With all that mud it will not be easy to get to the top, the stony ground will then be a Russian roulette. In the tests between cut tires and broken joints it was a massacre, we must be careful. Better to smoke a good cigar and relax, otherwise there will be nothing to do ...
Overpass is a game developed by Zordix racing e Zordix AB, published by Bigben Interactive and available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows which, although not purely simulative, has a whole series of features that do not make it trivial at all. Off-road disciplines are quite niche, especially since they are not broadcast much on television, however they require high driving skills and above all a lot of self-control. If you are accustomed to driving games and disciplines of "fast" motorsport such as Formula 1, rally and so on, approach this title with a completely different mentality, otherwise the fun will soon leave room for frustration for poor or no results to which you will inevitably meet.
The game begins by sending you right into the action, with a full-bodied tutorial which will provide you with the tools to understand the basics of off-road driving: the first thing to understand is that you don't run, you don't go fast, you need to proceed "one wheel at a time" and understand how to take the vehicle beyond natural or artificial obstacles, placed there on purpose with increasing difficulty. Forget about pure speed, it's the worst approach for this type of motorsport. The only way to stop a good time is to be precise, not incur penalties and do as little damage as possible to the vehicle.
A damaged vehicle, in fact, becomes much more complicated to drive: the steering becomes imprecise and the handling, a fundamental element in this type of discipline, suffers a lot. The game physics, while maintaining arcade aspects, is unexpectedly advanced and will force you to take into account several aspects that dynamically change the gaming experience. There are so many tracks available, forty in all, with twenty vehicles from leading brands in the category, such as Yamaha , Arctic Cat, Suzuki e Polaris.
Know your vehicle
The vehicles available to the player in Overpass are essentially of two types: quads and crawlers. If quads are well-known enough, that's different for crawlers. The crawler is a means expressly conceived and designed to climb rocks and tackle routes with a high degree of difficulty, with extreme suspensions and frames designed exclusively for this type of use. The two vehicles are very different from each other, especially as regards physics and driving techniques: the quad requires the rider's weight shifts to be kept in optimal trim, while the crawler, while not requiring these techniques, requires differential locks and to know when disable all-wheel drive.
For this reason knowledge of the medium is fundamental to tackle the routes and requires a lot of practice, dedication and attention in running the vehicle; the very powerful engines and the high torque at low revs they are equipped with means that a too generous gas stroke or a minimum error with the steering is sufficient to trigger a rollover or cause damage to the steering, wheels or suspension. Making mistakes generates penalties at the chronometer level, damage to the vehicle and high doses of nervousness, especially in the most intricate passages of the various paths available.
If you want to finish first… In the meantime, you have to finish
Overpass offers a structured career mode, where the player starts with a relatively standard medium and must progress through the various seasonal appointments and collect as many points as possible. Step by step, you can unlock new elements of the vehicle such as more performing frames, more powerful engines and decorative elements for the pilot. The progression is almost completely left to the player's discretion: in fact, you will be the one to choose which races to do to compose your racing season, measuring yourself gradually with more difficult commitments and fierce opponents. It is not an easy game so be realistic and experience, because the AI while being perfectly scalable will not give you anything, always breaking good times and forcing you to make routes as clear as possible and without excessive damage to the vehicle.
The money won, in addition to the reputation, is also absolutely necessary to pay for the repairs of the vehicle. The damage system can in fact turn out to be merciless, presenting you with a huge bill at the end of each trial. In addition to being able to drive, you must be intelligent and imaginative, in fact there is not only one possible path and you will have to interpret each step in order to minimize the risks of making a mistake and, at the same time, to be as quick as possible in completing the path.
An excellent technique is to repeat the same track several times, trying to understand where you went wrong, gradually understanding the behavior of the available vehicle in relation to the track conditions. Each vehicle responds differently, increasing the unpredictability factor and always forcing yourself to adapt to what you have available. In fact, an ideal vehicle for mud does not necessarily perform equally well on rocks or sand: you will have to continuously adapt to the changing road surface and weather conditions.
Graphics and Audio
Overpass graphics are pleasant, especially in the reproduction of the vehicles. The yield of the settings is less good. A special mention should be made for the details of the dirt that accumulates on the vehicles: depending on the surface on which you find yourself passing the details change radically and, at the end of the test, the medium is almost completely covered with earth, mud or sand. The tried and tested Unreal Engine holds up well in any situation, some imperceptible drop in frame rate is present but it is nothing that affects the gaming experience. The audio is very good, the quads have a different sound than the crawlers and everything is well taken care of overall. The soundtracks of the game are suitable and engaging from the very first moment.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer mode is seamlessly integrated into Overpass and allows the player to participate in online competitions or to challenge each other in the old way locally, with the screen split in half for maximum enjoyment. The servers were stable, even if due to the physiological lack of players it was not possible to test them at best with a high number of participants. Although apparently a title that does not lend itself to the typical "frenzy" of online racing, Overpass has revealed itself pleasant and fun even in this situation.
… It took luck, but it turned out well in the end. Maybe the clutch broke on the last climb, but it doesn't matter, it still took us over the finish line. In the night we will take it apart to see what to do. Now better rest for a moment and take a shower, we have mud everywhere… But what adrenaline!
Overpass is the classic title you do not expect: it is not a simulator and it does not intend to be, but at the same time it is not the classic arcade that makes you turn up your nose from the first meters. It takes time to master, the graphics are not perfect and the physics sometimes have some uncertainty, but overall the large number of vehicles available with well marked differences between them and the high number of tracks make it fun and enjoyable by a large number of players. The only really questionable element is the game view, not optimal for keeping the wheels and the position of the vehicle under control during the most difficult passages. Despite everything, it remains a good job, different from the usual trite games and that will certainly find a good slice of fans ready to play it.
