The first thing you'll notice about ATV: Quad Power Racing is the liberal use of polygonal graphics. The tracks, vehicles, and riders are all polygonal, and the combination looks fairly impressive on-screen. I haven't noticed any slowdown, surprisingly. The colors are mostly very tan and brown, but hey, it's an offroad game.

Or is it? Despite the name and use of four-wheel drive ATVs, the tracks are all very linear. If there are shortcuts, I haven't seen any. What's worse, your speed takes a huge hit if you stray from the beaten path...so you're actually encouraged to stay on the road.

Regardless, the racing isn't bad at all. When I first started playing, the sense of speed and controls were both very sluggish. However, they both improved greatly after I unlocked better vehicles. If you can grit your teeth through the first few challenges, the game will become much more playable and enjoyable with the advanced vehicles. The tracks aren't extremely varied, but each subsequent one definitely ramps up the challenge. Some of the hill/turn combinations are quite nasty. One disappointing thing about the gameplay is that you never encounter more than one opponent at a time. I'm sure that's a limitation of the graphics engine, but it makes for dull racing sometimes. Remember Extreme G 3?

Control is simple...probably too simple. The L and R triggers don't even do anything. It's just A for gas, B for brake, and turn with the Control Pad. There are four power-up items scattered along the tracks, and although none of them have drastic or overly flashy effects, they are pretty much necessary to win races. Well, except for the super-jump item, which seems to do more harm than good.

After a couple hours of playing, I can safely say that ATV: Quad Power Racing is a decent GBA racer, but it's not going to revolutionize the genre. The Challenge mode, which unlocks everything, seems to be lengthy and fulfilling. There is no multiplayer, which I consider inexcusable for any racing game. Also, be prepared to write down short passwords, since there's no battery backup. If these issues are going to be addressed in the already announced sequel, I'd suggest waiting for that game. There's nothing here that demands to be played immediately. Tantalus has laid some nice groundwork here, but ATV: Quad Power Racing needs more modes and features to compete.