Get ready to hit the wild off-road once again in Baja: Edge of Control HD. Players will drive various types of off-road vehicles and hit the dirt in a number of different types of game modes. With over 100 tracks and 160+ cars to choose from, Baja: Edge of Control HD offers up a nice amount of replayability and reasons to keep racing. If you grow tired of the AI, players can either play with 3 other friends in a 4 play split screen racing or take their game online with up to 15 other players to race against. Baja: Edge of Control HD may be based on an older title released in 2008, but it won’t feel like an older title by any means.

Those who love racing games with an arcade feel will gravitate to Baja: Edge of Control HD. There are tons of ways to enjoy Baja: Edge of Control HD, thanks to a wide number of different tracks and gameplay modes. Play with friends or go online to face up to 15 players for a 16-racer game! Baja: Edge of Control HD takes us back to when racing games appealed to a more arcade-like focus over the simulation racers of the modern gaming age. Your first question when you boot up Baja: Edge of Control HD is what will you do first? Then you realize what no matter what game mode you want to do.

Baja: Edge of Control HD really doesn’t have a story mode per say. There is a career mode where players will race on different circuits to try and nab first place. As the player wins races, they will get sponsorship deals as well as unlock new vehicles via credits earned. Eventually you will go from racing small buggy cars to Trophy Trucks which make the races harder but also faster. Can you raise up the ranks and become the next big deal? Find out in Baja: Edge of Control HD!

HD remakes seem to be constantly releasing on both the Xbox One and PS4 as of late. To make matters worse, they tend to release at high price values despite being quite old and only with slight visuals upscales or altered graphics. That’s why when we heard Baja: Edge of Control HD was releasing—which was released almost ten years ago—we had our doubts. Does Baja: Edge of Control HD do what all other HD remakes do or is this a title worth your hard-earned cash? Let us find out in our review of Baja: Edge of Control HD.

In case you haven’t ever played the original, Baja: Edge of Control HD is an off-road focused racing title. Players will not be racing formula 1 cars or sports cars but instead dune buggies and 4x4s. Players can choose races that focus on more arcade style of gameplay or more akin to simulation style. Your preferences will be more based on do you want to just tear up the road or actually need to pay attention to your fuel consumption and how hard you’re running your vehicle. We personally preferred arcade style but both work fine so you won’t find any complaints here with the style differences.

Now racing is what matters most in a game like Baja: Edge of Control HD and we’re happy to report it works perfectly. Tracks all have unique styles and difficulties but regardless your vehicle will handle fine no matter the type you decide on or what environment you’re racing on. Controls are tight and simple and we were blown away as we took tight turns with ease even at the fastest speeds. We do recommend boosting the AI’s difficulty as on normal we rarely lost a race but if you want a more relaxed playstyle then you can just stick with the normal difficulty. Though if you get tired of the AI, you can always take your game online or play with some friends on the same console for a much needed 4 player split screen which takes us back to the older days of gaming. Regardless your choice, it will be hard to find a boring moment to Baja: Edge of Control HD if you like simple yet fun racers like it.

Baja: Edge of Control HD does stumble in a few areas and we do need to talk about it. The first major issue of Baja: Edge of Control HD is the dated visuals. While Baja: Edge of Control HD doesn’t look horrible the bland environments—which was an issue with the first title so not much changed here—and weak visuals look like this came out in 2009 at best. This feeling is not that noticeable if you’re in a race but if you choose the free mode where you can race around large open-ended maps for fun, you’ll quickly see the drab backdrops and mediocre visuals. The soundtrack and overall sound of Baja: Edge of Control HD also feels similar thanks to its odd soundtrack choice and ho hum vehicle sounds. Are these issues deal breakers for Baja: Edge of Control HD? The answer, to us, is no but we can understand why some may have issues with Baja: Edge of Control HD being price at $29.99 when there are cheaper racing games out there that look better.

Baja: Edge of Control released back in 2008 and it was a real treat for gamers who wanted a simple racing experience over an overly complex simulation title. With this HD re-release, Baja: Edge of Control HD returns to what we loved about the first game with all the original bells and whistles. While there are some issues still with Baja: Edge of Control HD—such as the empty Free Mode and dated visuals despite the HD enhancements—these issues aren’t enough to really distract from the fun to be had. With so many different game modes, tracks and cars to use—even though most of the cars don’t feel too different from one another—Baja: Edge of Control HD is worth every penny of its $29.99 asking price. Folks if you love off-road racing titles that bring the classic arcade feel back to modern day consoles, then we strongly recommend picking up Baja: Edge of Control HD as soon as you can.

Baja: Edge of Control HD may look dated but you won’t even notice seeing as how this is one of the most fun off-road racing games we’ve played in some time here at Honey’s Anime. There are so many different game modes and cars to unlock that you could easily dozens of hours and still not have done it all in Baja: Edge of Control HD. While you might worry about spending $29.99 on a game that originally released 9 years ago, we can say that Baja: Edge of Control HD did things right back then and re-released a title that does it right now even when it’s up against other off-road gaming titles. What are your thoughts on Baja: Edge of Control HD? Have we convinced you to run out right now and buy it or download it? Let us know in the comments down below and be sure to continue to stop by Honey’s Anime for more game reviews and articles if you liked this one.