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Baja: Edge of Control PlayStation 3
  • Publisher: THQ
  • Release Date: Sep 22, 2008
  • Also On: Xbox 360
Metascore
61 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
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  1. GameShark
    83
    What's most impressive is the game's physics engine.
  2. 1UP
    83
    Yeah, it's not for everybody (Gran Turismo fans may find themselves frustrated), but Baja gives you something a little off the beaten track -- and that's more than most racing games can say.
  3. Thunderbolt
    80
    It's a punishing game but rewarding in equal measures, and will draw you in like no other racing game quite has managed so far this generation - bring on BAJA 2: World Tour.
  4. Game Informer
    80
    As a debut title, it's a straight-forward affair. [Dec 2008, p.112]
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  5. Worth Playing
    70
    Baja: Edge of Control gets a lot of things right … and wrong. In virtually every category, it nails one aspect but completely misses the target on another.
  6. GameTrailers
    70
    Baja manages to capture the chaos and intensity of off-roading, but the finicky controls undermine the experience.
  7. GameSpy
    70
    You are almost always riding the finest line between screaming along somewhat stably and totally losing it, and in that sense, Baja succeeds tremendously. Those kinds of stakes may not appeal to everyone, however, and the majority of people who tend to like finishing races may not need all of the incredible realism that an intense sim like Baja has to offer.
  8. GamingExcellence
    68
    The harsh difficulty level and simulated driving makes for a frustrating experience if you're not in it for the long haul.
  9. GameFocus
    66
    The game concept holds enormous potential and brings a rare realism to the off-road genre, but it requires a few tweaks to the gameplay, and a more elaborate career mode.
  10. GameSpot
    65
    This off-road racing game does a lot of things well, but the PS3 version looks so bad that it's tough to recommend.
  11. Gamer.nl
    60
    First of all, BAJA is in no way an instant classic. But it can give you that satisfying feeling after you won a match. The steep learning curve will scare of some gamers and if you're looking for more arcade just head over to the Motorstorm camp. But if you're a fan of the off-road genre just take a shot at BAJA.
  12. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    60
    A brave competitor to Sony's mud king, but it's all a bit too bland to get revved up over. [Nov 2008, p.96]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. GameZone
    60
    Far from the grandest of racing experiences, Baja doesn't achieve a new level of depth or excitement, nor can it compete with the existing batch of off-road racers.
  14. GamingXP
    60
    The attempt to make a more serious, demanding racing-game for next-gen consoles completely failed. The challenging control turned out to be simply frustrating, graphics would make even the PS2 look away in shame and the given tuning options can only make mechanics happy.
  15. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    60
    Every vehicle slides around every turn with an alarming lack of control. [Nov 2008, p.79]
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  16. 3DJuegos
    58
    Baja is as ambitious and attractive in its proposal, as clumsy and little inspired in its execution. The longest races, the main feature of the title, eventually become boring; the adversaries AI is so over the top that becomes frustrating; and unfortunately the graphical section for the PlayStation 3 version is especially regrettable.
  17. Cheat Code Central
    52
    In the end, it seems like Baja: Edge of Control was trying to please everybody and, in doing so, managed to create an experience that isn't ideal for anyone.
  18. Playstation Universe
    50
    Sadly, they didn't capitalize on the potential and gamers were "stuck" with a mid-level game worthy of a rental at most.
  19. Gaming Age
    50
    So while Baja is technically impressive, it's also maddeningly difficult, and easily one of the more frustrating racers I've played recently. The controls are unforgiving, and the vehicle damage is definitely realistic but also provides a huge hurdle for actually enjoying the game.
  20. IGN
    49
    At times, it's an edge-of your seat experience that gives you a sense of accomplishment for sliding across the finish line in one piece. Other times, it's a confounding mix of erratic handling, insane difficulty and drab repetition.
  21. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    20
    If there were no other racers on PS3, or indeed on the planet, buying this would still be a mistake, but with the likes of Dirt already out there, and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift on the horizon, spending money on Baja would be nothing short of madness. [Dec 2008, p.113]
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User Reviews

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User Score
4.1 out of 10

Generally unfavorable- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
  1. midas_kid
    5
    From reading Dev diaries and interviews I understand how much work goes into making a game and I understand that not all games can be great. Sadly this game just didn't do it for me. It didn't grab me from the outset and the experience was very empty. However my young nephew can't get enough of it . He loves bouncing arcoss the sand and flying through air, so that I +1 to my score :)… Full Review »
  2. OOctopus
    0
    What can I say? I'm amazed that anyone manages to see anything in this "game". If this had been a homebrew game, I'd have thought "at least he tried." How anyone can mistake the collection of broken equations contained within as a physics engine is utterly beyond me. The car sort of wobbles along like some kind of hovercraft, randomly swerving left and right like it's possesed, and that's just the straights. Once you get into the corners you realise you are merely sending the car advice from the controller. What it actually does is pretty much random. Sometimes it even, for the very occasional corner, actually goes round it like an offroad vehicle might. Most of the time it wallows into the corner as if the suspension is made of marshmallow, and once this has begun, you CANNOT get it to straighten back up again. I've driven for 10/15 seconds with full left lock down a straight, with it merrily skewing off to the right. This is made all the more annyoing by the fact the AI cars go around as if they are on rails, only leaving the track when the smash into each other, apparently due to a complete lack of understanding of where each other are. On the plus side, the levels seem reasonably varied for an offroad game. The normalisation of the land is reasonable, the photo's used for the sky boxes are quite nice, and I've seen worse shadow maps. Despite these couple of basic (and these days standard) points, this game has virtually no redeeming features, and in fact, would still attract this kind of score from me if it were on the PS2. Speaking of which, I didn't mention the graphics. They are shockingly bad. A half decent dev team COULD get this to work on the PS2. Part of the problem is the awful job the team did of the PS3 version, but it goes further than that. Even on the 360 version, the game suffers from many graphical problems which I haven't seen in years. The alpha blending on the decals and textures is cheap, and only capable of one pass. The mipmaping is ridculously strong on some textures and none exisitant on others, leading to a mix of blury and bitty areas. On the PS3 version at least there is no form of antialiasing or smoothing whatsoever, and it suffers from a appalingly slow frame rate in places. There is occasionaly a strange long blue tube that pops up in front of camera for a single frame, and virtually none of the vegetation around the track actually exists. Surely they can at least manage to at least knock a large cactus over? I'm not saying they should use constructive state geomtry to actually damage them, or simulate the individual spines breaking off, but going straight through them like you're hallucinating? Pretty weak if you ask me. As a game dev myself, I can say with my hand on my heart, that I would be utterly ashamed to have my name associated with such an abomination. At the very least I would not release such a system with the physics broken as it is, and without having even mastered the basic 3D setup. All in all, I think I can safely say, this is one to avoid. Quite possibly the worst game I've played in a decade or more. Do yourself a favour - Buy DiRT for realism, or Motorstorm (2) for arcade fun. Buy this only if you require an expensive coaster.… Full Review »
  3. CM.
    0
    The PS3 version at least - is graphically awful - the frame rate is so poor it's given me a headache and ended my time with the game after approximately 2 minutes. The handling may very well be good - but you know what? The handling in a lot of last gen games was good too. To produce this piece of excreta on a current gen machine is beyond belief. It looks like a pre-release version of an old pc game running on outmoded hardware - it certainly doesn't look like a modern game - not even a Wii one.… Full Review »
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