off-road racing

Reckless Racing: My favorite iPhone racer to date

Back when I was a young pup, I dropped more quarters than I care to admit into an arcade game called Super Off Road. It was a top-down dirt-track racer--and one of my all-time favorite coin-ops.

EA's Reckless Racing just rekindled my love affair. It's a top-down dirt-track racer that delivers all the same freewheeling fun--with vastly superior graphics and online multiplayer!

Seriously, I can't remember the last time I fell in love with a game so quickly. Reckless Racing (which should really be called "Redneck" Racing, as that's the clear motif here) is crazy fun, to the point where I keep interrupting my review so I can go back for just one more race.

The game delivers on two major counts: graphics and controls. Reckless Racing is absolutely dazzling, with vibrantly colored cars and tracks that are just shy of photorealistic. And you get to choose from five different control schemes--everything from basic left/right-gas/brake buttons to an onscreen steering wheel ("half" or "full") to accelerometer steering. I'm partial to the buttons, but I am also enamored with "tank" mode (in which your car just goes flat-out the entire time--all you do is steer).

Whatever control option you choose, you'll find absolutely perfect arcade physics. Cars skid and slide and screech around corners (in varying amounts depending on whether you're on gravel or asphalt). If you like drift, you'll love RR.… Read more

Get off-road racer Dirt 2 (PC) for $9.99

Feeling the need for speed? Feeling the need for a permanent ban on the phrase, "feeling the need for speed"? Wishing I'd quit with the lame jokes and just get to the deal already? Got you covered, peeps.

From now until October 13 (aw, they're ending on my birthday), Microsoft is offering the off-road racing gem Dirt 2 (PC) for just $9.99. That's a whopping 75 percent off the original list price of $39.99.

The game will get delivered to you via Microsoft's Games for Windows Live client--meaning it's a download. … Read more

Taking the 2010 Ford Raptor to the California desert!

We've spent the last couple of days checking out how the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor kicks up off-road dust. Sure, it looks cool. But what is it really like to navigate and race this Baja-ready pickup truck on the desert sand? "The Smoking Tire" put host Matt Farah up to the challenge in the nether regions of California's Borrego Springs to get a first hand look at how the 2010 Ford Raptor can be used in an off-road driving scenario--boy, does it look like fun!

You can probably already tell that at the minimum this … Read more

2010 Ford Raptor: Inside and out

Today, we get to see the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in action and we hear from a Ford engineer about some of the design and detail that went into creating what is arguably the best American off-road vehicle that money can buy. Today's Web clip comes from an entity that might know a thing or two about trucks, PickupTrucks.com, as they delve into the many splendid features on the 2010 Raptor. This time, we get a peek inside as well as outside of this kick-ass automobile.

I know there's going to be some overlap in information … Read more

Hot Sun, Hot Cars and Hot Chicks: 2009 SCORE Terrible's Primm 300

At the tail end of this last week, I used my blog to preview the SCORE International off road trophy truck race Terrible's Primm 300 that took place over this last weekend in Nevada. Well, the 14th edition of this race has been run, and the results are in - of over 100 trucks to start the race, roughly 60% completed the grueling off road terrain with Robby Gordon coming in at 1st Place.

Y'know dear readers, I must admit it's sometimes difficult to find quality web video within a short turnaround time in order to present … Read more

SCORE Terrible's Primm 300: A Preview

During the summer I dedicated my blog to the infamous Baja 1000 race inspired by an episode of "Jesse James is a Dead Man" that aired around that time on Spike TV. The Baja off road races are sponsored by a race organization known as SCORE International, a promotion that sponsors several annual off road race competitions for trophy trucks, and one of their signature events begins today and lasts through the end of this weekend in Las Vegas. This event is called the Terrible's Primm 300.

The SCORE Terrible's Primm 300 is an off road … Read more

Get outta my way!: The 2009 Baja 500

For this week's final video blog dedicated to the sights and sounds of what is arguably the world's most dangerous off road race, we find two trophy trucks drifting in the sand as two wild horses almost get turned into glue during this year's Baja 500. The sky is beautiful and the color of the dirt is even pretty in its own way. Then the camera catches the cars close up as they blow by some spectators who have a perfect view of these bad ass trucks kickin' up dust.

Gettin Air Time at 2009 Baja 500

Today get ready for flying trucks as we got some great close-up video of two trophy trucks jumping a hill on RM 312 from the 2009 Baja 500 off road race.

Seeing video like this is what makes the Baja races so fun to see. Thrill seeking spectators love to position themselves all over the place throughout this off road race so they can really hear the roar of the engines and feel the dirt fly off the trucks' wheels as they go by. The first vehicle has been identified as Baja racing vet Robby Gordon who led the race … Read more

The First Five Minutes of the 2009 Baja 500

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sitting in a race car, anxiously awaiting the checkered flag to go down just so you can stomp down on the gas pedal and speed off onto rugged terrain? Well, now's your chance as we go along for a ride with the first five minutes of this year's Baja 500.

This in-car camera captures the first five minutes of the 2009 Baja 500 as seen through the lens within Robby Gordon's car. Robby Gordon is a NASCAR driver who has also participated in several previous Baja … Read more

Rolling to a Crash at Baja 500

In case you've missed out, this week we are dedicating this video blog to the notoriously dangerous off road race known as the Baja 500. But it's a much different scenario to be watching a vehicle take a tumble than it is to be actually IN the vehicle as it skids, crashes or turns over. Here we get a first hand look from inside a trophy truck racing in the 2008 Baja 500 as it somehow goes from booking through the desert to all of a sudden turning over and rolling to a crashing halt. If you aren'… Read more