, online multiplayer. More impressive is the fact Renegade Kid managed to lock the game in at 60 FPS in full 3D, and in wifi too. A very impressive feat considering the number of available racers on the eShop. While the framerate is silky smooth, what was the cost to the final game?
Not much actually, most of these flaws can be overlooked if you are looking for a fun arcade racing experience and aren't relying on controls as precise as the ones found in the Mario Kart series. While the controls are reliable enough to get the job done, the drift system might make or break this racer for some.

In order to get nitro, you must perform a combo with the shoulder button(s), and the Circle Pad or D-Pad. By moving your pad in one of the eight possible directions and pressing either L for short, R for medium, or L + R for long boosts. A short trick to get nitro will provide 1/2 a boost, with medium and long providing 1 and 2 boosts respectively. Their are two problems with this system, you can't perform the trick unless you are in the air from a jump and you can't perform the same two tricks within the same lap. If you used Up + L, you have to wait another lap to use it again. With 24 potential tricks, one would think this wouldn't be a problem, and in theory, its true. But on Lap 3 in the final stretch of the race, you will most likely forget what tricks you have performed and just go with muscle memory instead of remembering what you have done.

The only other complaint is occasionally when landing from a jump, your tires on your ATV will lock up(?), and you will just stop. A quick boost will recover your lost speed, but this is a considerable annoyance in the heat of a race.

ATV Wild Ride features the typical modes found in a racer, a grand prix titled World Tour, a time attack mode, a single race and then a trick mode, how many nitro boost jumps can you perform in X minutes. The World Tour features 6 courses, but has normal, a and extended versions of each, making each of the  courses have 4 variations. All of the courses have an occasional glitch point if you hit the wall hard enough, this will reset your ATV, but the Canada course is a huge glitch filled mess. If you hit a wall, chances are the game will register that you went out of bounds. We are unsure as to what Renegade Kid has against Corosla OP, but apparently they took it out on the track quite literally. These are all problems that happen occasionally, and while they are not game breaking, it is extremely annoying in later cups.


Ed. Note: I am one of the best "Wild Riders" in the world, I hold two top ten spots on the online leaderboard, and have spent way too many hours competing to earn those spots. I learned all of the bugs/glitches and made them all evident, but they rarely occur with the exception of Canada. It is unlikely to will experience all of the bugs I listed in one race.

One of ATV's best features is the online multiplayer, constantly running at 60 FPS, even in full 3D and online. Up until recently, the online mode was sadly dead with the exception of a few online forums, thanks to Miiverse. Ninty's social network has resurrected this game from the grave, and the online mode actually has activity compared to being dead.

There are a wide variety of racers and ATV's available, but they are overall lacking. The racers have no impact in the race besides looking different, and the stat differences in the ATVs don't make a significant difference to the gameplay either.

Some gamers have voiced their annoyance at the graphics in the game calling them PS1 or N64 graphics, but the game looks better in motion and on the 3DS screen than it does in screenshots or promotional videos. The same can't be said for the music in the game, the vocals are barely understandable at times, and the hard rock isn't a good fit in the game.

ATV Wild Ride 3D isn't for everyone, it offers an arcade experience intended for fun, not super competitive gameplay like Mario Kart. The online mode might be lacking participation, but the game is a blast when played with others. While it might have its own share of flaws, ATV Wild Ride 3D is still a solid entry to the racing genre on the eShop.

Overall: 7/10