Review: 4×4 Jam

Developer: Invictus Games

Publisher: Invictus Games

We’ve had all sorts on the PlayStation minis service so far, from retro-inspired arcade games, action games, puzzlers and top-down racers. Most of these are bite-sized titles, but Invictus have upped the scale with the minis port of their iPhone racer 4×4 Jam, which has more in common with a full PSP title than a mini. It’s all about off-roading on crazy terrain with trucks and buggies, jumping, rolling and bumping your way to victory.

Starting up, you’ll have two modes on offer – Quick Race and Career – with only a single car, location and race type open to you. Career mode is where you’ll want to head first, which is comprised of a series of various races over a total of 8 locations. These races vary from bog-standard circuit races to much more exciting types such as Collector and the titular Jam. Collector races see you and your opponents racing to collect a certain number of coins first, with Jam a dash to a series of gates; only one gate appears at a time and the first person to it earns a point, with the aim to hit a certain number of gates first. It’s the craziest and most tense race on offer, with cars ramming each other and flying everywhere in a desperate attempt to be first to the gates. Unfortunately, the other standard race events can become somewhat of a bore the further you progress, but there’s enough variation to keep things fresh.

Career mode incorporates cash, with a podium finish earning you prize money and unlocking the next event. Cash, of course, is used to buy new cars and trucks to destroy the opposition. There are 8 vehicles you can get in total, from your simple starter buggy to modified 4x4s and even racing pickup trucks. Each vehicle can be raced from various camera angles, too, including a cockpit view and hood camera. All the vehicles handle differently and in some cases extremely unpredictably, much to your dismay. Some trucks will roll over when you attempt to turn them sharply which can cost you in a race, so you’ll need to take each for a little test run in quick race before trying it out in career. Losing comes with a price; you need to pay an entry fee for the races in career, so coming in last could potentially leave you out of pocket.

Quick Race is pretty simple, yet effective; just pick your location, race type and vehicle and away you go. Anything you’ve unlocked in Career will be present in Quick Race, so it’s the perfect place to get some practice in, try out new cars of just have a laugh. Interestingly there’s a free roam mode on offer, which just plonks you in your chosen locale and leaves you to do whatever you want. The map scrolls in all directions, so you can keep driving forever without hitting an invisible wall. Quick Race also gives you the opportunity to alter the settings for your favourite game modes, which is great for adding in some extra challenge and replayability.

Technically, 4×4 Jam is stuck somewhere between a mini and a full PSP racer. It’s fully 3D, but graphically it’s simple and most of the areas you’ll be racing in are very bleak. There’s a scattering of grass and trees, but oddly enough you can clip straight through the trees, so they seem to just be there to populate the map rather than add any extra hazard. You’re able to set both the view distance and whether the grass is rendered, but neither seem to alter play that much and everything trundles along nicely, although there is some noticeable pop-in. Vehicle models are adequately detailed, but they won’t blow you away. Audio-wise, you’ll be racing to different tracks of generic rock and the sound effects are bland, lacking any real punch.

4×4 Jam, then, is a good example of what can be done with the minis service, offering a lot in a surprisingly small package. Unfortunately, this comes at a price – £5.99 to be exact – which is encroaching on that of a full PSN game, even though 4×4 Jam doesn’t quite meet that standard. However, it’s definitely something that racing fans should look into, with hours of core Career play and a healthy dose of Quick Race replayability on top, which just about justifies the high price point.