If your looking for a full featured SIM, read no further, this ain't it. But if your looking for a good Arcade style Off-road Racer that is just plain fun to drive, then this may well fit your ticket! Being a huge Off-road racing fan, I am always looking for the next great SIM to come out, I revel in the realistic, real reactions to driving controls, photo realistic graphics, and the roar of the engine in my ears. However sometimes, looking for all of these features in a game, I tend to overlook the "FUN" of the game. Larry Raglands 4X4 Challenge didn't let me overlook that aspect of the game for very long, this game is just plain fun to drive.

The game follows the basic racing formula, single race mode for those who want a quick racing fix, and a championship mode for those who wish to race a season and go for the trophy. You get a nice selection of vehicles, all with their own attributes, and a fair selection of tracks to race on. Racing progression applies meaning you must win at each track to progress to the next. Raglands 4X4 gives you a nice simple interface to access the game controls, while options are limited, they are adequate to the type of game.

Again, this is an Arcade style racing game, but the fun factor is very high. The trucks and tracks (all of which are totally fictitious) are very well done, colorful, bright, and handle exceptionally well. The game can be run from the keyboard (with a little practice) or from a secondary controller. It was a total blast to hammer these rigs around the tracks battling for position without bashing it up too bad (beat up your truck and it WILL quit on you)! For an Arcade racer, this one is totally FUN, a great way to burn a few minutes or hours.

Installation: EASY
(game plays from the hard dive after installation so no need to use the disc each time you want to play, also game is very easy on system requirements)

Gameplay: 8
Standard racing format fills out the basic Gameplay here, single race mode for those who want a quickie, and a championship mode for those who want to compete for a whole season and go for the trophy. Race progression does play a factor as you must do well to progress to the next track. AI in this game is very good as the opposing drivers learn your driving style and compensate for it. Split screen or LAN connection provides multiplayer action.

Graphics: 8
Graphics in this game work very well, game flows well without stutters or glitches, and it is very EASY on the system requirements, games run so nice when they don't tax your systems limits. Everything in this game is bright and colorful and provides good detail.

Sound: 8
Game sounds are pretty well matched to the action and fill out the game nicely. Usually I end up turning off any music and opt for the game sounds, this game was an exception, I left the music on and actually turned it up! The tunes ROCK! Hot "Classic" type guitar riffs backed up by some heavy bass backgrounds.

Difficulty: 7
The game is not all that difficult, standard racing fare, with the exception that the AI drivers actually learn your driving style and skill and will adapt to that. This makes up for the lack of a difficulty setting in the options. Stay on your toes, the other drivers are watching you!

Concept: 7.8
While this games concept is old school, it has a certain something that grabs you and drags you in, perhaps it is the games simplicity. In a world where it seems that each new game has to have more options and more graphics, and more of everything, this game rocks in the fact that all you have to do to race is press a couple of buttons and your rockin' !

Multiplayer: 7
Split screen with an optional controller or LAN connection (connection to the Internet required) provide the multiplayer options for this game. Pretty standard.

Overall: 7.7
Really liked this little Arcade offering, graphics work well and is appealing to the eye, sounds match the Gameplay while heavy classic rock music fills in the background. Simplicity is the strong point of this game. It is very nice to see something that doesn't take a computer geek to load up and configure just to play the dang thing!