This is no Sunday Drive.
Happily, I finished it and believe me it's a very cruel game indeed; and extremely addictive! So how can this be after many, many months of total aggravation? Well, it's all about choosing the best 4x4 for the job and driving almost immaculately.
Off-road Redneck Racing carries on the tradition of Leonard and Bubba as you start off in the Championship mode with a pretty lousy pick-up truck or Blackfoot (choose the Blackfoot as it has better handling even though it's slower) you head off to race in six vastly different tracks over four divisions. Be prepared for the looong haul of driving through almost impossible terrains, vile weather and day/evening/night driving that neither rain nor snow nor the Sheriff himself can stop these mud-machines! Fear not as from time to time your car will have an upgrade (if you drive well) or better still, get an offer which you seriously cannot refuse (upon meeting certain conditions of course). To move on the next division is easy - score the highest points.
The other game play alternatives are time trial, LAN, internet or 'challenge'. In challenge you can race up to 5 CPUs and a choice of any 4x4, tracks and opponents. The catch is that you need to unlock the better 4x4 by racing in the Championship mode. So it's back to square one partner!
Graphically this game is superior. Seeing the rustling of leaves to dust devils conjured from passing cars makes one feel that this is off-road at its finest. The glare of the evening sun to rain splattering on the screen can make you squint unknowingly as you try to see the road ahead. Magic!
The Appalachee soundtrack is well suited. It was created by the Dukes of Hazard composer and good 'ole boy himself Tim May! Yee Haa! The sounds of engines, crashing (and boy you're gonna hear that quite often), splashing, cows mooing and chickens cackling are not exactly stimulating and the taunts, well there should be more of them. It's redneck country after all and not your local café.
Game play however is a mixed bag. Granted, the roads are never straight. Potholed to the max (don't bring any fizzy drinks) and hurdle through the air brings great frills (I said hurdle and not landing - landing is another issue). The controls are easy to master as this is more of an arcade-style racing game and thankfully there are no pit stops. No fuel to worry about and no repairs at all. Just crash the car son; she'll be fine.
However there are some serious issues about collision detection and AI as both are inconsistent. You slightly scrap a rock and your 4x4 will be spinning like a twist top. Fine in my eyes however this never happen to the AIs at all! However it gets better that if you are having some serious issues in driving (which is for the majority of the time) the AI bar two (the two being the leaders of the pack) will have issues as well; giving you that false sense of security. What the heck anyway! I'm here to score points! This however is the most frustrating part of the game sadly enough. Don't believe me? Try driving the last track Dead Man's Drop without uttering not one swear word (read between the lines boy).
Of course frustration causes determination. Thankfully there are shortcuts and a good swerve (use the handbrake) when taking a bend can place you in the lead. The AI will rarely master this however even though if you fail to take that bend, the slide is enjoyable especially through the snow (and that my friend is some serious sliding) and besides you can watch that in action replay; even in slow-motion. Sadly you cannot save the file but there are other means...
Overall, even though the game is frustrating as hell can be, the game can be highly addictive as you defiantly will be skidding, leaping, crashing, cursing, rolling, spinning, splashing and yelling. Welcome to Off-road Redneck Racing and let's hit the road neighbour!