Game Reviews

Offroad Legends 2

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iOS
| Offroad Legends 2
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Offroad Legends 2
|
iOS
| Offroad Legends 2

Offroad Legends 2 doesn't have the bite of a real Trials game. Its levels are short and snappy, its explosions overblown and often hilarious.

But it doesn't click in the way it should. And its frustrating obstacles are just a little too frustrating. They sneak up on you, forcing you to fail through surprise rather than because you got the angle of approach slightly wrong.

It's a shame, because there's a lot to like here. It's pretty, and it mixes things up often enough that you're rarely in the same vehicle from level to level.

But when you want it to really get its claws into you, when you want it to grab you by the scruff of the neck and force you to keep going, its grip is just too loose.

Muddy splatter

Like its predecessor the game is a physics platformer with big trucks. You need to get from A to B, navigating a series of obstacles in as quick a time as possible.

You've got an accelerator, a brake, and two buttons that control the tilt of whichever car you're controlling. You use these to perfect your landings, and to gain traction on slippery slopes.

One thing that Offroad Legends 2 does differently from its bike-based inspiration is damage. Make too many awkward landings, or spend too much time spinning around on your roof, and you'll explode.

There are no checkpoints here though. A failure sends you back to the start of the level. They're only a minute or so long, but if you fall at the last hurdle it's a bit of a slog to go through the whole thing again.

Strange poison trap

The levels aren't all about speed though. Some task you with performing a giant leap and stopping at the right place. Others give you some precious cargo and a bumpy road to navigate.

There are even Angry Birds-style smashy bashy levels where you have to cripple some structures.

It keeps things fresh, but it means you never really get a handle on the different vehicles you're driving. And that means there's less of a connection between you and the road, which you really don't want.

Later levels toss new ideas into the mix, but often they're a little gimmicky, and they creep up on you in the worst possible ways. There's nothing worse than getting half way through a level only for a platform to betray you and toss you in some lava.

The zany humour here feels a little forced as well. Yes there are explosions and crashes, but none of them has the same cackle-factor that made Trials so special.

Bombs? That seems careless

There's nothing particularly broken about Offroad Legends 2. It does what it sets out to do admirably well. It just misses a few crucial beats that could have made it essential.

You'll have fun while you're playing it, but it often feels that, with a tweak here and a new idea there, you could be having a lot more.

Since there isn't a premium Trials game on iOS, Offroad Legends 2 is probably your best bet for something along the same lines, but while it's a reasonably solid imitation of that series, it's still just an imitation.

Offroad Legends 2

A shiny, reasonably well put together game, Offroad Legends 2 just doesn't have the zip of its inspiration
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.